1 Key Choices Affecting Style, Quality and Price

Question 1

How may the choice of grape variety influence the style of fortified wine produced?

Answer 1

Aromas - grape may either provide primary characters or act as neutral base wine e.g. Muscat for VDNs vs. Palomino for sherries

Acidity e.g. Sercial and Verdelho gives Madeira high acidity, Palomino gives sherry low acidity

Colour - Vintage Ports made from grapes that give deep colour to help wine maintain colour during long maturation process e.g. Touriga Nacional and Sousao

Tannin - high levels undesirable in early-drinking styles of fortified red but can help with colour stability and ageability in long-aged wines + will soften with age helping structure and balance

Question 2

How does the vineyard site impact the style of fortified wine produced?

Answer 2

Impacts acidity, sugar levels, tannin levels and ripeness, and colour of grapes

Question 3

Which factors are most important in determining the harvest date?

Answer 3

• Harvest before rain as botrytis is never desirable
• Harvest once sugar has reached minimum potential alcohol required
• Some grapes left on vine longer to concentrate sugars e.g. PX, Moscatel sherry

Question 4

How does skin-contact and extraction impact the style of fortified wine produced?

Answer 4

Sweet reds - specialist equipment to maximise extraction of colour quickly before fortification
Whites - some producers allow limited maceration to increase body, texture and flavour
Biologically aged sherry - avoided as phenolic compounds inhibit flor growth

Question 5

How does the timing of fortification impact the style of fortified wine produced?

Answer 5

Sweetness - fortification sooner results in more RS
N.B. - some styles are fermented to dryness and have sweetening component added e.g. Cream Sherry which is Oloroso blended with PX

Question 6

How does the fortification spirit impact the style of fortified wine produced?

Answer 6

Usually 95-96% ABV grape spirit - neutral so do not mask characteristics of wine, high ABV reduces amount needed

Port - grape spirit 77% which has more character, more needs to be added so greater impact on wine
- Subtler style of spirits used for rose port

Strength impacts final ABV

Question 7

How does the maturation process impact the style of fortified wine produced? (5)

Answer 7

Early release - stored in stainless steel or concrete, youth full primary fruit flavour e.g. VDN, Ruby/Rose Port

Short ageing - large oak vessels for few years, designed to age further in bottle, concentrated tannins when young, dried fruit and integrated tannins when aged e.g. Vintage and LBV Port

Oxidatively aged - small wooden vessels with fast evaporation and ullage, develops nuts, caramel, dried fruit aromas e.g. Tawny Port, Madeiras, some VDN, some sherry

Heated - Warm / heated conditions speeds evaporation, oxidative and maturation process e.g. Madiera, Tawny Ports

Biological - aged under veil of flor which protects from oxidation, lowers glycerol (body), gives aromas of hay, apple skin, dough, nuts e.g. Fino and Manzanilla

Question 8

What does the term Rancio mean?

Answer 8

Term describes flavours of leather, wood varnish, coffee found in some fortified wines thought to be extracted from wood over time

Question 9

What are the aims of blending (6)

Answer 9

Balance

• Blending young and older wine helps balance developed flavours with freshness e.g. Sherry, Rutherglen Muscat
• Helps balance the high levels of alcohol

Consistency
- Consistent style year on year often via fractional blending e.g. solera systems

Style

• Port: Blend of grapes determines level of colour, flavour and tannin –> ability to age
• Sweetened sherries: Blending in sweet wine or RCGM changes style completely
• Brands use blending to create a house style

Complexity
- Wines of different ages or with different maturations

Volume

• Vineyard holdings small, grapes blended from different growers
• Maturation in small vessels often entails blending prior to bottling

Price
- Add a small amount of older wine to improve complexity of a young, simple wine to achieve a higher price

Question 10

How does finishing differ for different styles of fortified wine?

Answer 10

1. Most are stabilised, fine and filtered - clear appearance for consumers
2. Port e.g. Crusted, Vintage, Single Quinta not filtered - allows continued development in bottle, significant sediment when opened
3. En Rama Sherry - lightly fined/filtered or not at all to give more complex, pronounced flavour