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itemsFebruary 28th, 2024
After last week’s column on sherry, two events of relevance happened. Item one, of course somebody came in looking for dry sherry to cook with, and of course the recipe didn’t specify what kind of dry sherry. Item number two was an email from Ian, one of our readers, who asked about the topic of port wine. Port and sherry are often discussed in the same sentence, and shelved together in stores, because they are both fortified wines from the Iberian peninsula. Though the column on sherry and the inquiry of port beg the question, what is fortified wine anyway?
In a world where there wasn’t reliable refrigeration, and wine was shipped around the world in barrels, sloshing around below deck on big boats across the seven seas, bacterial spoilage and oxidation were always a risk. To avoid unwanted bugs from wreaking havoc on the wine and creating a barrel of vinegar, wine could be “fortified” with spirits to a level that would make it impossible for microbial life to survive. As for oxidation, why not turn a bug into a feature? More on that later though.
To fortify wine a high proof spirit, usually grape based distillate, is added to wine during, or after fermentation to raise the alcohol percentage up to around 18 to 20% by volume. The spirit used can be a neutral grain based one, but that depends on local laws regarding wine fortification. This extends the shelf life once the bottle is opened, lengthens the lifespan of the bottle unopened, kills off any yeast preventing further fermentation, and creates an inhospitable environment for other little microbes.
If the spirit is added during fortification, then any grape sugar leftover that hasn’t been turned into alcohol will add sweetness like in the case of port wine. If fortification happens after fermentation, like with sherry, it permits the production of a dry wine. Great, so we’ve covered that port and sherry exist, what else is there?
I’m sure that I’m going to forget something, but here goes… France has Banyuls, Rivesaltes, Maury, and interesting fortified wines made out of Tannat in the south west. The island of Cyprus has Commandaria. Spain has Sherry, Montilla Moriles, Malaga, and Garnatxa d’Espodol. Portugal has Port, Madeira, and Carcavelos. Italy has Marsala. Port style wines are made around the world, notable examples coming from Australia, and technically we can count vermouth in the family of fortified wines. Though vermouth is also aromatized with 11 herbs and spices (give or take), unique in the family of fortifieds.
Adjacent to these proper fortified wines, there’s a style in France called vins de liqueur in which local brandy is added to unfermented grape juice. Examples of these styles include Floc de Gascogne, Pineau des Charentes in Cognac, Macvin du Jura, and in Normandy they do the same thing with apple juice and apple brandy called Pommeau de Normandie. These vins de liqueur are concocted to be about the same alcoholic strength as other fortifieds listed above clocking in around 18 to 20% abv.
One aspect that I find fascinating is that many of these styles employ the deliberate use of oxidation and heat, typical enemies of wine, to produce the finished product. Madeira is famously oxidized and heated to what would seem to be irresponsible levels for fine wine, while Rivesaltes is aged in glass bottles called demijohns left outside exposed to the sun and the elements before it’s bottled. The wine is well punished, and as a result once these oxidative wines are open the shelf life is practically indefinite. I’ve drank madeira from bottles that have been open for more than a year with no serious degradation in quality.
You could dedicate entire books to any of these categories, and some people have, so it is tough to cover them in this weekly newsletter, but each one is a traditional style worth exploring when you have the opportunity.
-Joe Buchter, Import Wine Buyer
