1. Key choices affecting Style, Quality & Price

Question 1

What are the 3 key viticultural factors that affect style, quality & price of fortified wines?

Answer 1

1. Grape variety
2. Time of harvest
3. Vineyard site

Question 2

What are the 6 key winemaking choices that effect style, quality & price of fortified wines?

Answer 2

1. Skin contact & extraction
2. Timing of fortification
3. Fortifying spirit
4. Maturation
5. Blending
6. Finishing

Question 3

What are the alcohol ranges for low, medium and high alcohol for assessing fortified wines?

Answer 3

Low - 15% - 16.4%
Med - 16.5% - 18.4%
High - 18.5% +

Question 4

Which style of fortified wine has the most obvious varietal character?

Answer 4

Vin Doux Naturel made from Muscat

Question 5

Which variety is an example of a neutral grape variety that produces fortified wines with dominant flavours from winemaking?

Answer 5

Palamino to make Sherry

Question 6

Madeira is usually what level is acidity?

Why?

Answer 6

Med-High.

High natural acid in Madeira varieties like Sercial and Verdhelo

Question 7

Sherry is usually what level of acidity?

Why?

Answer 7

Low-Med.

Palomino is naturally low acidity

Question 8

Why is colour extraction important for vintage port?

Answer 8

They are expected to retain colour over many years of bottle ageing.

Question 9

Which Port varieties are good at imparting colour?

Answer 9

Touriga Nacional and Sousao

Question 10

For which styles of fortified wines are tannins desirable?

Answer 10

Long aged wines such as vintage port

Question 11

What is the advantage of harvesting Palomino grapes as soon as minimum potential alcohol levels have been reached?

Answer 11

To pick while the grapes are healthy, before autumn weather increases risk of botrytis - which must be avoided for sherry.

Question 12

Which grape varieties/fortified styles are harvested with shrivelled grapes?

Answer 12

1. Pedro Ximenez
2. Sherry made from Moscatel
3. Rutherglen Muscat

Question 13

In red fortified, why does extraction usually need to be vigorous?

Answer 13

Because fortification happens before the end of fermentation for many of these styles, meaning there is often only 2-3 days for maceration.

Question 14

Why is skin contact undesirable for biologically aged sherries?

Answer 14

Phenolic compounds can inhibit the growth of flor.

Question 15

What is the most common calculation made for determining timing of fortification?

Answer 15

The desired level of residual sugar in the final wine.

The greater the amount of sugar, the earlier the fortification.

Question 16

What styles of sweet foritified wines are made by adding a sweetening component to a dry fermented and then fortified wine?

Answer 16

Pale cream, medium and cream sherries.

Question 17

What are two advantages of using a high alcohol (90-90%ABV) grape spirit for fortification?

Answer 17

1. Neutral, so don’t mask flavours of the wine

2. Less is needed, so there’s less dilution of flavour

Question 18

What is the alcohol level of the fortifying spirit for Port?

Answer 18

77% abv (+/-0.5%)

Question 19

What are the implications of using a spirit fortified to a lower level for Port?

Answer 19

1. The spirit has a higher impact on the flavour of the wine.
2. It can add more complexity.
3. You have to use a higher amount.

Question 20

What three factors will effect the rate of oxygenation for oxidatively aged fortified wines?

Answer 20

1. Vessel - usually small and wooden
2. Evaporation - ullage management in each vessel
3. Temperature - warmer temperatures speed up process

Question 21

What is generally being described by the term “maderisation”?

Answer 21

Wine that has been heated AND oxidised

Question 22

What is generally being described by the term “racio”?

Answer 22

Oxidative ageing in wood leading to flavours/aromas of leather, coffee and wood varnish.

Question 23

What are the six reasons for blending?

Answer 23

1. Balance
2. Consistency
3. Style
4. Complexity
5. Volume
6. Price

Question 24

What are two important factors that need to be balanced in a fortified wine?

Answer 24

1. Alcohol needs to be integrated.

2. Freshness versus developed flavours.

Question 25

What is the practice of maturing wine from each vintage separately?

Answer 25

Static maturation.

Question 26

What are three points of interaction of blending with style?

Answer 26

1. Creating a house style
2. Creating a style that with suit the desired ageing
3. Blending to a style of desired sweetness.

Question 27

How is blending important in relation to volume? (2)

Answer 27

Vineyard holdings are small in most fortified production regions.
Maturation is generally in small vessels.

Question 28

What does ‘en rama’ refer to?

Answer 28

Fino and Manzanilla that has not been fined or filtered, or possibly only very lightly.

Question 29

What styles of fortified wines would most likely not be filtered before bottling?

Answer 29

Ports designed for some degree of bottle ageing - vintage, single quinta, crusted and some LBVs