Sweet Beet Wine Is A Little-Known Dessert Staple You Need To Try
Beets are starchy root vegetables commonly steamed, boiled, or roasted for savory recipes. They are rarely found on dessert tables but maybe they should be. If you're skeptical, you may be one of the many people who find it hard to love this healthy vegetable. Beets can be polarizing due to their earthy flavor. However, there is one preparation that completely changes the flavor and experience: beetroot wine.
While you may have heard of fruit and vegetable wines other than grape wines, you probably haven't tried many unless you've visited specific wineries. Brown County Wine in Indiana makes wine from various fruits including strawberries, apples, and plums. Vegetable wines are even harder to find, though you can order tomato wine from a company called Omerto in Canada. Beets, like tomatoes, contain a lot of sugar, making them perfect for feeding the yeast that produces alcohol. The best part is you can make this wine at home with a few simple ingredients and some tools that are easily sourced online.
How to pair beet wine with dessert
Beet wine doesn't taste like the earthy fresh or pickled beets you find in stores or farmers' markets. The flavor is sweet and earthy — Rural Sprout states it's comparable to Bordeaux or even a pinot noir. However, beet wine isn't like a traditional sweet wine and the flavor profile is much more on the drier side. The finished wine is remarkably clear — like a bottled red wine.
Beet wine is perfect for a dessert table because it has just a touch of sweetness. When deciding what to pair it with, be sure to taste your wine and make note of the sweetness level. One of the rules that Brian Duncan, founder of Down to Earth Wine Concepts LLC, cites in Wine Enthusiast is that it is important for the wine to be sweeter than the dessert. Look for desserts that work well with pinot noir and merlot — the predominant grape in most Bordeaux blends. Try homemade chocolate mousse with whipped cream, though any chocolate dessert would likely be a good match.
Beet wine offers an added level of excitement for your guests because it likely isn't found at your local wine shop. You will have to roll up your sleeves and make it from scratch.
How to make beet wine
Beet wine is surprisingly easy to make. Even beginners can put on their science hats and whip up a batch of sweet beet wine with relative ease. There are numerous recipes available and YouTube tutorials to guide you. While you can use a pot and any bottles you have lying around, brew kits are relatively cheap and widely available online.
The process is simple: peel and cut your beets, then boil them in water for 30 minutes to an hour. You can add spices or other fruits and vegetables to flavor the mixture. For warmth, consider grated ginger and a cinnamon stick, but sweet fruits like strawberries or sugary vegetables like carrots would work well too. Remove from the heat, and once the mixture has cooled to just warm, add your yeast and sugar (avoid adding yeast to hot water as it will kill it). Then, keep the mixture in a dark, cool space, ideally at wine cellar temperature, for about 20-30 days. After that, strain the mixture and bottle it. Like all good wine, it will improve with age.