D5 Fortified Flashcards
What are key choices affecting style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
- Grape variety
- Vineyard site
- Timing of harvest
- Skin contact and extraction
- Timing of fortification
- Fortification spirit
- Maturation
- Blending
- Finishing
What can you tell me about grape variety and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
The grape variety may either provide its own aroma and flavour characteristics to the wine or be simply used as a relatively neutral base for the flavours of maturation. Structural components such as acidity and in black grapes tannin and colour are also important. Colour is in the blend of a port wine important as the style of the port defines which colour is chosen and thus which grape varieties come in the blend (Touriga nacional and Sousão)
The role of tannins in the colour stability makes medium+ or high tannins beneficial in long-aged wines. By time the tannins will integrate into the wine and provide structure and balance.
What can you tell me about the vineyard site and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
Vineyard location and climate are important influences on the base material used in the production of fortified wines. Vineyards of the Douro are scored according to factors such as location, aspect and altitude. This score determines how much port a plot can produce. Also with VDN wines the location has an influence. Where low altitude (muscat the Frontignan) produces slightly fuller wines with riper flavours than higher altitude sites (Muscat de st Jean-de-Minervois)
What can you tell me about the timing of harvest and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
In no case is botrytis desirable and so growers will look to harvest before increased risk of rain and hence humidity. Unripe fruit flavours will be avoided, but as with Palomino, the potential alcohol and health of the grape are much more important than the range of flavours.
In styles such as Rutherglen, PX and Moscatel Sherry, the grapes are typically left longer on the vine to concentrate sugars, necessary in these wines that have very high levels of residual sugar.
What can you tell me about skin contact and extraction and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
The extraction of the colour, tannins and flavour from the grape skins is a key process in the production of red fortified wines. The period of maceration for these wines is limited to 2-3 days. Wines that undergo long ageing need high concentrations of colour, tannins and flavour, the port industry has developed specialised equipment for this.
With some white fortified wines some skin contact and extraction is preferable to extract texture, body and additional flavours. For biologically aged sherries, skin contact is not desirable because of the phenolic compounds that limit the growth of flor
What can you tell me about the timing of fortification and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
Dry fortified wines are fortified after fermentation. The majority of sweet fortified wines are fortified midway through fermentation, stopping fermentation and leaving residual sugar. Timing of fortification is calculated by the desired level of residual sugar.
Some styles of sherries are made by fermenting to dryness and then add a sweetening component
What can you tell me about the fortification spirit and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
Most fortified wines are fortified with a 95-96% abv grape spirit. This is a neutral spirit and because of the high alcohol level, less spirit is needed and thus less risk of diluting the wine.
Port is fortified with a 77% abv grape spirit, this means there is more spirit needed and the spirit has a greater influence on the final wine.
What can you tell me about maturation and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
The maturation process is a defining fase in the production of a fortified wine. Some VDN’s, ruby and rose port and some white ports, leave the winery early with the intention that they should be drunk soon after release. These wines have youthful, primary flavours.
Vintage and LBV ports are released after short ageing with the intention that they improve in the bottle, these are stored for a few years in large oak vessels before bottling. Fresh fruits develop into dried fruits and tannins soften and integrate.
For fortified wines that are ment to age oxidatively are stored in small wooden vessels for extended periods of time. Oxidative ageing is often done is heated conditions, which speeds up oxidation, evaporation and further maturation. This gives aromas of nuts, caramel and dried fruits.
Biological ageing is a way of maturation where levels of glycerol are lowered (and hence body), this gives aromas of hay, apple skin, bread dough and nuts.
What can you tell me about blending and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
Grapes, must or wines from different grape varieties, vintages and vineyard styles may all be blended depending on regulations. Key aims of blending include:
- Balance
- Consistency
- Style
- Complexity
- Volume
- Price
What can you tell me about finishing and how it affects style, quality and price of a fortified wine?
The majority of fortified wines are stabilised, fined and filtered before bottling to ensure they are clean and clear for the consumer.
Vintage, single quinta, crusted and some LBV’s are not filtered so they continue to develop in the bottle.
In Sherry, when named ‘en rama’, the wine is minimally or not fined and filtered. This gives the wine a more pronounced and complex style than their counterparts.
