Candy in a glass?

May 10, 2007 5:41 PM

I have a bottle of too-sweet Gewurztraminer. What can I mix with it to make it palatable?

I'm looking for ideas for a white wine cocktail or white sangria with a sweet base. I hate to see this (admittedly cheap) bottle go to waste, but it hurts my teeth to drink it straight.

posted by libraryhead to Food & Drink (22 answers total)

I have a bottle of too-sweet Gewurztraminer

So do I. I'm going to have a party, and leave it in the bath with the beer, and hope it goes.

Wish me luck... I think the bottle appeared at the last party.
posted by pompomtom at 5:54 PM on May 10, 2007

Is it too sweet even to drink with dessert? Or waffles?
posted by dersins at 5:58 PM on May 10, 2007

Best answer: toss in some apples, peaches, plums, and grapes, and cut it with club soda to taste. maybe a splash of grenadine for color.

alternatively, infuse it with basil for a couple of days and then cut it with club soda to serve.

serving it really cold will help, too.
posted by thinkingwoman at 6:05 PM on May 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

give it to someone who likes sweet wine (eg my mother)

life is too short to drink crap wine
posted by unSane at 6:08 PM on May 10, 2007

I would chill it and use it in a spritzer, perhaps with some lemon zest.

Or perhaps use it to poach fruit for a dessert.
posted by gesamtkunstwerk at 6:12 PM on May 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Or perhaps use it to poach fruit for a dessert.

Mmmm...pears poached in Gewurtz might be really interesting.
posted by briank at 6:53 PM on May 10, 2007

Yeah, chill the hell out of it and sip it with waffles or some sweet fruit pie. ummm pie!
posted by pointilist at 7:31 PM on May 10, 2007

What if you mixed it with a really dry white like a Sauvignon Blanc? Bit of home blending? Maybe you'd end up with something more balanced. Or you could even try something closer to it like a Riesling. No need to necessarily go the punch route.
posted by Bravely Anonymous at 7:54 PM on May 10, 2007

I think you answered your own question--white sangria: cut up some fruit (citrus and apples, at least), put the pieces in a pitcher/carafe with the wine and maybe a half-shot of brandy or cognac, refrigerate overnight. No need for triple sec or OJ if the wine is really sweet to begin with. Add some seltzer or club soda to dilute it and give it bit of bubbliness. Serve over ice.
posted by staggernation at 8:15 PM on May 10, 2007

You could drink it with anything that goes with Sauterne or ice wine. The Sauternais drink Sauterne with duck à l'orange--you could try that.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 8:35 PM on May 10, 2007

WPLJ, maybe cut with some seltzer.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 8:46 PM on May 10, 2007

seltzer and a dash of orange bitters.

And a festive little umbrella.
posted by BitterOldPunk at 9:11 PM on May 10, 2007

Drink it on the rocks after allowing the ice to melt a bit? I particularly enjoy aperitifs and white wines this way though some consider it sacrilege.
posted by junesix at 10:00 PM on May 10, 2007

Cook with it or make a white wine sangria.
posted by magikker at 11:31 PM on May 10, 2007

If you eat spicy food, very sweet wines go well with super-mega-hot Thai or Chinese food. Bad sweet wines also become more drinkable if served very, very cold.
posted by Lame_username at 1:00 AM on May 11, 2007

Before you write this bottle off, is it a fine wine or trash? There are some good fine trockenbeerenauslese made in Germany and in Austria that are very sweet, but balanced with acid and floral or spicy overtones. These are quite expensive and sought after as dessert wines.

Then again you may just have a bottle of crap. If so I'd simply throw it out. Or maybe cook it down into a sweet sauce.
posted by Nelson at 1:22 AM on May 11, 2007

Best answer: Set it with jelly and fruit and serve with unsweetened cream for an adult jelly-cup that's quite refreshing. I assume you're in the Northern Hemisphere?

If not, heat it with cinnamon, lemon and orange zest and whatever spices you like and serve it as mulled wine.
posted by ninazer0 at 5:04 AM on May 11, 2007

Use it as the liquid for making some jello.
posted by vytae at 7:58 AM on May 11, 2007

I'm a home wine maker, and sometimes my experiments don't come out quite right. When I have something too sweet, I blend it with something dry. I'd suggest a light, dry Verdicchio or Vinho Verde.
posted by MrMoonPie at 8:04 AM on May 11, 2007

Sweet Gewürztraminer usually goes very well with Alsacian Munster cheese, but an old brie can also do. Let the wine be cold and the cheese not-so-cold, so that it tastes like cheese, not like plastic ;-)
posted by KimG at 8:59 AM on May 11, 2007

Response by poster: I ended up trying the basil infusion -- nice! Unusual and good as an aperitif. Poaching pears or making a jelly cup sounded very interesting, too. I'll have to try that should the situation arise again. It had never occurred to me to drink wine with waffles!
posted by libraryhead at 6:50 PM on May 12, 2007

It had never occurred to me to drink wine with waffles!

Breakfast for dinner is the new... umm... dinner.

Seriously, though. Waffles and praline bacon with butter and maple syrup are not only delicious any time of day or night, but go very well with a sweet Riesling or Gewurtztraminer.

Or, for that matter, with Tokay, Sauternes or even ice wine.
posted by dersins at 3:06 PM on May 13, 2007