Fortified Wines - Strong and Powerful
Fortified Wines - Strong and Powerful
Fortified wines are wines whose alcohol content has been increased by adding brandy or neutral spirits. They usually range from 17 to 21 percent alcohol by volume. Ports, sherries, Marsalas, and Madeiras are all fortified wines. In the United States, fortified wines are usually considered an acquired taste. Dessert wines are almost always fortified wines. Most, but not all dessert wines, are sweet. They are best suited for dirnking alone or after a meal. The terms fortified wines and dessert wines are used interchangeably.
These wines are sometimes described as “liquid sunshine”, as the grapes are generally left on the vine much longer than usual. This allows the berries to store more natural sugar while drying out slightly in the warmth of Australia’s autumn days.
Wine fortification, which generally involves the addition of a small amount of brandy spirit to the partly fermented red wine, ensures that colours and flavours are retained, regardless of the wines’ storage or treatment.
After fortification, the wine is generally left to mature in small oak barrels, sometimes for decades, maturing into complex, aromatic wines, with immense depth and concentration of flavour.
Pocket Idiot's Guide to Choosing Wine: By Philip Seldon
by Philip Seldon
Wine Specials
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