What is maderisation?
This is the process whereby the wine is heated and oxidised. It is a way of maturation, known from the wines from Madeira.
What is rancio?
Rancio is the term used to describe a collection of aromas and flavours that are found in some styles of wine. Typical descriptors include leather, wood varnish and strong coffee. Extraction from wooden vessels, oxidation and time play a role in the origin of these aromas.
What are the alcohol levels in the SAT?
low: 15-16,4
medium: 16,5-18,4
high: 18,5 and above
What can you tell about the history of Sherry?
Wines were made in Jerez even under the Phoenicians. From the 8th to the 13th century, the region was ruled by the Moorish people. Then it was forbidden to drink wine, the production however continued. From the 13th century, Jerez was under Christian ruling and domestic consumption and export grew as English, Irish and Flemish traders began to ship wines. When Christopher Columbus found America, trading began from his home in Andalusia.
The peninsular wars and the phylloxera plague were very challenging.
In late 19th early 20th century popularity rose and in 1933 the first Consejo Regulador was founded.
In the 1970s 1,5 million hL sherries were shipped and sold. Rumasa had a key part in the rise and fall of Sherry sales. The Consejo Regulador has been working very hard the past years to repair the image of Sherry and monitor its quality.
What can you tell about the climate of Andalusía?
It has low latitude 36 and low altitude (0-90m above sea level). Jerez has a hot Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, relatively rainy winters.
The Atlantic brings a cool damp wind called the Poniente. The Levante, a hot drying wind from Nort Africa, can make the climate more arid. This can make the grape transpire more en concentrating sugars. This is a problem because it can hinder the development of flor.
What can you tell about the topography of Jerez?
The grapes must come from the delimited zone of 7000 ha known as the Zona de Produccion or Marco de Jerez. Grapes can be used for either DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or DO Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda. The Zona is split into two parts, Jerez Superior and Jerez zona. First one is the better one and makes up for 90% of the plantings.
The vineyards of Jerez are also divided into pagos, each is thought to produce wines with different characteristics than the other
What can you tell about the soil in Jerez?
The key soil is Albariza, a mixture of limestone, silica and clay. The clay means that the soil is very effective in retaining and gradually releasing water during the growing season. Albariza forms a crust when dry and this helps to reduce evaporation from the soil. Higher planting densities are possible (70hL/ha). High yields are also possible as the grapes do not need to have the same concentration of flavours, the flavours come mostly from the maturation process.
Other soils are barras (more clay) and arenas (sandy) but most of plantings are on albariza.
What are the grape varieties in Jerez?
- Palomino also known as Palomino Fino or Listán
- Moscatel also known as Muscat of Alexandria
- Pedro Ximénez also known as PX
What can you tell about Palomino in Jerez?
This grape variety is used in all dry and sweetened style of sherry. It accounts for almost 99% of production by volume. It is mid to late ripening, well suited for dry, sunny weather and capable of producing large yields. It loses acidity quickly when reaching maturity. It is a neutral variety.
What can you tell about Moscatel in Jerez?
It accounts for less than 1% of production by volume. It is sometimes called moscatel de chipiona, by the town of Chipiona around it grows on mainly arenas (sandy) soils. It is late ripening and well adapted to heat and drought. It is an aromatic variety with aromas of grape and blossom. It is generally used to produce sweet fortified wines of the same name.
What can you tell about PX in Jerez?
PX is used for the sweet fortified wines called PX or Pedro Ximénez and as a sweetening agent. Its small thick-skinned grapes accumulate high sugar and are traditionally dried in the sun to further concentrate sugars. It is a neutral variety. Legislation permits it to be grown in the Montilla region and then shipped into the Zona de Produccion either as fresh or raisened grapes or more likely as a young wine. It represents less than 1% of production by volume.
How is vineyard management conducted in Jerez?
It is transforming to accommodate mechanisation of pruning, harvesting and soil management. The principal training system used is replacement cane pruning, here called vara y pulgar. An increasing number of vineyards now use cordon training (single or double) with spur pruning to aid mechanisation. VSP trellising is used to aid mechanisation. Within row spacing is tight, between row spacing is wide enough to pass a tractor.
