Full Review

White Pine

White Pine
2021 Reserve Mirage Dessert Wine, Lake Michigan Shore

Pair this wine with:
Cheese

Category: Fortified Wine

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 20% RS: 9%
87 Points
Silver Medal
Highly Recommended
$19

White Pine
2021 Reserve Mirage Dessert Wine, Lake Michigan Shore

Pair this wine with:
Cheese

Category: Fortified Wine

Date Tasted:
Country: USA
Alcohol: 20% RS: 9%
Deep purple color. Aromas and flavors of conditioned wood and leather, nut oil, carob halva cookie, and dried papaya and agave with a satiny, vibrant, sweet medium-to-full body and a warming, interesting, medium-length finish that exhibits nuances of sandalwood incense, dried cherries and goji berries, ginger snaps, and figs with well-integrated, dusty tannins and light oak flavor. An intriguing fortified wine with interesting wood character; try in cocktails.

Tasting Info

Wine Glass Style: Fruity, Juicy & Smooth, New World & Rich & Full
Aroma Aroma: conditioned wood and leather, nut oil, carob halva cookie, and dried papaya and agave
Taste Flavor: Same as aromas with nuances of sandalwood incense, dried cherries and goji berries, ginger snaps, and figs
Sweetness Sweetness: Sweet
Enjoy Enjoy: Now
Recipes Pairing: Blue Cheese, Gorgonzola, Roquefort
Bottom Line Bottom Line: An intriguing fortified wine with interesting wood character; try in cocktails.

The Producer

White Pine Winery Tasting Room

The Producer
26701 80th Ave
www.whitepinewinery.com
Saint Joseph, MI 49085-1247
USA
1 269-998-7967

Their Portfolio

BR White Pine 2020 Reserve, Chardonnay, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $28.00. - Bronze Medal
85 White Pine 2021 Lady Slipper Rose, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $16.00.
86 White Pine 2020 Semi-Dry Reserve, Riesling, Lake Michigan Shore 10% (USA) $19.00.
88 White Pine 2020 Sophie’s Vineyard Reserve, Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $38.00.
94 White Pine 2020 Reserve, Teroldego, Michigan 14% (USA) $34.00.
87 White Pine 2019 Reserve, Merlot, Washington 14% (USA) $32.00.
BR White Pine 2021 Pinot Grigio, Michigan 12.5% (USA) $18.00. - Bronze Medal
87 White Pine 2021 Reserve Semi-Dry , Riesling, Lake Michigan Shore 10% (USA) $19.00.
87 White Pine 2021 Reserve, Chardonnay, Michigan 12.5% (USA) $24.00.
86 White Pine 2020 Reserve, Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore 13% (USA) $32.00.
91 White Pine 2020 Reserve, Merlot, Lake Michigan Shore 13% (USA) $32.00.
87 White Pine 2021 Reserve Mirage Dessert Wine, Lake Michigan Shore 20% (USA) $19.00.
87 White Pine 2022 Lady Slipper Rosé, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $16.00.
88 White Pine 2021 Reserve, Teroldego, Michigan 14% (USA) $36.00.
87 White Pine 2021 Reserve, Pinot Noir, Lake Michigan Shore 13% (USA) $34.00.
85 White Pine 2022 White Muscat, Michigan 12% (USA) $18.00.
88 White Pine 2021 Sophie’s Vineyard Reserve, Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $34.00.
85 White Pine 2022 Pinot Grigio, Michigan 12.5% (USA) $18.00.
89 White Pine 2021 Reserve, Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore 13% (USA) $32.00.
88 White Pine 2021 Sophie’s Vineyard Reserve, Cabernet Franc, Lake Michigan Shore 12.5% (USA) $36.00.
87 White Pine 2021 Reserve, Chardonnay, Michigan 12.5% (USA) $28.00.
86 White Pine 2022 Pinot Grigio, Michigan 12.5% (USA) $18.00.
89 White Pine 2022 Reserve, Teroldego, Michigan 13% (USA) $38.00.
90 White Pine 2021 Mirage Reserve Sweet Red Dessert Wine, Lake Michigan Shore 20% (USA) $19.00.
85 White Pine 2022 Muscat Ottonel, Michigan 12% (USA) $18.00.

Fortified Wine

Wine Glass Dessert.jpg
Serve in a Copita
Fortified wines, those inevitable after-dinner elixirs, have been a part of the American wine industry since its inception. The early American taste for fortified wines was well documented, as the signing of the Declaration of Independence was toasted with a round of Madeira. It, along with port and sherry, was the preferred drink of the Eastern aristocracy well into our own century. That the native industry should strive to compete for this market was only natural.

As in much of the wine-producing New World, vintners took a run at sherry (and do to this day), but the results on the whole pale, often quite literally, when compared to the Spanish original. Port, however, has fared beter. While the climate and soil of Jerez has not been duplicated elsewhere, the broiling heat and winemaking practices of the Douro have proven much easier to replicate--perhaps nowhere more so than in California's Amador County and San Joaquin Valley.

Port-style wines are being made beyond California. As might be expected, a certain measure of heat helps; the most successful examples have come from warm states such as Missouri. As the saying goes, a little residual sugar can cover a multitude of sins, but the Missouri ports of producers such as Stone Hill and Mount Pleasant truly stand on their own, and have proven as consistently competent as many California versions.

Fortified refers to wines that have additional alcohol as the result of neutral spirits being added. The most common fortified wines are port and sherry, in which the alcoholic level is between 17% to 20%, higher than a standard table wine of about 13% -14.5%

Additional alcohol technically means these wines can age longer, but that period also depends on the type of wine produced, as some ports and sherries are rather light and need to be enjoyed within a few years of their release.

Given the higher percentage of alcohol, pairing these wines can be tricky, as they could overwhelm milder dishes. For port, rich cheeses, especially blue, are fine, as are walnuts. For a dry sherry, a tomato or cream soup would be an excellent match, while for a sweeter sherry, an almond tart or a simple pound cake with honey would be an excellent match. Otherwise, enjoy these wines on their own.