Fortified Wines: Port and Sherry

Question 1

What does it mean when a wine is fortified?

Answer 1

When a wine is fortified, alcohol is added to the wine to protect it from spoiling and bolster its body, warmth, and sturdiness.

The alcohol added is usually a neutral grape spirit.

Question 2

Name 2 styles of fortified wines.

Answer 2

1. Port
2. Sherry

Question 3

Fill in the blank:

Ports are fortified _____ fermentation, and sherries are fortified _____ fermentation.

Answer 3

during, after

Question 4

Is Port always sweet or dry?

Answer 4

sweet

Question 5

Why is Port always sweet?

Answer 5

Because fermentation is interrupted and stopped by the addition of alcohol (neutral grape spirit) which kills the yeasts, leaving the wine very sweet and high in alcohol.

Question 6

Where does Port come from?

Answer 6

Douro region in northeast Portugal; specifically, it comes from the Upper Douro.

“Upper” meaning the up-river direction of the Douro River, which flows from Spain through Portugal into the Atlantic.

Question 7

Is Port wine usually a single-varietal wine or a blend?

Answer 7

Blend

Local black grapes are what traditionally constitute the blend of Port.

Question 8

Is Port wine usually a single vintage or a blend of vintages?

Answer 8

Usually a blend of vintages.

Question 9

Fill in the blank:

It’s the maturation process of Port that determines _______ of Port the wine will be.

Answer 9

what style of Port the wine will be.

Question 10

List the most ubiquitous styles of Port. Of these, which style is going to be the most oxidative?

Answer 10

1. Ruby-style Ports
2. Ruby Port
3. Reserve Ruby Port
4. LBV Port (Late Bottled Vintage)
5. Vintage Port
6. Tawny-style Ports (most oxidative)

Question 11

Which styles of Port are the most simple, straightforward and fruity?

Answer 11

• Ruby-style
• Ruby

Question 12

How are Reserve Ruby Ports different from Ruby Ports?

Answer 12

Reserve Ruby Ports generally:
* Have a higher quality
* Use better grapes
* Are matured longer

Remember: maturation determines the style of Port, not the grapes.

Question 13

What does LBV stand for?

Answer 13

Late Bottled Vintage

LBV Ports are wines from a single vintage, but they spend a few years in oak before being bottled.

Question 14

How do LBV Ports differ from Vintage Ports?

Answer 14

LBV

• Good quality grapes from a single vintage
• Aged for several years in oak before bottled
• Flavor falls somewhere between fruity Ruby and mellow Tawny
• Do not require decanting
• Do not need further bottle aging
• Made in good, but not great, vintages
• Moderately priced

Vintage

• Highest-quality grapes from a single vintage
• Aged just a few years in oak before bottled
• Flavor is intense, concentrated, and complex
• Require decanting
• Require bottle aging
• Made only in exceptional vintages
• Expensive

Question 15

Which is likely to have higher tannins, more sediment, and greater concentration: LBV or Vintage Port?

Answer 15

Vintage Port

LBV spends more time in cask than Vintage Port so it is exposed to more oxygen, its tannins resolve, and its sediment precipitates out while in oak.

Question 16

Are Vintage Ports made every single year?

Answer 16

No

Vintages have to be “declared” by Port producers in the Douro and are declared only in exceptional vintages.

Question 17

Where do Tawny Ports get their tawny color?

Answer 17

Oxidation

Tawny Ports spend years, sometimes decades, in small oak casks, exposing the wine to extensive amounts of oxygen. This oxidation turns the wine color from red to brown-ish (tawny).

Question 18

Describe the profile of a Tawny Port.

Answer 18

• Sweet
• High alcohol
• Full body
• Dried fruits
• Oxidative flavors (nuts, caramel)

Question 19

What are some of the age indications seen on Tawny Ports?

Answer 19

• 10 Year
• 20 Year
• 30 Year
• 40 Year

The older the age indication, the more complex, brown in color, and oxidative it will be.

Question 20

Where is Sherry produced?