Maximum yields are 80 hL/ha, this is rarely achieved, closer 60-70 hL/ha.
Vineyards are planted on 10-15% slopes, each year after harvest troughs are made in the soil to retain the winter rain. It is called aspersia.
Harvest begins first week of august in the inland vineyards and ends second week of september on the coastal regions. This is done early to avoid autumn rains.
Grapes are picked at potential alcohol of 12%, acidity 5 g/L and pH of 3,3-3,5.
What is primera yema?
This is the free run juice and the lightest pressings particularly used for biologically aged wines. Phenolic compounds are not desirable as they restrict the growth of flor. Oloroso wines are made from later pressings, but because primera yema typically makes up for 60-75 percent of the juice yield, this is also used for Oloroso. Maximum permitted juice yield is 70L/100kg of grapes.
How is fermentation executed in Jerez?
It is common for must from different vineyard sites to be fermented separately to create different styles of base wines that can be blended as needed.
Mostly cultured yeast are used for fermentation at 22-26 C to reliably ferment to dryness.
Usually stainless steel is used in fermentation. Old barrels can be used to increase body.
First phase of fermentation is fast and vigorous, it takes up to 7 days. Second stage of fermentation is slower, to ferment all the sugars can take up a couple of weeks.
MLF is not desired and prevented by cooling (as SO2 inhibits flor developing).
What is the First Classification in Jerez?
After fermentation each batch of base wine will be tested and analysed, this is known as the First Classification. It decides whether if it will be used for biological ageing (lighter bodied, less intensely flavoured wines) or for oxidative ageing (fuller bodied, more intense wines).
In Jerez, what happens at fortification?
Wines meant for biological ageing are fortified to 15-15,5%, the optimum concentration of alcohol for flor to develop. Wines destined for oxidative ageing are fortified to 17%, here flor cannot develop.
Fortification spirit is 95 abv grape spirit.
What happens with the sherries right after fermentation?
After fortification the wines are now in the situation of sobretablas where they are stored before joining solera system. After a few months wines marked for biological ageing are tasted and analysed in Second Classification. Wines that have a full layer of flor and have remained fresh will be classified as potential Fino or Manzanilla. Those that are slightly less delicate may be marked as Amontillado and those that are more full-bodied and intensely flavoured may be marked as Palo Cortado. Then the wines enter the solera system
Maturation takes place in old wooden vessels, american oak, often 600L butts
What are the three municipalities in the Zona de Crianza?
Jerez de la Frontera, El puerto de Santa Maria, Sanlucar de Barrameda. With the exception that moscatel can also be matured in Chipiona and Chipiona de la Frontera.
What can you tell about the bodegas in Jerez?
The bodegas are designed to maintain optimum conditions during maturation. They have thick walls to keep the temperature constant and they have high ceilings to help to raise the warm air above. The small windows at te top of the building are orientated to allow cool, damp south westerly winds from the Atlantic to enter and raise the humidity levels. Thin blinds help to reflect sunlight and prevent dust and insects from entering. Floors are made from earth and wetted during summer to raise humidity.
Temperature and humidity are important to help growth and maintenance of flor.
Please enlighten me about the solera system!
Sherry is a non-vintage product and the solera system is a method of fractional blending that is used to maintain a consistency and quality year after year.
Barrels are grouped into sections called a criadera. Barrels of the same criadera contain wine of the same age and of different age then the other criaderas. The criadera with the oldest wine is called the solera, then the 1st criadera and so on.
The key rule is that no more than 40% of the wine from one solera system can be removed for blending and bottling each calendar year. Further rule is that any wine that is released and bottled for sale must be of a minimum of 2 years.
Not every wine reaches solera, due to price and complexity desired in the final wine.
Wines can also be blended in another solera system for further maturation
How does the biological ageing in Sherry work?
Biological ageing refers to the practice of maturing wine under a layer of flor. This is comprised of four strains of saccharomyces cerevisiae. The yeast strains are found on the grapes and are present in the bodegas. Flor needs an alcohol concentration of maximum 15,5%, no SO2, plenty of oxygen. Temperature of the bodega needs to be 16-20 C and humidity levels above 65%.
