What to do with leftover dessert wine? [General]

2012 Aug 5
We had some friends over for dinner a couple of nights ago and opened a bottle of dessert wine. It went great with the dessert, but it's horrible to drink on its own. I've got three quarters of a bottle left - any suggestions as to what I can do with it?

2012 Aug 5
I am not sure what a dessert wine is. I usually drink red wine instead of dessert. On the odd occasion that there is leftover wine, I freeze it by the cup to use for cooking. Or Popsicles ;-)

2012 Aug 6
If you don't like it on its own, maybe you could just make more (of the same, or a different) dessert? Dessert wine lasts longer in a fridge than regular still wine, so you've got time to think about it.

Or you could just try it again in a couple of days and see if you like it more...

2012 Aug 6
If you tell us what wine it is, it might be easier to suggest uses...

If you just find it too sweet, Momomoto's suggestion of having it with a sweet dessert (which will make it seem less sweet) is a good one. Or you could drink it in a spritzer by adding some sparkling water to it.

2012 Aug 6
It's a Loupiac from Bordeaux. I want to use it for cooking - we had it with dessert the other night, but we generally don't eat dessert and I'm not about to make desserts all week just so we can finish the wine.

2012 Aug 6
Could you use it to poach fruit,like pears or plums?

2012 Aug 6
Non-dessert ideas:
You could use it as a pan sauce for roasted pork/pork chops.
Also a good choice for deglazing a pan with cooked mushrooms.
You can freeze it in an ice-cube tray/dispense into a Ziploc bag/freeze and use for future recipes.

Dessert ideas that you can ignore... :)
Pears/peaches/berries/most fruit poached in it would be nice. Let cool and put over ice cream.

I've had this cake and it's a winner. Surprisingly light:
Olive oil & dessert wine cake:
abcooking.wordpress.com

2012 Aug 6
Loupiac, horrible to drink on its own? I'm guessing you really don't like sweet wines in general, because that's usually a good one. Almost as good as Sauternes (well, if you like sweet wines, obviously).

With a Loupiac, there is a very classic match if you don't eat dessert : foie gras. Either to drink with or to deglaze the pan after cooking the foie gras and make a sauce.

Similarly, it would probably be good in a sauce for venison or for duck magrets... (Can't say I've ever tried that last one though, as my method for using up leftover Sauternes/Montbazillac/Loupiac/ice wine/ice cider is usually : drink a small glass each night until it's all gone ;-p)

2012 Aug 6
Thanks all - I think using it for sauce is going to be my best bet. I actually didn't know you could freeze wine effectively, does it not damage it when you defrost?

Isabelle, you're right - unless it's with dessert I can't bear sweet wine. Foie gras is an interesting idea although I've never cooked it before, only eaten it in restaurants. I might have to go to Saslove's and get some.

I see venison and foie gras on the menu this week!

2012 Aug 6
Johnny English,

Sauternes, ice wine, dessert wines, etc. are great with foie gras and foie gras pates. uhmm come to think of it, I still have some canned foie gras pate from france in the cupboard.


2012 Aug 6
I'll echo the foie gras suggestions and add the possibility of a fresh crab cocktail

2012 Aug 8
Oh. Oh oh oh oh oh.

Another thing you can do is pair it with blue cheese.

A rank, stinky, salty, sharp blue cheese.

The whole is far greater than the sum of its parts.


2012 Aug 8
With champagne/fizzy white wine and some fruit it makes for a good 'champagne cocktail'.