what kind of wine is a good substitue for sauterne?

Question

My recipe for wassail calls for sauterne. What kind of wine would be a good substitute

Answer 1

Sauternes is a rather opulent, sweet wine. It is also expensive. You may want to drink the Sauternes with your finished dish rather than waste it in the recipe!

Sauternes is a dessert wine from the southern part of Bordeaux. It is made from a very late harvested Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon grapes.

So, as a much cheaper but almost as sweet substitute, you could use a late harvest Sauvignon Blanc from Chile, very affordable at $10-15 per half bottle, or a late harvest Semillon from Australia for roughly the same price.

Errazuriz and Carmen are two wineries from Chile which produce a very inexpensive late harvest Sauvignon Blanc. Cookoothama from Australia produces a very nice late harvest Semillon.

Answer 2

I'd think a Riesling or Eis Wein would be a fine substitute. Sauternes are traditionally a very sweet dessert wine made in a similar way as the German Eis Wein. Riesling is slightly less sweet but has a lovely finish. It's also a lot cheaper than both the Sauternes or the Eis Wein.