THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407140058
SECTION: FLAVOR PAGE: F2 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: HUMBLE STEWARD
SOURCE: JIM RAPER
LENGTH: Long : 130 lines
A READER FROM Portsmouth writes: ``For some time now I have been unable to find Sauternes, which I use in preparing a turkey breast. Can you suggest where it might be obtained or what would be a suitable substitute?''
A few weeks earlier a friend from Hampton told me she had searched without success for a Sauternes, and had settled instead for a Pineau des Charentes to serve with walnut cake as a dinner-party dessert.
Sauternes is the world-famous sweet white wine made in the zone of the same name in the southern Bordeaux. The final ``s'' is silent, and I have seen knock-off wines that were made in the United States and labeled ``sauterne.''
True Sauternes, particularly examples from the finest chateaux, can be a nectar of rare complexity. The best are sweet without being cloying, which is how I prefer my desserts as well as my dessert wines. Flavors suggested by Sauternes might be of figs, pears, molasses, honey, ginger or nutmeg and vanilla.
The exceptional Sauternes will have been touched by botrytis cinerea, the beneficial mold (noble rot) that is encouraged to attack overly mature grapes. Semillon is the dominant varietal of the zone, although sauvignon blanc and a little muscadelle are also used in Sauternes. The mold concentrates flavor and increases the proportion of sugar in the grapes, enabling winemakers to produce a naturally sweet wine with about 14 percent alcohol and 5 percent to 8 percent residual sugar.
Some connoisseurs cringe when Sauternes is described as a dessert wine. And it is true that many desserts, including the very sweet or chocolatey, will clash with Sauternes.
The classic pairing of the wine is with foie gras, which is goose liver. Unfortunately, a luscious foie gras is even less likely than a good Sauternes to find its way into a medium-sized metro area such as Hampton Roads. So some folks serve Sauternes with potluck pate, which can be a pleasant match, but often is a gastronomic blunder. A Sauternes served with a peppered and garlicked pork liver pate is a Sauternes poorly served!
Blue cheeses also pair well with Sauternes. But that can bring us back to dessert. The wine teams well, for instance, with pear tart enhanced by a bit of Roquefort.
And for some of us a glass of Sauternes, followed by a fine cigar, is dessert enough. EXPENSE IS WORTH IT
The production of Sauternes is labor-intensive and especially dependent upon favorable weather. It also requires annual outlays for new oak barrels. So the more popular examples of this wine are expensive, typically $25 or higher. The dependable wines of Chateau Rieussec might cost $50 or more. And the legendary and age-worthy Chateau d'Yquem (dee-kem) is one of the world's most expensive wines, costing about $150 even for mediocre vintages.
Less expensive bottles, some of which may be quite good, can come from high-volume negotiants who depend on growers from throughout the Sauternes zone for their grapes.
The zone comprises the townships or communes of Preignac, Bommes, Fargues, Barsac and Sauternes itself. Producers in Barsac may label their wine as Barsac, and not Sauternes.
Now you might ask: ``Why bother, if Sauternes is so hard to find in Hampton Roads?.''
Wine shops and wine distributors are good listeners. If they detect a demand for a particular wine, they will make it available. If we want Sauternes, we should ask for it.
I have seen Sauternes from the negotiant Barton & Guestier - costing about $12 - in local grocery stores, but not recently. More frequently, I have found Sauternes in specialty shops.
I would imagine that the demand here for Sauternes has dropped as the demand has grown for dessert wines produced in the U.S., particularly in California. But, as good as these domestic dessert wines can be, they should not push Sauternes off the retailers' shelves.
A Chateau Rabaud-Promis 1988 Sauternes ($37) is a delightful and complex wine that will light up faces around your dinner table. And it is a good value when compared to a late-harvest California riesling that costs $15 for a half-bottle. OTHER CHOICES
If your best efforts to buy Sauternes fail, try the domestic dessert wines or another import of similar sweetness and complexity. Here are some alternatives:
Domestic late-harvest wines - As with Sauternes, these wines are made from overly mature grapes. Riesling, gewurztraminer, semillon and muscat are grapes commonly used. Red late-harvest versions can be made from zinfandel or black muscat. These wines usually come in half-bottles (.375-liter) and most cost $8 to $30. The best I have tasted recently were rieslings or gewurztraminers from the California producers Freemark Abbey, Arrowood, DeLoach and Kenwood. These wines can be found at fine wine shops.
Domestic rieslings that are not late-harvest can still be slightly sweet, and at $8 for a full-sized bottle can be be fine for marinating, glazing or making a sauce for a turkey breast.
Also, some Virginia wineries make off-dry rieslings and late-harvest wines.
German auslese (ouse-lay-zuh) wines - These whites are made from select, especially ripe bunches, and may also be affected by the botrytis mold. The better ones are made from riesling and cost $20 and up for a full-sized bottle. The rarer and more expensive beerenauslese is made from individually picked berries and the very rare trockenbeerenauslese is made from grapes left so long on the vines that they become dry or trocken. The latter may be the best dessert wine of all, and is very expensive. Let a wine merchant help you with your selection.
Germans also originated the intense eiswein or ice wine, made from berries that have frozen on the vines. Water is what freezes in the berry and the crystals can be separated at pressing to leave only a syrupy extract. Eiswein, again, is expensive, but also a rare treat.
Alsatian late-harvest wines - A riesling or gewurztraminer from Alsace labeled Selection de Grains Nobles will be a honeyed wine well worth the searching and dollars. Also a late-harvest wine from Alsace, the vendange tardive is intense, but often not sweet.
Other French - Pineau des Charentes is a sweet liquor often served as an aperitif. It is made by blending cognac with unfermented grape juice. Try the Mercier Chateau de la Peraudiere ($23 for full-sized bottle.).
Vin doux naturel is a category of sweet, fortified wines, most of it white and made from muscat grapes grown along the Mediterranean coast. Look for $15-$20 bottles of Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Muscat de Frontignan or Muscat de Lunel.
Italian Vin Santo - This is a white made principally in Tuscany from trebbiano and malvasia grapes that have been dried after harvest. Some vin santo may not be as sweet as the average dessert wine, but the flavors run deep and good examples can be purchased for less than $20 for a full-sized bottle. MEMO: The Humble Steward is a regular feature of Flavor. Send questions or
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The Ledger-Star, 150 W. Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510. If
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