Winelingo
Unit 9 of 27 · Online wine course
After Dinner: Dessert Wine, Port, Brandy and Coffee
Dessert wine, Port, brandy and coffee. 9 lessons · about 70 min
This unit is included with Premium ($3.99 a month, 3 days free) or the course for life ($39.99 once).
Photo: franzconde · CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The 9 lessons
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Fortified wines: Port, sherry and Madeira
What fortified means, how to tell the Port and sherry styles apart, a word on Madeira, and how to serve, pair and keep each one.
You will be able to:
- explain what makes a wine fortified
- tell the main Port and sherry styles apart
- serve, pair and store each fortified style
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The Port ladder: from Ruby to Vintage
Ruby, LBV, aged Tawny, Colheita and Vintage Port as one ladder: what each tastes like, how long it keeps open and how to offer one rung up.
You will be able to:
- explain the Port ladder from Ruby to Vintage
- tell a filtered LBV from one that needs decanting
- suggest one rung up by the glass without pushing
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Dessert and sweet wines: how to pair them
Pick a wine at least as sweet as your dessert, match light with light and rich with rich, and let fresh acidity keep it lively.
You will be able to:
- choose a wine at least as sweet as dessert
- match classic desserts with the right sweet wine
- explain why acidity keeps sweet wines fresh
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Brandy and digestifs: Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados and more
For new staff: what is on the after-dinner shelf, what VS, VSOP and XO promise, and one clear sentence for each brandy a guest asks about.
You will be able to:
- explain what VS, VSOP and XO promise on Cognac
- tell Cognac, Armagnac, Calvados, grappa and Brandy de Jerez apart
- answer a guest's quick question about whisky, rum or liqueurs
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Whisky, rum and liqueurs: enough to answer a guest
For new staff: one clear sentence for each whisky, rum, liqueur and herbal bitter a guest asks about after dinner, and how guests take their whisky.
You will be able to:
- explain single malt, blended Scotch, bourbon and rye simply
- serve whisky neat, with water or on the rocks
- describe rum, classic liqueurs and herbal bitters in one sentence
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Coffee and after-dinner drinks: what goes with what
Why sweet glasses and roasted coffee suit each other, what to pour beside an espresso, a cappuccino or the chocolates, and the pairs that clash.
You will be able to:
- explain why sweet drinks and roasted coffee suit each other
- suggest a glass for espresso, cappuccino or latte
- spot the after-dinner pairs that clash
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Serving after-dinner drinks: Port, sherry and brandy
For new staff: the right glass, temperature and measure for Port, sherry, dessert wine and brandy, how long open bottles keep, and what comes with the coffee.
You will be able to:
- choose the right glass for Port, sherry and brandy
- serve after-dinner drinks at the right temperature and measure
- judge how long an open bottle behind the bar keeps
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Selling after dinner: dessert wine, coffee and a digestif
The two moments to offer, a choice of two that sells without pushing, the right drink for each guest, and how to make yes, and no, easy.
You will be able to:
- spot the two moments to offer an after-dinner drink
- offer a choice of two that sells without pushing
- match dessert wine, Port or brandy to the guest
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The after-dinner list: read it, price it, recommend from it
How a dessert and digestif list is built, what each line and number means, how many pours a bottle gives, and how to suggest three drinks at three prices.
You will be able to:
- read any line on an after-dinner list
- work out how many pours a bottle gives
- recommend three after-dinner drinks at three prices
Related reading on Winelingo: Port · Types of Port Wine · After-dinner drinks