25. Fortified Wines Flashcards
What is a fortified wine?
A wine that has had additional alcohol added to it
What are the two main types of fortified wine?
Port
Sherry
When is fortification done and what kind of wine does this produce?
- During fermentation to stop the fermentation - makes sweet fortified wines
- After fermentation - makes dry fortified wines
Where is Sherry made?
Jerez de la Frontera, Spain
What grape is the starting base wine for most sherries?
Palomino
What wine is made from Palomino grapes?
Sherry
What is a solera system?
A system of old oak casks containing fortified wines of different ages. Wines are blended as they age producing a consistent, complex wine
What are the three key styles of dry sherry?
Fino
Oloroso
Amontillado
What is flor and what does it to do to wines?
A layer of yeast that forms in sherry barrels during ageing.
Flor protects the wine from oxygen
Flor produces flavours including bread dough and biscuit
What flavours develop from wines being in contact with flor?
Bread dough
Biscuit
How is a Fino sherry made?
Dry white wine made from Palomino grapes fortified to 15%
Aged under flor in solera systems (biological ageing)
What % is Fino sherry fortified to?
15% ABV
What colour is Fino Sherry?
Pale lemon
What flavours are common in a Fino sherry?
Apple
Almonds
Biscuit/bread dough (from flor)
Are Fino sherries aged?
Consumed young, lose freshness rapidly
How should Fino sherry be served?
Chilled
How is Oloroso sherry made?
Dry white wine made from Palomino grapes fortified to 17%
Aged without flor (alcohol levels are too high) in solera systems (oxidative ageing)
Why is flor not present in Oloroso sherry?
Alcohol % is too high (17%) therefore the flor cannot survive
What colour is Oloroso sherry?
Brown
What flavours are common in Oloroso sherry?
Dried fruits - raisins, prunes
Walnuts
Caramel
How is Amontillado sherry made?
A mix of Fino and Oloroso methods.
Aged under flor for a period then refortified to 17% to kill the flor and enable the wine to age oxidatively.
What flavours does an Amontillado sherry have?
Mix of flor (biscuit/bread dough) and oxidative (walnuts/caramel) flavours
What colours is an Amontillado sherry?
Amber
What type is wine is made by:
Dry white wine made from Palomino grapes fortified to 17%
Aged without flor (alcohol levels are too high) in solera systems (oxidative ageing)?
Oloroso Sherry
What type of wine is made by:
Dry white wine made from Palomino grapes fortified to 15%
Aged under flor in solera systems (biological ageing)?
Fino Sherry
What are the two ways of making sweet sherries?
Sweetened with grape must (or a sweet sherry for Cream sherries)
Or made from dried Pedro Ximenez (PX) grapes
What is the term for a sweetened Fino sherry?
Pale Cream Sherry
What is a Pale Cream Sherry?
A sweetened Fino sherry
What is the term for a sweetened Amontillado sherry?
Medium sherry
What is a Medium Sherry?
A sweetened Amontillado Sherry
What is the term for a sweetened Oloroso sherry?
Cream Sherry
What is a Cream Sherry?
A sweetened Oloroso Sherry (made by adding grape must or PX sherry)
What is PX sherry?
Sherry made from Pedro Ximenez grapes that have been sun dried
How is a PX sherry made?
PX wine fortified and aged oxidatively in the solera
What colour is a PX sherry?
Dark, almost black
What flavours are common in a PX sherry?
Dried fruit - raisin, fig, prune
What wine is commonly made in Jerez?
Sherry
What wine is commonly made in the Douro?
Port
Where is Port made?
Douro, Portugal
How are Ports made?
Harvest grapes and rapidly extract colour and tannin by foot treading/machines
Fermentation interrupted by adding grape spirit which kills the yeast
Wine matured
What level of sugar is common in Port?
High - sweet wines
What level of alcohol is common in Port?
High alcohol
What are two different types of Port?
Ruby
Tawny
What is the key difference between Ruby and Tawny port?
How the wine is aged
Ruby - aged in large oak casks, cooked black fruit flavours
Tawny - aged in small barrels - oxidative ageing, oxidative flavours (walnut, coffee, caramel)
What flavours are common in Ruby ports?
Cooked black fruits - black cherry, blackberry
Black pepper
What are the three types of Ruby Port?
Ruby Port
Reserve Ruby Port
Late Bottled Vintage Port
What is the difference between a Ruby Port and a Reserve Ruby Port?
Ruby is sweet and simple
Reserve has greater flavour intensity and softer tannins
What is typically on a Tawny Port label?
Age indication, e.g. 10 years, 20 years
What colour is a Tawny Port?
Tawny
How is Tawny Port aged?
In small barrels to allow for oxidative ageing
What are the common flavours in a Tawny port?
Walnut
Coffee
Caramel
What is a Vintage Port?
Port made from one harvest year, only when Port produces declare a Vintage
What colour is a Vintage Port?
Garnet
What flavours develop in a Vintage Port?
Dried Fruit
Leather
Coffee
What are the characteristics in a Vintage Port?
High tannins
Concentrated flavours
Garnet colour
Tertiary aromas - dried fruit, leather, coffee
How should a Vintage Port be served?
Chilled
Decanted - thick sediment will form
What wine has the following characteristics: Pronounced intensity Flavours of raisin, walnut, coffee, nuts Sweet Tawny colour?
Tawny Port