Answer 20

In southwestern Spain in and around the town of Jerez de la Frontera.

Question 21

Is Sherry made in a singular style or a broad range of styles?

Answer 21

Sherry is made in a broad range of styles, from pale and bone dry to opaque and sticky sweet.

Question 22

What are the 2 prominent grapes used in Sherry?

Answer 22

1. Palomino
2. Pedro Ximénez

Question 23

What is the grape in PX?

Answer 23

Pedro Ximénez

Question 24

What is the grape in Fino, Oloroso, and Amontillado Sherries?

Answer 24

Palomino

Question 25

How is PX (Pedro Ximénez) made?

Answer 25

• Pedro Ximénez grapes are dried in the sun prior to fermentation to concentrate the sugars.
• After fortification the wine is aged oxidatively, which is where it gets its opaque, near-black color from and intense prune and coffee-like flavors.

Question 26

Fill in the blank:

Not only is PX its own style of Sherry, it is also used as a _____ for Cream Sherries.

Answer 26

sweetening agent

Question 27

Besides PX, what are 3 other styles of sweet Sherry?

Answer 27

1. Pale Cream
   
   • made from Fino
2. Medium
   
   • made from Amontillado
3. Cream
   
   • made from Oloroso

Question 28

In Sherry, what is the step following fortification?

Answer 28

Aging in a solera system.

Question 29

Describe a solera system.

Answer 29

A fractional blending system which has levels, or rows, of old oak barrels that hold wines at varying stages of development.

The wines in the barrels are regularly blended together as they age to ensure a consistent style for the house.

Question 30

What are the 3 most important styles of dry Sherry?

Answer 30

1. Fino
2. Oloroso
3. Amontillado

Question 31

What helps differentiate the 3 dry styles of Sherry?

Answer 31

• Length of aging in the solera;
• Environmental conditions around and in the solera, including humidity and heat.

Question 32

What is flor?

Answer 32

A layer of yeast that develops on the surface of the Sherry (Sherry barrels are filled only 3/4 full).

Flor protects the wine from heavy oxidation although oxidation still occurs, albeit slowly.

Question 33

Is aging under flor considered oxidative aging or biological aging?

Answer 33

biological aging

Question 34

To what abv is Fino Sherry fortified prior to aging in solera?

Answer 34

15% abv

Yeasts can still survive at this level of alcohol, which is why flor develops on Finos.

Question 35

Describe the profile of a typical Fino Sherry.

Answer 35

• Dry
• Low alcohol (for fortified wine)
• Pale in color (pale lemon)
• Notes of green apple
• Light oxidative notes (yeast/biscuit, almond)

Question 36

Are Fino Sherries at their best when drunk as young as possible or left to age for several years in bottle?

Answer 36

Finos should be drunk as young as possible.

Fino Sherries can start to taste stale shortly after they’re bottled, especially if they’re not refrigerated.

Question 37

Fino Sherries are best served at what temperature?

Answer 37

Chilled

Finos pair perfectly with tapas and salty snacks.

Question 38

What is the dry Sherry that does not develop flor?

Answer 38

Oloroso

Question 39

Why doesn’t Oloroso develop flor?

Answer 39

Oloroso is fortified to 17% abv prior to aging in the solera, and flor cannot survive at such a high level of alcohol.

Question 40

Because Oloroso does not develop flor, how does it age and what’s the term for it?

Answer 40

Oxidatively

Because there is no flor to insulate and protect the wine, the wine is fully exposed to oxygen and becomes brown in color as it ages.

Flavors in Oloroso include dried fruits, deep caramel, and nuts.

Question 41

What is significant or particular about Amontillado Sherry and how it ages?

Answer 41

Amontillado starts off aging biologically (under flor) but it’s refortified to Oloroso level (17%); this refortification kills the flor and the wine ends up aging oxidatively.

Question 42

Because of how Amontillado is made (biologically, then oxidatively), what flavors help define it?

Answer 42

• Bread/bread dough/biscuit (like Finos)
• Nuts, caramel, dried fruits (like Olorosos)