The languid allure of the tropics finds some of its most sensuous expression in the fruits of its forests. Equatorial flavors have a sunny perfection about them, an impossibly pleasurable ripeness, that can evoke anyone’s idea of paradise. Pineapple, papaya, jackfruit, and guava. Banana, mango, passionfruit, and cherimoya. You don’t have to go far to find such flavors in wine, which are no less pleasurable and evocative in the glass than they are on a plate, or better yet, dripping down your chin on a sunny day. Sometimes paradise is only a sip away.

Johanneshof Reinisch Rotgipfler, Thermenregion, Austria
Monastero Suore Cistercensi “Coenobium Rusticum” White Blend , Lazio, Latium, Italy
Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay, Margaret River, Australia
Calera Viognier, Mount Harlan, California, USA
Chateau Lafaurie-Peyrauguey Sauternes, Bordeaux, France
E. Guigal Condrieu, Rhone Valley, France

This is part of an ongoing series of original images and prose called The Essence of Wine