subject: Fortified Wines - A Kick In The Pants [print this page] When discussing wines, most people focus on the two basic categories of whites and reds. Some might even through the sparkling wines in as a third category, but most fail to bring up fortified wines. If you are really serious about wine, this is a mistake.
What is a fortified wine? It is a wine that has grape spirits added to it. No, not paranormal spirits. Spirits as in condensed alcohol. This additional alcohol creates a stronger wine with more kick if you will and also creates a unique flavoring. The world of fortified wines is significantly different than you find with basic wines. There are a number of different types of fortified wines, so let's take a closer look.
Port is perhaps the best known of the fortified wines. It is made in Portugal and is shipped through the city of Oporto. I'll give you ten seconds to figure out how it got the name Port. Regardless, Ports tend to be red, but there are white varieties. This fortified wine is considered a sweeter version because the spirits are added fairly early in the fermentation process. This stops the fermentation, which means a good bit of the grape sugars are not converted to alcohol and remain in the vintage. Your average port will have an alcohol content of roughly 20 percent - a wine with a kick.
Sherry is our second type of fortified wine. Coming from Spain, it is based on white wines with spirits added. Sherry is more of a mutt variation. It tends to be made from mixes of different wines with the spirits being added anywhere along the fermentation process depending on how the brewer wishes the final taste to be. A Sherry can be very sweet or very dry. It tends to have an alcohol content of closer to 15 percent on average.
The Madeira is a form of fortified wine and a very strange one. It is just about the only wine that will keep for ever. You can store it as long as you like. In fact, you can open it and leave it because it will not go bad for a very long time. How can this be? It is heated during the brewing process, making it a cooked wine for a lack of better terminology. Oxygen will ruin just about any wine, but not a Madeira.
Your average Madeira is a heavily acidic fortified wine. Different producers will handle it differently, but the best versions tend to be sweet. Madeira is a take it or leave it drink for many. Few sit on the fence as to whether they like it or not.
Are fortified wines for everyone? No. They tend to be very unique and the kick can be surprising. Still, you would not be a true wine enthusiast if you didn't give them a try.
