Fortified Wine Flashcards
What is fortification?
The addition of alcohol to a wine
What is the difference between port and sherry
All Port is sweet as it is made by interrupting the fermentation using fortification.
Most Sherry is made in a dry style, but it is sometimes sweetened later on.
Where is sherry produced?
Around the town of Jerez de la Frontera in Southern Spain
What white grape is sherry made from?
Palomino
What is the solera system
Old oak casks containing wine of different ages, these are continuously blended to produce the sherry.
What are the most important styles of dry sherry
Fino, Oloroso and Amontillado
What is Fino?
Driest and palest of sherries
Aged under a thick layer of yeast called flor which is also known as biological ageing
Fortified to about 15% before entering the solera
Pale lemon colour with aromas of apple, almonds
Flavours of biscuit, bread, dough from the flor
Best served chilled as early as possible
What is Oloroso?
Doesn’t involve flor, ages in contact with oxygen
Becomes brown in colour
Fortified to 17%
Flavours of dried fruits (raisins,prunes) and walnuts, caramel from oxidation
What is Amontillado?
Somewhere between Fino and Oloroso Aged under Flor for a period Refortified to around 17% Deeper in colour than Fino Biscuit, bread, dough (from flor) and walnut, caramel flavours from oxidative ageing
What does the term Pale Cream signify?
A sweetened Fino
When are the terms Medium and Cream used?
Often with sweetened Oloroso or Amontillado sherries
What is PX?
A sweet sherry made from white Pedro Ximénez grapes
Concentrated by sun drying
Almost black in colour
Sweet with pronounced dried fruit flavours (prune, raisin)
What is port?
A sweet fortified wine which is produced in the Upper Douro region of Portugal
Blended from several black grape varieties from several vintages
What is the winemaking process for port?
Rapidly extract colour and tannin from the skins
Fermentation is interrupted to add grape spirit, the result is a wine that is sweet and high in alcohol
Matured before blending and bottling
What is the colour and flavour of Ruby Port?
Deep colour and black cherry, blackberry flavour
