Fortified Wines Flashcards
What are the terraces in Madeira known as? What rock are they carved out of?
Poios carved out of basalt
Is Frasqueira the product of a single varietal or blend? What percentage of the vintage wine on the label must comprise the blend? Why is it common for these wines to contain younger wines in addition to the vintage labeled wine?
May be single varietal or a blend. Minimum of 85% of fruit from the stated harvest must comprise the blend. These wines are topped up with younger wines during the aging process.
For how long is Madeira wine heated generally during the estufagem process? At what temperatures?
45-50 Celsius (113-122F) and held at these temperatures for at lest 3 months
What is Vermouth exactly?
Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored by maceration with additional herbs and spices and is properly called an “aromatized wine”
Colheita Tawny is aged for a minimum of how many years? Why may there be bottle variation among Colheita Tawny bottlings?Is it the product of a single vintage or a blend?
Minimum of 7 years in cask, though many stay for decades. There may be bottle variation because some producers do not bottle until they receive an order. Product of a single vintage.
Which style of Ruby Port replaced “Vintage Character”? Describe how it compares to basic Ruby Port.
Ruby Reserve or Premium Ruby
offers more complexity and character than basic ruby port.
Which town marks the southeastern corner of Jerez?
Chiclana de la Frontera
Is a Colheita Madeira produced from a single vintage or blend of vintages? Single grape or blend?
Single Vintage though 15% of other vintages can be added as the wine from the stated vintage must be present at a minimum of 85%. It may be a blend or a single varietal.
What three labeling terms can be used to indicate wines produced by the traditional torna viagem process? Who is a champion of this style?
Vinho da Roda
Vinho da Torna
Vinho da Volta
What are the three hybrid grapes allowed in Madeira production? Which can not be listed on a Madeira label?
Cunningham
Jacquet
Bastardo
Isabella cannot be listed on labels
What grapes are most commonly used in the production of Rubino Marsala? White grapes may make up a maximum of what %?
Perricone
Calabrese (Nero d’Avola)
Nerello Mascalese
white grapes make up a maximum of 30%
Describe the variation of the estufagem process chiefly used by the Madeira Wine Company? How is it different from the common estufagem practice?
Wines are placed in armazens de calor (rooms warmed by nearby tanks or steam pipes rather than direct heat) This process lasts much longer than three months, sometimes up to a year.
What are the names of the two modern practices that simulate the torna viagem in Madeira production today? Which is used for the production of higher quality wines?
Estufagem
Canteiro (used for higher quality wines)
Following initial fermentation, what is the alcoholic strength of Sherry base wines?
11-12.5%
List the five varietal styles of Madeira in order from sweetest to driest. Which style can require decades to soften?
Malvasia
Boal
Verdelho
Terrantez (close to Verdelho in sweetness)
Sercial (often require decades to soften up)
Summer temperatures on average are how many degrees higher in Jerez de la Frontera than in Sanlúcar de Barrameda?
20F
What happens to the flor in the heat and cold of the summer and winter? Spring and Autumn?
it thins and turns gray in the winter and summer. Grows vigorously during the spring and autumn forming a frothy white veil over the wine’s surface.
Who is responsible for making the first Marsala? When was this? Where?
John Woodhouse
1773
Sicily
Sherry fermentation goes through two stages? What are these stages called and how long does each last? How does the temperature differ between them?
Tumultuous Fermentation: hot vigorous fermentation phase lasting up to a week
Lenta: Slow fermentation, in which high temperatures subside and any remaining sugar in the wine is converted to alcohol over a period of weeks.
Name the Single Quinta bottling for the following producers. Warre’sTaylor’sDow’s
Warre’s (Quinta da Cavadinha)
Taylor’s (Quinta de Vargellas)
Dow’s (Quinta do Bomfim)
What is the movement of wine through a solera following drawing known as?
Trasiegos
How strong is the spirit used for fortification of Madeira?
95% abv
What determines when a fermenting wine destined to become Marsala is fortified?
The desired level of sweetness in the finished product.
Wines added to the top of a solera are called what?
añada
What is the subregion of Jerez that is characterized by having the most Albariza and is home to 80% of the vines in Jerez as well as most pagos of the area?
