VINO

From their first sip, dessert-wine lovers will be sweet on Quady Winery’s offerings, made from lesser-known grapes with intriguing aromatic properties.

Winemaker Andrew Quady began making port wine in 1975 in Lodi, Calif., adding white dessert wine a few years later. Using orange muscat grapes, his Essensia was an instant success, followed by Elysium, made from black muscat grapes. He now makes several dessert wines, some aperitif-style wines and a line of award-winning vermouth.

In fact, it was his Vya Vermouth, which recently won a gold medal and the vermouth trophy for sweet vermouth at the London International Wine Competition that brought about an opportunity for me to interview Mr. Quady by phone. The vermouth isn’t available locally yet, so we’ll save it for a future column. Meanwhile, here’s what Mr. Quady had to say about his terrific line of sweet wines, some of which are available at ABC Fine Wines & Spirits and Total Wine and all of which may be ordered from the winery at www. quadywinery.com.

COURTESY PHOTO Quady Deviation, Elysium and Essensia FW: How did you get started in the business?

AQ: I started with a dessert wine from zinfandel, made like a port. After that we moved to Madera, northwest of Fresno, California, built a small winery and started making other wines from several muscat grapes.

FW: What makes your wines special?

AQ: The grape varieties are selected for their highly aromatic properties. I use the orange muscat for the basis of most of my wines, along with the black muscat for the reds. These varieties make our wines different from other muscat-based wines, which use the muscat blanc, or muscat canelli grapes. I choose grape varieties that have a good flavor profile for desserts.

FW: What are the differences between these wines?

AQ: Well, Essensia is a blast in the mouth of flavors. It is like an apricot tart, or maybe something with peaches. The Elysium is more exotic, and goes well with gorgonzola cheese and ripe pears. Or you should pour it over ice cream, like a sundae. Deviation is a different style of wine. The orange muscat combines with rose, geranium, and damiana and has a drier finish. Electra is our low-alcohol wine, 4 percent to 5 percent. People enjoy it as a beverage or paired with food. I call this a picnic wine and it can be enjoyed with a bowl of strawberries or fruit. It is similar to a light German Riesling but made from our muscat grapes.

FW: What are your favorite foods to pair with your dessert wines?

AQ: With Essensia, I like stone fruits, citrus and goat cheese. The orange essence goes well in that combination. With Elysium, I really think chocolate is made for that. We did dessert tastings for years with our wines, to see what chefs would come up with for pairings. We would feature just one wine so everyone would create a dessert to match. The Elysium always did the best with chocolate desserts. They would make some nice desserts with light fruits and sauces, or with milk chocolate to go with the Essensia. With Elysium, it was usually dark chocolate and red fruits. The Starboard 88 is also nice to have with chocolate, because it has a lower acidity than a lot of ports. Deviation is an after-dinner drink. It is best by itself as it is highly aromatic.

FW: We grow a lot of tropical fruits here. Which wine would be best with them?

AQ: I definitely think that mangoes would be perfect with Essensia. There are a lot of tropical flavors in Essensia that mangoes would complement and enhance.

Tasting notes:

. Essensia 2007: Starts sweet on the tongue and ends with a drier, elegant finish. Orange and apricot on the nose with a little tropical spice added to the palate. About $25.

. Elysium 2007: This has nice black cherries and raspberries on the nose with a hint of orange. It is sweet when it hits the palate, and ends up with a little chocolate on the finish. About $25.

. Deviation NV: The fragrance exploded as soon as the bottle was opened. Aroma of roses, taste of geranium, and very herbal at first on the palate, but it tastes better with every sip. There is orange after the finish. Unlike anything I’ve ever tasted, it’s a dessert unto itself. About $25 for a half-bottle.

. Starboard 88: Starboard is a euphemism for port, a label that now can only be applied to those made in the port — or nautically to the left, as Quady calls it — district in northern Portugal. The taste is lightly sweet, showing lots of complexity. Light berry nose develops in the glass after opening and develops to a rich flavor and nice chocolate finish. Lower acidity makes this more food friendly. About $25. 