This post comes from Andrew, one of our managers:
I know. When food goes bad you’re supposed to throw it out. Eating rotted, moldy fruit holds about as much appeal as slamming your finger in a car door. But what if you drank your rotted, moldy fruit instead? And what if that rot was a blend of sweet nectar and alcohol? Got your attention?
Wine made from rotted grapes is considered some of the best in the world, and it requires very specific conditions to grow. Basically, you start with a fungus (botrytis cinerea) hanging out on a high acid grape variety planted near a river. Toward the end of the growing season, if the conditions are just right, fog rolls in from the river in the morning, encouraging the fungus to feed on the sugar in the grapes. In the afternoon, the sun breaks through the fog, heating the fungus, causing its munching to slow, in turn causing the grapes to dehydrate and shrivel.
These wines are called mostly unpronounceable things like Sauternes, Moelleux, Trockenberenauslese, and Tokaji Aszu. Sauternes, the beloved rotted wine of Bordeaux is by far the most famous, though the others are just as revered and delicious. At Serafina and Cicchetti we’ve taken a liking to Tokaji Aszu (tō-kī oh-su). From the northeast Hungarian region of Tokaj-Hegyalja, this wine is made in perfect conditions created by undulating hills at the intersection of the Bodrog and Tiza Rivers.
At Serafina, drink Tokaji for dessert alongside apple doughnuts with smoked caramel. Try my personal favorite, pairing it with Fourme d’Ambert (bleu cheese from Auvergne). There’s nothing like sweet, rotted wine and salty, moldy cheese. Sip it at Cicchetti with baklava or even just on its own. Wanna get really daring? Pour it over coconut and almond sorbet. Seriously. Who wants chocolate when you can have rot?
im living for this dessert wine!