Jerez Superior in Jerez de la Frontera
For Wines with the designation of 12 or 15 years, is the entire solera or just the lot of wine drawn off eligible for the designation?
The entire solera
For how long must Solera Madeira age before release?
minimum of 5 years in the solera
What is the must for Sherry production called? What are the three states of this must called? Which is used for distillation? Which comes from the free run?
The must for Sherry production is called “mosto de yema”
The three stages are:
1) Primera Yema (free-run juice accounting for 60-70% of the total mosto de yema
2) Segunda Yema (Press wine)
3) Mosto prensa (used for distillation)
Which three aging designations allow for the addition of Mosto Cotto or sifone? Which do not?
Do allow:
Fine
Superiore
Superiore Riserva do.
Do not allow:
Vergine
Vergine Stravecchio
Vintage
Which grape replaced Verdelho as the island’s most planted grape following phylloxera?
Tinta Negra (formerly Tinta Negra Mole)
What aging designations may a Port that is “Tawny with Indication of Age” carry? How are these wine aged?
10, 20, 30, or 40 Years Old.These wines are aged in seasoned wood, racked once annually, often freshened with additional spirit or wine as evaporation takes its natural course, and are finally blended together prior to bottling.
Which Marsala Producer produces “Vecchio Samperi” and how is it different than all Marsala. What is it bottled as?
Marco de Bartoli
it isn’t fortified!
What is the overwhelmingly preferred grape for Sherry production that constitutes approximately 95% of the vineyard acreage in Jerez?
Palomino (Listán)
What are the five secondary classifications for biologically-aged Sherries? Which is destined to become Fino in style? Which may eventually emerge as an Amontillado?
Palma (destined to become Fino) Palma Cortada (may emerge as Amontillado) Palo Cortado Raya Dos Rayas
For how long is a Colheita Madeira aged prior to release?
Aged for a minimum of 5 years prior to bottling.
For wines labeled VOS or VORS who authorizes the right to use the terminology? From the solera, is it the lot of wine drawn off or the entire solera that is allowed to used these designations on the label?
Consejo Regulador of the DO
Applies to only an individual lot.
Which styles of Port are produced from a single vintage?
Late-Bottled Vintage
Vintage
Single Quinta Vintage
Colheita Tawney
There are three types of companies that are involved in the Madeira wine trade list them.
Production Companies
Shipping Companies
Partidistas
What is the heart of the biological aging process in Sherry known as? What does it translate to in English? What is it? What does it metabolize instead of sugar?
Flor del vino - “the flower”
It is a film-forming yeast that metabolizes glycerin, alcohol, and volatile acids in the wine.
Which secondary biological classification is the most coarse and highest in volatile acidity? What typically happens to these wines?
Dos Rayas
These wine’s are similar to Raya, but more rough and coarse in character and higher in VA. These wines are either blended and sweetened for lower quality or removed from the Sherry making process and turned into Sherry vinegar.
Sercial is considered the driest style of Madeira but can have up to what level of RS?
40-45 g/L
What are the terraces in Portugal called?
Patamares
How are grapes for Sherry production traditionally crushed? What are the name of the boots used for this? What are these laborers known as?
Traditionally crushed under the feet of laborers called pisadores wearing cowhide boots with angled nails on the soles known as zapatos de pisar
A bottle of Sherry may be labeled as En Rama? What does this mean? Which styles of Sherry can be produced in this manner?
Sherry “En Rama” refers to Sherry that is essentially straight form the cask or the closest thing to it. Only biologically-aged sherries are produced in this manner
How many years on average will a Port house declare a vintage per decade? Describe this style and any additional service required when serving it. When is it bottled?
3 out of every ten years. Vintage Port will continue to develop in the bottle for decades, shredding brash fruit in favor of more complex attributes, although many bottles are consumed in their youth. Vintage Port will shed a lot of sediment. Bottled before July 30 of the third year after harvest.
For how long are wines cask-aged during the process of Canteiro? Where does this take place? How is this different than Estufagem and what does it contribute to the wine in comparison, or rather what is absent from the finished product that is present in wines made from estufagem?
