DESSERT WINES
Sherry
From Jerez, Spain. Fino and manzanilla are crisp and dry, perfect appetite-whetters;
amontillado is equally bone dry, but fuller bodied, with a nutty character; oloroso
is even richer, fuller, warmer, and nuttier.
Port
This wonderful, traditional, after-dinner drink is aged in the port shippers'
lodges in Porto, Portugal. It is sweet, red, heavy, and alcoholic -- almost
everything a modern table wine isn't.
Apéritif
It was not until the 20th century that the delightful habit of taking an
"apéritif" before a meal became a generally accepted custom. Gelson's
stocks a wide array of fine apéritifs, including DuBonnet, Cinzano,
Lillet, Campari, and sweet and dry vermouths. In almost all cases, these should
be served well-chilled or on the rocks.
The true Riesling of German origin is one of the world's great grapes. It thrives in cool climates such as Germany and warm Australia as well, inspiring a spectrum of wines from light and very sweet to bone dry. 
alifornia has one world-class grape of its own, Zinfandel, which is often
used to produce rosé wines. In very few instances, the law allowed
winemakers to make rosé simply by blending finished white and red, but
the color of most rosé still comes directly from the skins of red grapes.
There are fewer good rosé wines than dry reds or whites. Notable exceptions
include Tavel and Anjou from France, Mateus from Portugal, and Grenache and Gamay
from California.
rue champagne comes from the ancient province of Champagne near Rheims, France.
It is a white wine made from the Pinot Noir and Pinot Chardonnay grapes, twice
fermented -- once before bottling, once afterward (which produces the bubbles).
s far as sparkling wines go, they may be ready to drink sooner, but most lose
out to champagne when it comes to complexity, underlying intensity, and length
of flavor. Still, the best Californian, Australian, and New Zealand sparkling
wines are superior to the lowest-quality champagnes selling at about the same
price.