Fortified Wine Flashcards
1
Q
Fortified Wine - What is Fortified Wine?
A
- Neutral grape brandy added to increase alcoholic strength to 15~22%
- Timing of Fortification
- Fortified before fermentation: no alcohol is created from fermentation of the base wine
- Fortified during fermentation: This stops the action of yeast retaining residual sugar in the wine
- Fortified after fermentation: Boosts alcohol levels; a dry wine is most often produced
2
Q
Fortified Wine - Sherry - Factors of Wine Production
A
- Climate: Hot and windy, Cooling maritime-influence formt he Atlantic.
- Soil
- Albariza: the most prized soil composed of white chalky clay. This soil reflects sunlight up to the vines and retains water during the summer heat
- Brros: Brown-colored clay
- Arenas:Sand
- Grape Varieties (White)
- Paloming (95% of all plantings)
- major grape for all quality styles of Sherry
- Pedro Ximenes (PX) and Moscatel
- Mainly used for blending, adding sweetness and color
- These grapes can also be found as sweet varietal wines
- Paloming (95% of all plantings)
3
Q
Fortified Wine - Sherry - Vinification & Viticulture
A
- Base Wine Production
- For most Sherry styles, the base wine is a neutral, dry, white wine from the Palomino grape
- Fortification
- For dry styles of Sherry, fortification occurs after fermentation
- The degree of fortification depends on the style of Sherry being made
- Wines are fortified gently with a mixture of grape spirit and mature Sherry wine
4
Q
Fortified Wine - Sherry - Flor
A
- Barrels of Sherry are not topped up all the way.
- A film of yeast (Saccharomyces) grows ont he surface of the maturing wine and acts like a protective blanket preventing oxidation and spoilage.
5
Q
Fortified Wine - Sherry - The Slera Sytem
A
- Aging and Maturation of Sherry
- Sherry matures in a complex series of barrels called a solera. While in the solera, young wine is progressively blended together with a series of older more complex wines
- What does a solera do for Sherry?
- The solera method of agingin is one aspect that makes Sherry unique and creates its distinctive flavors
- The solera also ensures continuity and consistency of brand and style by blending multiple vintages over time
6
Q
Fortified Wine - Sherry - How does Solera system work?
A
- A group of barrels is selected
- Solera: Barrels with the oldest wines usually closest tot he floor or the bottom row
- Criadera (the “nurseries”):
- 1st criadera
- 2nd criadera
- Anada: the youngest and freshest wines
- Running of the Scales (This is the fractional blending process)
- A maximum of 1/3 of the barrel volume is removed per year; no barrel is ever completely emptied
- Wine from the solera row is bottled
- Wine form the 1st criadera is used to top up the barrels fo the solera row
- Wines from the 2nd criadera are used to top up the 1st criadera, etc.
7
Q
Fortified Wine - Madeira - Factors of Production
A
- Climate: subtropical
- Topography: Madeira is extremely mountainous with very little flat land
- Soil: Volcanic
- Grape Varieties
- White: Sercial, Verdelho, Boal, Malvasia(Malmsey)
- Red: Tinta Negra (85% of plantings)
8
Q
Fortified Wine - Madeira - Viticulture & Vinification
A
- Viticulture
- Vineyards are planted on steep hillside terraces and grapes must be hand-harvested.
- Vinification
- Fortification: For sweeter wines, fermentation is stopped by tha addition of grape spirit. For drier wines the iwne si fortified after fermentation.
- Heating: After fortification it goes throught one of two heating processes giving Madeira its distinctive character
- Estufagem: Most wines are trasferred to the estufa, a stainless steel vat that warms the wine by circulating hot water through coils inside the tank. the wine si heated and held there for at least 3 months. With this method, the sugars in the wine will gradually caramelize, ensuring thorough oxidation or maderization of the wine.
- Canteiro: This method is used for a producer’s best wines. These wines are aged in cask for at least two years in attics exposed to the natural warmth of the sun and undergo a much slower, gentler maturation process.
9
Q
Fortified Wine - Madeira - Aging and Labeling
A
- Most Madeira wines are blened; age indications are typically seen as 5, 10, 15, 20 years old
- The grape name on the label is an indication of a sweet or drier style of Madeira
- Sercial, Verdelho
- Dry and semi-dry Madeira
- These wines are fortified closer to the end of fermentation
- Tinta Negra
- This grape name is not found on labels, but represents 85% of production
- Can be sweet or dry in style
- Boal, Malvasia(Malmsey)
- Semi-sweet and sweet Madeira
- these wines are fortified closer to the beginning of fermentation
- Sercial, Verdelho
10
Q
Fortified Wine - Port - Factor of Production
A
- Climate
- Warm to hot maritiem depending on the proximity to the Atlantic Ocean
- The climate becomes incredibly hot and dry as one moves inland
- Topography: Increadibly steep hillsides, rugged, mountainous
- Soil: The best vineyards are on well-draining schist
- Grape Varieties
- Red: Touriga Nacional (and many others)
11
Q
Fortified Wine - Port - Viticulture & Vinification
A
- Viticulture: Steep hillside terraces overlooking Douro River that were build by hand over the centuries
- Vinification
- Port is often a blend of many grape varieties
- Traditionally, lagares or shallow troughs were used for foot treading or crushing and maceration of the grapes
- Fermentation is short to maximize extraction of color and flavor
- Wines are fortified during fermentation when about 1/3 of the sugar content has been converted to alcohol
- The wine is fortified to 19~22% abv. with the addition of aguardente (neutral grape spirit)
12
Q
Fortified Wine - Port - Styles of Port
A
- Summary
- Ruby Port (Bottle-Aged Ports)
- Ruby > Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) > Vintage > Single Quinta
- Tawny Port (Cask-Aged Ports)
- Tawny, 10yr, 20yr, 30yr, 40+yr
- Ruby Port (Bottle-Aged Ports)
- Ruby Port: House wine of each lodge made from multiple vintages and vineyards
- Late-Bottled Vintage (LBV): Fruit sourced from top quintas and aged 4~6 years in cask
- Vintage Port
- The most expensive and age worthy style
- Produced form top quintas only in exceptional vintages
- Vintage Ports spend about two years aging in oak with the remainder in bottle
- Single Quinta Port: Fruit sourced from the best quintas in non-declared vintage years
- Aged-Tawny Port
- Wine matured entirely in cask
- These wines take on a nutty, oxidized character over time
- Age declarations on the bottle are approximations
13
Q
Fortified Wine - Les Vins Doux Naturels
A
- Vins Doux Naturels are French fortified wines.
- Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise
- Southern Rhone Valley, France
- White: Muscat Blanc
- Banyuls
- Roussillon, France
- Red: Grenache
14
Q
Fortified Wine - Which of the following wines is matured under a layer of Flor?
A
- Fino Sherry
- Sercial Madeira
- LBV Port
- Oloroso Sherry
15
Q
Fortified Wine - A solera is used for which part of the vinification process?
A
- Maturation
- Fermentation
- Distillation
- Fortification