Minimum of two years in lodge attics.Wine is exposed to a much gentler, natural warmth of the sun as it undergoes a much slower process of maturation, preventing the burnt caramelization of sugars and resulting bitter flavors associated with the rapid heating of estufagem.
Why is a Colheita Madeira considered a bargain “Vintage” Madeira?
Because the wine is a product is theoretically from a single vintage bottling though it lacks the extensive aging and complexity and as a result the cost of a true Vintage Madeira, or Frasqueira.
What are the two generoso classifications of Sanlúcar de Barrameda? How do they compare to the other four general generoso style in the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO?
Manzanilla Fina: similar to Fino, although harvested about a week earlier, and results in a wine that is lower in alcohol and fortified to a lower degree. Manzanilla Pasada: Like Fino-Amontillado because it loses the protection of flor and begins to show more oxidative characteristics.
What is the process called wherein dry generoso wine is blended with sweeter wines produced from Moscatel and Pedro-Ximinez prior to bottling? Base wines that enter the cabeceo process must have a minimum abv of what %?
Cabaceo is the process
minimum abv of 17.5%
How does Tawny with an Indication of Age present compared to Reserve Tawny? Are they a blend or vintage?
These wines show a progressively more concentrated and developed character, reach a pronounced oxidative, ranch state by forty years of age. Produced by blending. Not single vintage.
Which two grapes in Sherry production are more commonly sunned following picking? What is this process called? For how long does this process generally last? What are the name of the grass mats that are used for this process?
Pedro Ximénez
Moscatel
The process is called soleo and generally lasts for a period of 1-3 weeks. Grapes are dried on grass mats known as esparato
For Solera Madeiras what is the maximum amount of a solera that can be drawn off each year? How many additions can be made annually to the solera?
10% is the maximum that can be drawn off every year. 10 total additions to the solera can be made annually
Prior to phylloxera there were 3,000 ha of vines on Madeira. How many are there today?
Just under 500ha
What are the two DO zones form which all Sherry is produced? In which DO must Manzanilla be aged?
Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO
Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO (Manzanilla must be aged in this DO)
What is the name of the most common vine training technique in Sherry? How does it work?
Vara y pulgar
Growers prune alternate spurs each year: one year’s vara (stick) will be pruned back after harvest to become the following year’s pulgar (thumb)
What are the max yields for Jerez Superior? Elsewhere in the region?
80hl/ha in Jerez Superior
100hl/ha elsewhere in the region
What was the original ocean voyage that Madeira took to give it its distinctive character?
Tourna Viagem
Which style of Multi-vintage Madeira is usually labeled “Finest”, “Choice”, or “Select”? How old must the youngest wine be in the blend? What’s the oldest the youngest wine may be? Which grape dominates this style and what method is used for its production?
Seleccionado
youngest wine in the blend must be at least 3 years old but no older than 5.
Tinta Negra dominates and these wines are usually made by Estufagem
What VDN style is created in Jerez and from what grapes? What is the range of RS that these wines can demonstrate in the final product?
Vino Dulce Natural
Moscatel and PX are used
180-500g/L
To what range of abv% is a wine fortified to with the addition of spirit? How strong is the spirit?
The wine is fortified to 19-22% abv
77% abv is the strength of the aguardente
What is the coloring agent used in Sherry production called? What are the two subtypes and what is the difference between the two?
Vino de calor
Sanocho: combination of fresh must and must boiled down to 1/3 of its original volume and made into a syrup.
Arrope: same but reduced to 1/5 of its original volume.
For Solera Marsala wines, the wines must spend at least how many years in solera prior to bottling?
5 years
What percentage of a listed grape must comprise a multivintage bottling? Vintage bottling? What grape may never be listed on the bottle no matter what despite it being the island’s workhorse grape accounting for nearly 85% of its total production?
85% for multivintage bottling
100% for vintage bottlings
Tinta Negra may never be listed.
Following Sobretablas, Sherry destined to become Palo Cortado is fortified a second time to what % abv?
at least 17% abv, which destroys the flor that protects it from oxidation.
In what size barrels was Sherry traditionally fermented in? What kind of oak? How is most Sherry fermented today?
New American Oak butts of 600L
Today most Sherry is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.