What are the influences of flor on the wine?
- It protects the wine from oxidation and hence the wine remains pale lemon in colour
- The flor consumes alcohol in the wine and releases acetaldehyde which gives aromas of apple (skin), hay, chamomile and sometimes a hint of bitter.
- Flor consumes glycerol, hence the matured wine has a lighter body. And because glycerol has a sweet taste, the reduction of it gives a dry wine
- Flor reduces the levels of acetic acid.
The nature of the flor changes in different areas of the region, from bodega to bodega and even from different stages in the solera system. This can influence the amount of alcohol consumed and the amount of acetaldehyde produced
What happens to flor over time?
Over time, the flor yeast reproduces and dies. The dead yeast cells fall to the bottom of the barrel and autolysis takes place, leading to savoury nutty flavours and enhances the texture of the wine.
In the solera system, each younger wine contains nutrients for the flor. This way the thick layer of flor can stay alive over the different stages in the solera system. Keeping the wine safe from oxidation.
How does the oxidative ageing in Sherry work?
The colour changes from lemon to gold, amber and then brown. Levels of alcohol increase slightly over time as in the bodega, water in the barrel is lost at a quicker rate than ethanol. This means other components of the wine concentrate. Glycerol levels rise and this gives the wine a fuller, rounder body. Aroma and flavour compounds increase in concentration and evolve from primary characteristics to tertiary, oxidative characteristics such as caramel and nuts.
Acetaldehyde decreases slightly, but levels of acetic acid and ethyl acetate (volatile acidity) increase slightly
What happens at finishing a sherry?
Most sherries are tartrate stabilised, fined and filtered. Filtration is particularly important in biologically aged sherries to remove flor yeast, so flor does not develop when the bottle is opened and there is contact with oxygen.
Alle sherries must be packaged and sealed within the three sherry towns
What styles of sherries are there?
Dry (max 5gr/L sugar) - Fino and Manzanilla - Manzanilla Passada - Amontillado - Palo Cortado - Oloroso Naturally sweet wines Sweetened wines - Pale cream - Medium and cream Sherries with an indication of age - VOS and VORS - 12- and 15-year old sherries
Let’s hear it for Fino and Manzanilla, tell me all about it!
Both of these styles have undergone biological ageing. Pale lemon in colour, on the palate dry, light to medium bodied, low acidity and low alcohol. Aromas and flavours depend on the time in the solera system, but include aroma associated with acetaldehyde, bread dough and almonds.
The flor in Sanlucar de Barrameda has a thicker layer than elsewhere. It is thought that it is because of less seasonal changes in that region. In Manzanilla are however not higher levels of acetaldehyde. The difference in flor strains are the reason for this. The greater protection from oxygen and lower levels of acetaldehyde make the Manzanilla taste lighter and fresher than a Fino. The thicker layer makes that Manzanilla needs more replenishing in the solera system, this makes that small volumes of wine are released and bottled several times a year.
Let’s hear is for Manzanilla Pasada, tell me all about it!
This labelling term describes a Manzanilla subjected to a short period of oxidative ageing. The flor may be left to die naturally by not refreshing the barrels with new wine for around a year. This wine may then enter the Manzanilla Pasada Solera System. This makes the wine a couple of years older than Manzanilla and they start to become like an Amontillado.
Let’s hear it for Amontillado, tell me all about it!
This wine must have attributes from both biological and oxidative ageing. The wines start in a Fino solera system and then be refortified to 17% abv to kill the flor, and then be oxidatively aged in an Amontillado solera system. The cheaper ones are from the youngest criadera in the fino system and the youngest criadera in the amontillado system. More expensive wines will be matured for longer and show more complexity.
Let’s hear it for Palo Cortado, tell me all about it!
Difficult to define! To be classified as such the wine must have aromas similar to those of an Amontillado, but the palate more to that of an Oloroso. It must have a sugar level under 5 gr/L and alcohol level of 17-22%.
Most commonly the wines undergo a few years in a Fino solera system and then enter a Palo Cortado solera system. The wines are less delicate, show more complexity than a Fino and are less able to support a thick layer of flor, so some oxidation has occurred.
