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Wintertime is pickle time - at least as far as wine is concerned. Tastings tend to take place in spring and autumn, the new vintage is not yet ready for tasting and discussion, and many specialised press agencies mentally close before the holidays. Perhaps that is why this information about the new desire for luxury sweet wine by the glass attracted so much attention.

In any case, a few weeks ago, the wine world was abuzz with the news that in the future selected restaurants, bistros and bars were to offer Château d'Yquem by the glass. Look at that, I thought when I first heard about this announcement. Is it obviously too difficult for the rich Chinese to pronounce the word Yquem, which is why they prefer Lafite, regardless of the crazy hype and the stupid prices? Is the white legend from the Sauternais, which was already classified as red in the 1855 classification above the Premier Crus, not selling as well as was always believed? Or is the story served up by marketing people that the traditional brand intends to present itself in a younger and fresher style actually true? Yquem director Pierre Lurton is quoted as saying that they now want to offer customers the possibility of drinking the sweet wine as an aperitif or to finish off the evening in a club.

Fruity dessert% fruity wine (Source: W.Fassbender)

Well, unfortunately, these are exactly the two occasions on which it rarely occurs to me to order a Sauternes. Bordeaux winemakers will wiggle their ears in offence if I admit to preferring either a champagne (or comparable sparkling) or a fresh, dry white wine on such occasions. A visit to the club or bar might also tempt me to a cocktail, about three or four times a year. If I am to drink Sauternes or comparable luscious sweet wines, then please not before the meal (that has a satiating effect) and also rather not afterwards (that makes you tired). It's better with the right dessert. And God knows it doesn't have to be the noblest of all liquid delicacies in France, a simple Sauternes AC or an occasionally severely underestimated Monbazillac would do. (All those who now point to the alternative of a Riesling Beerenauslese or a Ruster Ausbruch: Yes, these wines are often brilliant, and in many cases I prefer them to a white noble rot Bordeaux - but they have a different character, so they are only of limited use as a Sauternes substitute).

Old Riesling with moderate sweetness - universally applicable (source: W.Fassbender)

Unfortunately, an estimated 99 per cent of all restaurants in Europe do not offer a single drinkable sweet wine by the glass, and even in the gourmet sector ignorance prevails all too often. Sugary wines by the bottle, that's more common, and sometimes there are even a half bottle or two. But a table of two may not always be in the mood for such quantities of mild creaminess, may just want to taste a sip, a 0.1-litre portion or, almost more advisable at this stage of the meal, half of it. What's missing is a sommelier or service chef who makes the right recommendations, who knows exactly that overly sweet desserts will kill a less sugary wine, that chocolate often harmonises perfectly with Banyuls, Madeira and Port, but sometimes not at all: if the chocolate is too bitter or the wine too aggressive. Rare are the wine waiters who dare not only to deliver the familiar, but also to convince with novelties or the hidden. There are a few good examples, however.

Molecular dessert in the Arzak restaurant (Source: W.Fassbender)

In the restaurant "Amador" in Langen, near Frankfurt, they go all out for Spanish sweet wines and cough up the Sauternes; in the vaunted "Pierre Gagnaire" in Paris, you can sometimes see, with a 1990 ice wine for dessert, that Wein-Plus author Karl Bajano is not only an exceptional taster but also a highly talented winemaker. Sweet wine with dessert, that can also mean foregoing Sauternes and trying, for example, a blood-young Moscato d'Asti (low alcohol, very refreshing) with a feather-light vanilla variation, such as I enjoyed shortly before Christmas in the restaurant "Alpina" in Klosters, Switzerland. The counter-example is very old and has rarity value: ripe or extremely ripe Rieslings go well with many sweets, even in the (noble) sweet version, as long as the sugar does not dominate and the flavours of the food (nuts, apples, stone fruit) have been exactly matched to the respective Auslese, TBA or ice wine. Unfortunately, there are only a few restaurants and wine bars on this planet that carry affordable Rieslings from the seventies and sixties: The Hattenheim "Krug", one of Germany's most dedicated wine restaurants, is one of these exceptions: It only gets expensive there if you want to have wines from the pre-war period opened.

Dessert with Christmas aromas - that calls for an oxidative drop (Source: W.Fassbender)

By the way, sweet wines, young and old, are not only lacking in food gastronomy, but also in places where I like to raise my cholesterol and sugar levels between two gastronomic tests. Hardly any confectionery in the western world sees itself - Bacchus knows why - in a position to offer something enjoyable in the sweet drinks sector. As if every trained baker were entrusted with a cake law book that explicitly states that only coffee may be ordered with a Paris-Brest or a wild strawberry tart and that a small portion of alcohol late in the afternoon is taboo. Budding pastry chefs, I imagine, would have to be required to attend some wine courses.

Cake with wine - anything but a matter of course (Source: W.Fassbender)

As far as Yquem is concerned, however, I will certainly not now embark on a tour of those establishments that have got involved in this Sauternes game. The list of high-end dessert wine providers is available on the Yquem website(www.myquem.com/yquem-by-the-glass) and currently includes just under a dozen noble rot fetishists. That most are in Paris and Monaco is surely no coincidence - though there seems to be a sweet demand in the French Alps too. "We offer a glass of 1996 Yquem at 50 euros per 8 cl," the Flocons de Sel restaurant in Megève informs us when asked. "The price is correct if you take into account the price of the bottle". That may be true. But I'd rather invest that sum in a meal at one of my favourite restaurants - and hope they've expanded their sweet wine range in the meantime!

Château d'Yquem by the glass:

Flocons de Sel, 1775 Route de Leutaz, F-74120 Megève, Tel. +33 (0) 4 50 21 49 99, www.floconsdesel.com,contact@floconsdesel.com

La Saulire, Place du Rocher, F-73120 Courchevel 1850, Tel: +33 (0) 4 79 08 07 52www.saulire.com,info@lasaulire.com

Very personal sweet wine selection:

Restaurant Amador, Vierhäusergasse 1, D-63225 Langen, Tel. 0 61 03/50 27 13, www.restaurant-amador.de, www.pierre-gagnaire.com

Zum Krug, Hauptstraße 34, D-65347 Hattenheim, Tel. 0 67 23/9 96 80 , www.hotel-zum-krug.de, info@hotel-zum-krug.de

Own sweet wine list:

Ferienart Resort & Spa, CH-3906 Saas-Fee, Tel. +41 (0) 27 958 19 00, www.ferienart.ch,

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