Sweeter than Chocolate: Our Picks for Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day calls for something sweeter than the usual dinner wine, and dessert wines offer the perfect indulgence whether you're celebrating with cheese, chocolate, or simply treating yourself to something extraordinary. This year's selection showcases four distinct dessert wine traditions—Italian appassimento from Breganze's volcanic hills, Loire Valley Chenin Blanc shaped by noble rot, Tuscan Vin Santo aged through years of seasonal temperature swings, and Hungarian Tokaji from vineyards classified since the 17th century. Each represents centuries of winemaking heritage adapted to unique terroir, producing sweet wines with the acidity and structure to pair beautifully with rich foods or stand alone as the final course.

The Maculan Torcolato Passito 2020 comes from Breganze's rare Vespaiola grape, named for the wasps attracted to its sugar-rich berries, grown on volcanic basalt and tuffaceous soils at 150-350 meters elevation where cold Dolomites winds meet warm Adriatic currents. The third-generation Maculan family, farming since 1947, braids grape bunches on ropes using the traditional torcere method and hangs them for four months until they lose 70% of their weight, concentrating sugars while maintaining Vespaiola's naturally high acidity. Only 14 producers worldwide make Torcolato, and Maculan accounts for half of total global production. After the extended drying period, the concentrated grapes ferment and age 12 months in French oak barrels with 33% new wood, developing intense aromas of honey, vanilla, orange blossom, and wood spices balanced by salty minerality from the volcanic soils. The wine achieves 150 grams per liter residual sugar yet maintains a sweet-not-sweet character thanks to vibrant acidity, earning 94 points from Vinous. The Torcolato DOC was established in 1995, though historical records show sweet wines from Breganze were praised as early as 1610.

The Domaine Ogereau Coteaux du Layon Saint Lambert 2023 represents Loire Valley's legendary sweet wine appellation, where autumn mists rising from the Layon River create ideal conditions for botrytis development on Chenin Blanc. Founded in 1890, the domaine is now managed by fourth-generation Vincent Ogereau and fifth-generation Emmanuel, who farm 3.5 hectares of stony schist with sandstone on the river's left bank using organic methods certified by Ecocert and biodynamic practices certified by Biodyvin. The family conducts weekly selective harvests throughout October, capturing grapes at precise noble rot concentration rather than extreme sweetness, drawing from vines planted between the 1930s and 1990s that contribute complexity across multiple parcels. After gentle pressing, the juice ferments and ages 12 months in stainless steel and concrete vessels, developing candied citrus, poached pear, and wild flower honey aromas with pronounced minerality from the schist bedrock. The 2023 vintage achieves 60-100 grams per liter residual sugar balanced by Chenin Blanc's hallmark acidity, ranking among the top 10 most highly rated Coteaux du Layon Saint Lambert bottlings.

The Lanciola Vin Santo del Chianti Colli Fiorentini 2010 comes from an estate with documented winemaking since 1587. That year, Federico di Ruberto de Ricci paid church tithes with one bushel of wheat and one cask of wine from these Impruneta hills. The Guarnieri family now manages 80 hectares across galestro clay and limestone soils at 150-200 meters elevation, following the ancient Vin Santo tradition of drying Trebbiano and Malvasia grapes for months through the appassimento method before aging in small caratelli barrels. These traditional vessels, ranging from 50 to 300 liters and made from chestnut, cherry, or oak—some barrels centuries old—sit in unheated attic rooms called vinsantaie where seasonal temperature fluctuations create slow fermentation cycles lasting years. The hot summers and cold winters concentrate the wine through partial evaporation while the wood imparts unique characteristics to each barrel. This extended aging process transforms the dried grapes into intense gold liquid with old-gold crimson hints, developing aromas of dried apricot, candied yellow fruit, acacia honey, and orange peel. The palate shows silky texture, rich sweetness, and persistent candied fruit that pairs beautifully with traditional cantucci almond biscuits or aged cheeses like Parmigiano Reggiano and Gorgonzola.

The Royal Tokaji Company 5 Puttonyos Red Label 2018 comes from Hungary's legendary wine region, where wine author Hugh Johnson founded the company in 1990 after communism's fall to revive First Growth vineyards including Szt. Tamás, Nyulászó, and Betsek in Mád, plus the Great First Growth Mézes Mály in Tarcal. These classified vineyards were originally ranked by Prince Rákóczi in the late 17th century and sit on clay and loess soils with volcanic substratum at 457 meters elevation, where the Tisza and Bodrog rivers meet to create perfect conditions for noble rot development. Morning fog from the rivers followed by dry, sunny afternoons allows botrytis cinerea to shrivel the indigenous Furmint, Hárslevelű, and Muscat de Lunel grapes into aszú berries—the Hungarian word for "dried." Hand-harvested aszú berries from the 2018 vintage underwent 48-hour maceration in fermenting must, rehydrating the concentrated grapes before pressing, then aged over two years in 300-500 liter Hungarian oak barrels. The 5 Puttonyos designation indicates 120-150 grams per liter residual sugar, though the wine's vivid acidity and creamy texture prevent any cloying sweetness, instead delivering dried apricot, candied plum, white peach, tea leaves, and vanilla in a medium-full body. Yields restricted to 10 hectoliters per hectare mean one vine produces approximately one glass of wine. The 2018 earned 94 points from James Suckling, 93 points from Wine Spectator, ranked number 66 on Wine Spectator's Top 100 of 2024, and collected gold medals at IWSC and DWWA competitions.