Generally, a PC has undergone less biological ageing than a Amontillado, so the characteristic acetaldehyde is less pronounced. Glycerol levels are higher so the PC has a fuller, rounder body.
Let’s hear it for Oloroso, tell me all about it!
These wines have attributes of oxidative ageing. After fermentation they are fortified to 17% to stop flor from developing. They are brown in colour and have tertiary, oxidative aromas of toffee and walnut.
What does en rama mean?
There is no legal definition, but generally it describes wines that have been finished and packed in a way to be the best representation of the wine straight from the barrel. For some bodegas this means not fining and filtration, for export product it usually means a light fining and filtration (large pores).
Mostly used for Fino en rama. These wines tend to be more intense and complex and sell for higher prices
Let’s hear it for naturally sweet sherries, tell me all about it!
Once harvested the grapes are left to raisin for 2-3 weeks. The fermentation for these wines stops naturally at 4-6% due to very high sugar levels. The wines are then fortified to 15-16%, they usually mature in their own solera system.
Most common grape varieties are PX and Moscatel.
For the single variety PX the minimum residual sugar level is 212 gr/L, but it is usual to be around 450-550 gr/L. The wines are full bodied, low in acidity with aromas and flavours of raising, molasses and liquorice.
Single variety Moscatel is less common. Minimum sweetness is 160 gr/L, but in reality often 325-375 gr/L. They can either be protected from oxygen to give a non-oxidative style or mature in barrels for an oxidative style.
Both wines can be used as a blending component in a sweetened sherry style.
Let’s hear it for Pale cream, tell me all about it!
This is a sweetened sherry. Prior to sweetening the wines must undergo a period of biological ageing. RCGM is used for sweetening. These wines have a subtle flor character. They will not be aged for long.
Let’s hear it for Medium and Cream, tell me all about it!
Medium wines must show characteristics of both biological and oxidative ageing. Creams only of oxidative ageing. Both blended with PX for sweetening. Medium can range from off-dry to sweet, where cream is always sweet. The premium examples are made from a high proportion of well-matured Amontillado, Oloroso and PX wines.
Let’s hear it for VOS and VORS, tell me all about it!
VOS: Vinum Optimum Signatum/Very Old Sherry: is average 20 years or older
VORS: Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum/Very Old Rare Sherry: is average 30 years or older.
Each batch is tasted and analysed in a laboratory to be aged (carbon-14 testing). As these very old wines can taste a little astringent, producers can blend in a little sweet wine, usually PX.
Only Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso and PX are eligible for these designations.
Let’s hear it for 12- and 15-year-old sherries, tell me all about it!
These are categories of slightly lower age than VOS and VORS. They are still tested and laboratory analysed, however this is done yearly instead of per batch. Only Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso and PX are eligible for these designations.
What types of business are engaged in production of Sherry?
- Bodegas de la zona de produccion
- Bodegas de Crianza y Almacenado
- Bodegas de Crianza y Expedicion
Bodega de la Zona de Producción, tell me…
These bodegas, usually large co-operatives, press grapes and ferment the must into base wine. They need to be in the production zone, but not in the Zona de la Crianza. They are often owned by a company in the other registers. They can sell wines, but not with DO.
Bodega de Crianza y Almacenado, tell me…
Almacenistas, they mature wine. They must be located within the Zona de Crianza and tend to be relatively small. The wines must then be sold to Bodega de Crianza y Expedición.
Almacenistas have suffered from the decline in Sherry sales. As demand declined, shippers survived by selling their own stock, not needing extra wines. In 1996 Consejo Regulador lowered minimum stockholding for shippers from 12500 to 500L. Meaning some almacenistas could become shippers.
Bodega de Crianza y Expedición, tell me…
These are the shippers and are the only ones that are allowed to export or sell DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or DO Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda. These bodegas must be located within the Zona de Crianza. They are permitted to mature wine and sell as the wines come from the production bodegas or the almacenistas.
Almacenistas have suffered from the decline in Sherry sales. As demand declined, shippers survived by selling their own stock, not needing extra wines. In 1996 Consejo Regulador lowered minimum stockholding for shippers from 12500 to 500L. Meaning some almacenistas could become shippers.
