Australian "sticky"?

[Chezkaren]

I was at the bookstore a couple of weeks ago and picked up a copy of delicious -- very nice magazine by the way. Anyway, amongst the numerous questions that arose in the course of my reading, the one that stuck in my brain was this from an article on matching food with wine:

"A sweet, rich creme brulee, however, is perfect with an Australian "sticky".

Can someone please explain what exactly an Australian "sticky" is? I'm perplexed!

Thanks.

Karen

[Gifted Gourmet]

Australian sticky toffee pudding

[curlywurlyfi]

Sweet pudding wine, eg Muscat. In the UK can mean, more generically, any liqueurs served after dinner eg 'would you like any stickies with your coffee' - cue host breaking out the Baileys, brandy, Drambuie, etc.

[Busboy]

"Sticky" is the great Aussie term for a sweet, dessert wine. Sauterne, Muscat de Beumes do Venise or the many "late harvest" "botrytized" or "ice" wines produced in Cali and Oz (and elsewhere).

[Chezkaren]

Thank you...I'll now be able to sleep tonight.

[Chezkaren]

Oh...if I had only read the magazine in it's entirety, the answer would have magically appeared! I just got to "Light my Fire" -- a "drinks" article -- and right before my eyes...."stickies". Live and learn.

[SBonner]

If you can find an Australian Tokay Muscat you'll be in heaven with your dessert.

Cheers,

Stephen

Vancouver

[loiosh]

Probably one of the best known of these is De Bortoli "Noble One". A quick Google search shows at least some availability of it in the US, so if you'd like to give it a try, have a look at one of your larger local wine merchants.

Personally I don't drink a lot of 'stickies' with sweet desserts; I prefer them with cheeses. Your tastes may vary.

Sticky date pudding, of course, is another subject entirely.

[lamington]

It should be noted that in the Australian context, "sticky" isn't usually used to refer to [ed: just any] sweet wine/liqueur, but just to the types of wine mentioned by Busboy, SBonner and loiosh. I'm not sure that even port would fall under the "sticky" label in current usage... others would need to comment on that.

EDITED for less ambiguity -- I meant it doesn't refer to sweet wines in general, but rather to a very specific set

Edited September 16, 2005 by lamington (log)

[carswell]

It should be noted that in the Australian context, "sticky" isn't usually used to refer to any sweet wine/liqueur, but just to the types of wine mentioned by Busboy, SBonner and loiosh. I'm not sure that even port would fall under the "sticky" label in current usage... others would need to comment on that.

←

Can't speak from an Australian standpoint but the term has been adopted by many winegeeks, especially those who participate in Web-based fora. In that context, I've seen it used only as a synonym for sweet white wine.

[PCL]

the whole sticky/stickies business started in the UK according to my sources...

that's what they (Brits) call dessert wines and I think it's been adopted over here too... backpacker syndrome i'd say

[Chezkaren]

Going shopping this weekend at a shop that has a large selection of wines. My first stop will be the Australian section! Thanks for the recommendation(s)...got the list in my purse.

Karen