Fortified Wines Flashcards
What is Fortification?
Means the wine has had grape spirit added during the winemaking process
Spirit distilled from grapes only
What are the two spirits used in fortification?
Brandy Spirit - general burnt sugar flavours of brandy , 35-45% alcohol
Neutral Spirit (SVR) - flavourless but distilled to higher alcohol content, 97% Alc/Vol
Why do we fortify wines?
To protect them by adding grape spirit = higher alcohol = more durability
Wines were transported far around the globe, high temperatures caused wine to spoil due to oxidation. Wine turned to vinegar.
How do we get higher alcohol?
Add spirit during fermentation killing yeasts, leaving residual grape sugar
What are some examples of fortified wines?
Port - 18.5 to 19% Alc/Vol
Sherry - 15 to 18.5% Alc/Vol
Muscat and Topaque - 17.5 to 18.5% Alc/Vol
Vermouth - 20.5% to 28.5%
What happens when you add grape spirit at halfway and end of fermentation?
Add grape juice at end of fermentation - you get a dry wine
Add halfway through - perhaps high residual sugar along with the alcohol
Why is timing of spirit addition important? Why is aging important?
It influences style - sweet or dry
Aged in full barrel gives fruity style
Partially filled barrel gives flor yeast - imparts nutty, cashew flavour
What botanicals are in Vermouth? Famous drink containing it?
Roots, barks, flowers, seeds, herbs and spices
Martini
List two French dessert wines
Vins doux naturels:
A lightly fortified wines made from muscat grapes or red grenache grapes
Muscat de Beaumes de Venise:
Made from white muscat grape
Describe the dessert wine Sherry
Made through a natural fermentation, arrested before fermentation, giving it low alcohol. No grape spirit added, just over ripe grapes.
Comes from hot, dry, chalky soil
What are the main styles of sherry?
Fino - dry and youngest age, drunk young and fresh from the wood
Amontillado - slightly sweet (off dry)
Oloroso - sweet, aged for many years in barrel
Pedro Ximenez (PX) - sweet, concentrated and aged for many decades
What is Flor Yeast?
- Use FLOR YEAST in fino
- top fermenting oxidative yeast (aerobic). Sit on top of barrel, creating a film and ferment all fermentable sugars (DRY)
- high in volatile acidities
- gives bruised acid, nail polish remover flavour
What is the solera system?
Proportional blending:
Taking oldest barrel and topping it with years that are younger than it
Start with base wine then go to nursery, barrels at top of solera are topped up with wines from nursery
In Solera, they are topped up from top down
This systems allows maintaining
freshness = younger wines
Depth = from older wines
Describe Port
- Made in a warm climate
- Terraces helps with airflow and sun access - but can’t mechanise
- Can be red or white
- Traditional stepped on by foot
What are the main styles of port?
Ruby - 2-4years, barrel Tawny - solera system, 8-12 years Vintage - 1-2 years, barrel to bottle LBV (late bottled vintage) - 3-5 years barrel, then 2-4 years bottle NB - Vintage
