vendage

For this reason, all Beyer wines are fermented entirely through to dryness (except, of course, Vendage Tardive and Selection de Grains Noble).

The great Sauternes of Bordeaux, Vendage Tardive from Alsace and Auslese wines of Germany all work on grapes that have noble rot or botrytis cinerea, that attaches the grapes late in the harvest.

* Vendage Tardive: The French term for these wines means "late picked." Left on the vine to develop additional sugars, these grapes result in delicious wines, usually off-dry in style.

Although about 50 vineyards may claim Grand Cru status, the only other idiosyncrasies to look out for on labels are "Vendage Tardive or Selection des Grands Nobles" indicating that the grapes are late picked (Tardive), or contain noble rot (Grands Nobles), which does not always guarantee a sweet wine.

A Quebec winery, Dietrich-Jooss received "Best Dessert Wine" for their 2000 Vendage de Glace Ice Vintage Selection Imperiale.

Even the waitstaff was raving about the 1995 pinot noir that accompanied the duck course and is priced at around $15 a bottle; pricier but sublime was Trimbach's spicy, seductive 1996 gewurztraminer, "Vendage Tardive," which the vintner said would retail around $75.)

Vendage coordinated with Melli-Mello, and Picholene and Fougasse complemented each other with sculpted styles.

In Germany and Alsace the Spatlese, Auslese, and Vendage Tardive wines demonstrate the true chameleon character of the great Riesling grape.

Well-managed properties could consider this loss a kind of natural "vendage en vert", but a few others whose eye was off the ball lost a lot.

You can sample a Mosel riesling to accompany a salad of smoked eel with crab apples; a New Zealand pinot gris is served with Welsh farmhouse cheeses; and with the dessert of pannacotta with poached figs and lavender honey comes a gewurztraminer Vendage Tardive from Riefle.

Using mostly local grapes, Turner Road Vintners produces wines for several of the company's labels, including Vendage, Talus and Nathanson Creek.

They stuck sensual nerves all over the place, from their spice-driven fruit to their supple, succulent textures (particularly the Vendage Tardive, look out for that one, she's dangerous).