For the holiday season we all seem to enjoy a touch of sweetness, especially with cookies, cakes, and other indulgent desserts. You could have these desserts with tea, but why not have them with a BC dessert wine? Many of you have heard of ice wine, which Canada specializes in but tends to be intensely sweet and syrupy. Too much flavour intensity and sweetness, which could overpower a dessert.
But we have an alternative called a Late Harvest wine. The grapes for ice wine need to be harvested at a temperature of at least -8 degrees Celsius and a minimum sugar content of 32.0° Brix (which is a lot of sugar. White wine grapes are usually harvested between 20 and 24° Brix). But winter temperatures may not reach -8 degree C and/or the Brix content does not meet the minimum requirements, so the grapes can be harvested at a warmer but still cold temperature. This produces a wine that is lighter-bodied and not as syrupy and sweet.
In my opinion, the Late Harvest wines make excellent pairings with desserts. Below is my tasting note for the Fort Berens Estate Winery Late Harvest Riesling 2025 followed by my brief notes where I pair this wine with various desserts. I did not decant this wine at all. Late Harvest as well as ice wine bottles tend to be only 375 ml so once they are opened, they are usually enjoyed in one sitting. Please note that these wines should also be chilled just like you would do for a white wine.
My Wine Tasting Note
Fort Berens Estate Winery Late Harvest Riesling 2025 (BC $20.99) – This wine has a clear, bright, medium-minus intensity mix of lemon and straw colours. Medium-plus intensity aromas of oranges, sweet spices, and apricots. It has medium sweetness and has a medium body with a smooth, soft, thicker mouthfeel. Medium-plus acidity leaves a light acidic prickle in your mouth. A mix of tropical fruit, oranges, lime, honey, ginger, and other sweet spices, plus a touch of pepperiness and dried apricot. A medium-plus length finishing off-dry with flavours of lime, sweet spices, honeyed apricot, and a touch of pepperiness.
This is an elegant wine. Not too sweet. I enjoyed the variety of fruit flavours plus the sweet spices on the palate. The grapes for this wine are certified sustainable and are vegan-friendly. 
Pairings
I tried four different pairings with this wine:
- raspberries
- shortbread cookie
- raspberry swirl cheesecake
- tuxedo (chocolate) cheesecake
The raspberries were tart with a floral flavour that matched nicely with the ginger flavour and sweetness of the wine.
The shortbread cookie was also a wonderful pairing. I enjoyed the butteriness and the soft chewiness of the cookie, with the wine adding acidity and an orange citrus component.
The raspberry swirl cheesecake had a creamy, light fluffy feel and was not too sweet. I did not really taste much raspberry flavour from the cheesecake. The acidity, plus ginger taste and sweetness from the wine, made a complimentary pairing to the cheesecake.
Lastly, the chocolate tuxedo cheesecake had a thicker, creamy texture than the raspberry cheesecake. The frutiness and sweetness plus the ginger flavour and acidity from the wine showed up at the start of the pairing, and then the chocolate flavour became more prominent toward the finish.
Overall, they were all good pairings, but my preference was for the raspberries and the shortbread cookie pairings. Simple flavours meshed together.
Other things you may want to try are a sweet and salty/bitter pairing, like with a lightly blue cheese, or charcuterie.
Where Can I Buy This Wine?
You can purchase the Fort Berens Estate Winery Late Harvest Riesling 2025 online from the winery website. I did not notice it listed at BC Liquor stores, Everything Wine, or Save on Foods stores. Order now to make sure you have yours before the holiday rush.
