John: A lot of people want me to do some generalized wine tips. I’m gonna do one.
Adam: A wine tip! Finally, a wine tip!
John: This is a type of wine I’m going to discuss is a sweet wine that people should check out. If you’re in a town with a liquor store that has a wine guy who knows anything, you’ll probably find an example of this product.
It’s a Rhône wine. It’s a sweet wine. I’ve discussed on the show before — Sauternes — which I think is one of the great sweet wines. That’s the one you get the ladies with.
Adam: That’s the one you get the ladies with.
John: They love this. And then there are also German sweet wines that are worth noting — including Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese.
Adam: Ah, the Trockenbeeren!
John: Trockenbeeren are very expensive. Beerenauslese means it’s a late harvest of specific berries, and Trockenbeerenauslese is a wine made from raisins, basically.
There’s another type of German sweet wine called an Eiswein, but I don’t think it holds a candle to the other two.
But the wine I’m going to promote today is an inexpensive, obscure wine that you can find if you talk to anyone who knows anything about wine: Beaumes de Venise. Sometimes it’s referred to as Muscat Beaumes de Venise, but the appellation, I believe, is just Beaumes de Venise.
It’s a Muscat wine that’s incredibly sweet — but not sickeningly sweet. It’s incredibly floral. It’s a very specific Muscat grape called the Orange Muscat. Muscats are grown all over, and a lot of them are table grapes, but this particular grape is a specialty of that area, and it makes a fabulous product.
This Muscat Beaumes de Venise is a killer — a killer wine. And if you see it, try it.
Adam: How much can we expect to pay for the Beaumes de Venise?
John: Fifteen bucks, maybe.
Adam: That’s the price! That’s what makes it a great Tip of the Day.
John: It’s not a rare, expensive wine like a half-bottle of Trockenbeerenauslese that can cost you $150.
Adam: And do we drink the Beaumes de Venise with dinner, or after dinner?
John: After dinner. It’s perfect with almost any dessert.
Adam: And do you drink it in a big wine glass or one of those little petite thingies?
John: You can drink it in anything you want — a paper cup, doesn’t matter. The stuff is really good.