Fortified wines, like sparkling wines, are the result of a process beyond simple vinification.
Fortified wines are manipulated through the addition of neutral grape spirit, in order to strengthen the base wines for the purpose of added body, warmth, durability or ageworthiness. Through centuries of effort, the world’s premier fortified wine regions have developed unique regimes of production and aging; these methodologies—or manipulations of the base material—have become inextricably linked to the terroir of the wines. Port, Madeira, and Sherry represent the three great archetypes of fortified wine, yet each is utterly distinct. Sicily’s Marsala; France’s vin doux naturel; many of Greece’s PDO wines; Portugal’s Setúbal, Carcavelos, and Pico; Sherry’s close cousins Málaga, Montilla-Moriles, and Condado de Huelva; the many fading traditional styles of the Iberian peninsula—Tarragona Clásico, Rueda Dorado, etc.—and a myriad number of New World adaptations constitute the remaining stratum of fortified wine styles. Vermouth and quinquinas, fortified wines flavored by maceration with additional herbs and spices (cinchona bark is essential to the flavor of quinquinas) are properly considered aromatized wines.
There are three general methods of fortification. A wine’s fermentation may be arrested through the addition of spirit while sugars remain (as in the case of Port) or the wine may be fortified after the fermentation has concluded (as in the case of Sherry). The latter method produces a dry fortified wine, although the winemaker may restore sweetness by the addition of sweetened wine or grape syrup. The third method, in which grape must is fortified prior to fermentation, produces a mistelle rather than a fortified wine. This category was once exclusively known as vins de liq
Hi, I quick question regarding sugar levels in the different categories of Madeira. In the compendium, it says that Sercial for example can be either Extra-Dry, or Dry. Extra-Dry being leff than 0.5 Baumé, and Dry less than 1.5 Baumé. If I Baumé equals 18g/l, shouldn't the sugar levels be much lower than 18-65g/l RS? Thanks!
Hey Lucy! This is an interesting one, mostly due to Baumé. This scale was widely used in Europe until the 1960s. The measurement unit does not measure RS but specific gravity. Per the law, the wine itself must be max 1.5˚ Baume for Dry. The IVDP does feature a chart where the maximum RS of dry wine is 65 g/l. If you look at tech sheets for top bottlings of Sercial most are hovering ~40-55 g/l RS.