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Fortified Wines are wines that have had a spirt added before fermentaion completed. The spirit is usually brandy. Adding the spirit kills the yeast and leaves sugars behind making the wine stronger and sweet. Fortified wines are normally 20% alcohol and are lovely and sweet.
Fortified wines include port, madeira, sherry, marsala and vermouth
The differences between port and sherry :
Port is made in Portugal
Sherry is made in Spain
Port is mainly made from red grapes
Sherry is mainly made from white grapes
When Port is made brandy is added during fermentation whilst with Sherry brandy is added after fermentaion is complete
This means that Port is sweet and Sherry is drier
is a fortified wine made in the Madeira islands.The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif to sweet wines.
Madeira is noted for its unique winemaking process which involves heating the wine up to temperatures as high as 60C 40°F for an extended period of time and deliberately exposing the wine to some levels of oxidation. Due to this unique process which is supposed to duplicate the effect of a long sea voyage of the aging barrels through tropical climates madeira is a very robust wine that can be quite long lived even after being opened.
There are four major types of Madeira, named according to the grape variety used. Ranging from the sweetest to the driest style they are:
Malvasia - also known as Malmsey or Malvazia - Dark & rich, coffee-caramel flavours, high acidity with high sugar levels makes the wine sweet but not sickly sweet.
Bual or Boal - a variety of grape used for med-rich wine - dark color, medium rich texture with raisin flavors.- med sweet wine
Verdelho - smokey notes and high acidity - med dry wine
Sercial - high-toned colors, almond flavors and high acidity - very dry wine
Occasionally one sees Terrantez, Bastardo & Moscatel
Reserve - 5 years or older
Special Reserve - 10 years or older
Extra Reserve - 15 years or older
Verdelho is often called 'rainwater' The name is said to come from the days when barrels left outside for shipment absorbed rain through the wood and became slightly diluted.
Serve cool like Port. Goes great with cheese, dry ones as an aperitif, the sweet ones after dinner. Serve in a thin port like glass.
Dating back to 1820 port comes from the Douro valley of Portugal where the wines are blended and aged. The rich fortified wine is obtained by adding 20% brandy to arrest fermentation and to maintan 10% of the residual sugar.
All port apart from vintage are matured in oak casks. Once bottled they are ready for drinking & do not need decanting. Tawnies are lighter in taste and colour than ruby but they are all blended with several wines.
Ruby Port - is a basic red port and sweeter than Tawny
Tawny Porto - This wine is less sweet and lighter than ruby or vintage ports. It is blended from wines of different years, usually no more than three years old. The lighter tawnies have been blended with white port.
Ageed Tawny - This famous Port pales to an amber color as it ages. Its aroma and flavor characteristics are the craft of a master blenders. Aged Tawny may be labeled as 10, 20, or 30 years old, referring to the average age of its blend of old and young wines.
Vintage Porto - is characterized by its intense red color, full body, and complexity of flavor. In years of outstanding harvest quality, the producer must declare their best wine as "vintage", and submit a sample bottle to be approved by the Porto Wine Institute after January of the second year from the harvest. The norm is to leave the wine in the cask for 2 to 3 years, and then age it in bottles for many years, where the best ones continue to improve indefinitely.
Late Bottled Vintage - is less rich and concentrated than Vintage Porto, and throws little sediment in the bottle. Its quality must also be approved by the institute. Then it is left in the cask for four to six years, filtered, and bottled as a ready to drink wine.
White port is less common and wonderful drunk slightly chilled
Store and Serve Vintage Porto
The bottles should be stored on their side to prevent the cork from drying out. They should be kept under fairly constant temperature between 55 and 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and humidity not dropping below 50%.
Vintage Porto must always be decanted before drinking, due to its large amount of sediment.
Drinking
The rich, full-bodied types of Porto are usually drunk after a meal
The lighter Tawny and White varieties are highly appreciated as an apéritif before a meal.
Nuts and cheeses and cakes go well with Port
According to Jose Maria da Fonesca Winery if you buy a bottle of a vintage Port, you have to drink it within 24/48hours. This isbecause a Vintage Port is only left in casks for 2 years, and then it i'll improve in bottle for many many years, but a soon as you open the bottle, the oxidation will immediatly start.
As for a Moscatel, on the other hand, once you open the bottle it will last for at least 6 months & this is because Moscatel only improves in wood, Fonesca Winery leave it in wood for a minimum of 2 years, and can stay for 100 years in wood, always improving, becoming sweeter and syrupee...!
Choosing the right sherry can be daunting, there are many types to choose from and they do all taste different so here is a little guide to help you make your choice with as little stress as possible.
SHERRY- 'Jerez' in spainish is made from the grapes grown around the town Jerez. Sherry is fortified with brandy after fermentation unlike port which is fortified half way through the process which stops the sugar turning into alcohol.
Fino - ('fine' in spanish) - This is the driest and palest of the sherries. The wine is aged in barrels under a cap of flor yeast to prevent contact with air.
Manzanilla is an especially light variety of fino sherry made around the port of Sanlucar de Barrameda
Amontillado is a sherry that is aged under flor and then exposed to oxygen, producing a sherry that is darker than a fino but lighter than an oloroso. It is naturally dry and are sometimes sold lightly sweetened
Oloroso ('scented' in spanish) is a variety of sherry aged in oxidatively for a longer time than a fino or amontillado, producint a darker and richer wine. alcohol levels are between 18 - 20%. Olorosos are the most alcoholic sherries. Naturally dry and often sold in sweetened varieties.Oloroso sherry is made from Palomino grapes
Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry and is initially aged like an amontillado but then develops a character similar to an oloroso.
Sweet Sherries (J'erez Dulce' in Spanish) are made either by fermenting dried Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel grapes, and produces an intensly sweet dark brown or black wine, or by blending sweeter wines or grape must with a drier variety.
Cream Sherry is a common type of sweet sherry made by blending different wines.
Sherry is usually drunk as an aperiti
Marsala
Marsala wine is named for the town of Marsala, on the western tip of Sicily. It can be either dry or sweet, and is better used for cooking than drinking. Some have added egg to the wine making it richer and is usually used for cooking.
Other fortified wines are Vermouth which include Martini Rossi, Noilly Prat. These have been infused with aromatics and herbs and often appear in cocktails. Noilly prat is also used in cooking. A great addition to rissotto.
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