Class 4b: Fortified Wines Flashcards
Why were fortified wines invented?
Only way to stabilize and preserve wines for long journeys or long periods of storage
Where are fortified wines made?
Across the world
All climate types
What styles of fortified wine are there?
Range of:
* Styles
* Sweetness levels
* Red and white
How are fortified wines fortified?
What is the abv of a fortified wine?
Neutral spirit often made with grapes
Neutral
16-25% abv
How does the timing of fortification impact final sweetness levels?
Fermentation stops when a spirit is added (yeast dies at app 15% alcohol)
Timing fortification will determine the final sweetness level of the wine
* Stopping early = yeast doesn’t eat all sugar = sweet wine
* Stopping later =yeast eats all sugar = dry wine
What is “pre-fermentation” fortified wine?
Adding spirit to grape juice and ageing it
Subcategories of Fortied called Mistelles
1. Ratafia (Champage)
2. Pineau de Charentes (Cognac)
3. Macvin de Jura (Jura)
What is “mid-fermentation” fortified wine?
Adding spirit partway through fermentation
Large category
Timing determines sweetness
1. Port
2. Madeira
What is a “post-fermentation” fortified wine?
Fortifying a nearly finished wine
1. Sherry
Where is Port grown and aged?
Grown in the Duoro River Valley
* Hot, dry, steep
* Strict production controls over production and harvest
Aged in Oporto on the coast
How is Port traditionally fermented?
Wide open troughs
Foot treading
Fast and hot ferment: maximum extraction over 2-3 days before yeast can eat all the sugar
Name 3 types of cheap, cheerful, bulk port.
- Ruby
* Aged 2-3 years before bottling
* No vintage
* Fruit driven - Ruby Reserve
* Same as ruby but more complexity - Tawny
* Pale because less extraction or adding white port
* Not a true tawny
Name 3 types of mid-range, drink now port.
- Late Bottle Vintage
* Aged 4-6 years in barrel before bottling
* Single vintage quality but will not improve in quality - Tawny Reserve
* Aged at least 7 years before bottling
* Fresher character but some creamy nutty tones - Tawny with Age Statement
* Age is statement of style, not average age
* With age, becomes more rancio (sugar eaten)
Name 2 types of Special, Age-Worthy port
- Single Quinta
* Single vintage bottling from undeclared vintage
* Single estate
* Will improve in bottle; way less than a Vintage - Colheita Tawny
* Vintage tawny aged at least 7 years
* Many aged much longer
* Styles vary by producer
Where is Madeira?
Madeira is an island of the coast of Africa.
Describe Madeira’s terrain.
Steep mountains with varying levels of rainfall from higher elevation to lower.
What is the difference between bulk and higher quality Madeira?
Bulk materials - blends
Higher quality - single varieties
Each implies different levels of sweetness in the final wine.
Define the wines of Madeira.
Sweet/sour
Oxidative style called rancio
How did the Portuguese decide to send wine long distances to England?
Embrace the circumstances of making wine in a hot climate.
What are the 4 key styles of Madeira?
- Sercial (69 acres)
- Verdelho (186)
- Bual (133)
- Malmsey (267)
- Tinta Negramol (976)
Does an age indicator indicate an average age?
No. An age indicator is an indication of style.
Describe a Sercial madeira.
Peach
Smoky citrus
Walnut
Driest style
This Madeira wine is aged up to 10 years in seasoned oak casks, using the traditional ‘Canteiro’ system. Bright topaz colour with golden nuances. Fresh aromas with notes of dried fruit and wood are accompanied by fresh citrus fruit on the palate. Serve slightly chilled as an aperitif or enjoy with hard cheeses.
19% abv
53 g/l
$43.95
Describe a Veldelho madeira.
Lemon
Hay
Medium dry.
Describe a Bual madeira.
Vanilla, cinnamon
Medium rich (sweet)
The Blandy family tradition of fine wine production goes back to 1811. This 10-year-old Bual Madeira is loaded with raisins, butterscotch, and vanilla aromas. It is medium sweet on the palate with concentrated flavours of caramel, dried figs, candied nuts and vanilla spice. Pairs well with blue cheeses and crème brûlée.
$43.95
Describe a Malmsey madeira.
Burnt caramel, chili pepper, hoisin
Rich and sweet
Describe a Tinta Negramoll madeira
Tangy Citrus
Walnut
From vineyards that include Jardim do Mar at elevation between 150 and 200m. Contact with Skin contact - approximately 48 hours, followed by fortification with grape brandy and a finishing residual sugar of 110 g/L. Aging is completed in American oak casks in the traditional ‘Canteiro’ system. A gentle heating of the wine is done by way of gradual ‘estufagem,’ in the lofts of the lodges in Funchal, moving from the warm upper floors to the coolest at ground floor over time. Toasted filberts and walnuts really stand out and linger long after the sip is gone. The fruits are all of a dried nature, apricot and persimmon mostly, with this lovely meshing and tempering of sweetness because of the Madeira’s great complexity. Rather gentle stuff and a treat for the times. Drink 2021-2025.
19% abv
109 g/l
$29.75
Describe the basic Madeira production process.
- Wines are heated which caramelizes sugar.
- Heating varies in speed and gentleness
- Low and slow = $$$
What is the Estufagem Process for making Madeira?
Bulk ordinary Madeira is made in heated stainless steel tanks.
What is the Canteiro Process for making Madeira?
Barrels are kept up in loft in hot, dry conditions and aged for 2 years
What is the most highly regarded and rare Canteiro made wine?
Frasqueiras
Aged for 20+ years in barrel
Where is sherry made?
South coast of Spain close to Morocco.
Describe the climate of Jerez de la Frontera.
Intensely hot and dry during the growing season
Large amounts of rainfall but in the vine’s dormant period
Describe the soils of Jerez de la Frontera
Albarize soil
White
Retains water
Forms crust in summer which traps moisture
Channels dug in between rows to trap water
Describe the 2 winds that blow.
- Poniente (cool)
- Levant (hot)
What are the two main categories of Sherry?
Biologically aged
Oxidatively aged
What are the two types of juice produced at the crushpad?
Primera Yema - free run + 1st press: finest
Segunda Yema - 2nd press: bolder and more structured
What traditionally happens to sherry must before fermentation?
Clarification
Acidification (directly adding tartaric acid)
Describe the type of fermentation used for making sherry?
Hot and fast
Volatizes (gets rid of) aromas
Makes base wine more neutral
What is sherry base wine fortified with?
Mitad y mitad
(Brandy and must blend)
Describe some interesting features of the Solera system.
- Each style has own Solera
- Can last decades, even centuries
- Limits on how much you can draw and how much must remain
- No vintage is fully removed
- Ensures consistency of style
- Air flow and oxygen is encourage
- At least 1/3 of the solera must remain when drawing off
What is flor?
4 different saccharomyces yeast strains
What does Flor do?
Protects wine from oxygen
What does flor consume?
- Volatile acids
- Unfermentable sugars
- Glycerin (reducing body)
- Dissolved oxygen
What does Flor produce?
- Acetaldehyde
* Green apple
* Sour and metallic
Wines are extremely dry and low in acid
What wines go to oxidative ageing?
- When they go “off-course” during biological ageing
- Flor dies or stuggles
- Wine not as fine or delicate
What happens to sherry that is aged oxidatively over time?
More pronounced character
With no flor, initial acids, alcohol, glycerin and sugar is retained
What is the abv of oxidatively aged sherry?
17-18% abv
