wines, fortified , are a class of wines to which distilled spirits, such as a neutral brandy, have been added; they are almost always then aged in oak. In the EU, these are also known as “liqueur wines” (by law, ranging from 15 percent to 24 percent alcohol). Such wines are often sweet or flavored, often through the addition of sugar, grape must, aromatic herbs, and/or spices. Fortified wines, such as vermouth, sherry, port, Madeira, marsala, and mistelle, are often mass-produced and can range from the most prized wines in the world to low-end plonk. The fortification process has historically been used as a method to cover up lesser or even inferior wines, including those that are thin and neutral in character, such as ones made from the Italian trebbiano grape (French: ugni blanc) used in vermouths or the Spanish palomino, used in sherry. See
Fortification may occur at any one of three points during wine production: before, during, and after fermentation. The first practice is exemplified by Cognac’s pineau des Charentes, in which high-proof spirit is added to unfermented ugni blanc must, thus killing any yeasts and stopping fermentation, but still making for a beverage of between 17 percent and 20 percent alcohol, with fruity, sweet flavors. The French refer to this category of fortified wine as mistelle; the EU recognizes this classification for all such beverages, though the primary examples are French, including also floc de Gascogne, pommeau (in Calvados), and ratafia champagne. See mistelle.
When fortification happens mid-fermentation, yeast is again inhibited from converting sugar to alcohol, though a portion of the sugar has already been transformed. Port is the most famous of such sweet fortified wines. The timing of the fortification will determine the sweetness of the beverage, and port producers use this sweetness to help differentiate their brands one from another. Most Madeira wines are made in this fashion, as well as most other historically significant fortified wines: moscato de Setubal from Portugal, marsala from Italy, Australian “stickies”, muscat beaume de Venise, and the myriad muscat and grenache-based fortified wines of the Rhône valley.
The third method of fortification sees distilled spirit added to the product after the fermentation is complete, bolstering the ABV of the wine. Sherry is the most famous of these: most sherries begin as wines with about 11 percent alcohol and are fortified to between 15 and 20 percent, depending on the style and producer.
Distilled spirits used for fortification are most often neutral in character, run through a column still. See still, continuous. In most cases, grape-based neutral spirits or brandies are used, but some categories of fortified wine (especially some aromatized wines such as vermouth) may include either grain-, cane-, or beet-based spirits. The spirit used in fortification is highly dependent on the category and region where the wine is made; sherries use a neutral spirit made from the airén grape, produced in bulk in La Mancha.
Fortification offers a means for extending the life of a wine; the most famous fortified wine categories were primarily created for export markets, especially the United Kingdom. Fortification provided greater stability and longevity, sufficient to survive a long ocean voyage. Thus some of the most notable wines between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries were fortified and were consumed prominently in European colonies, especially colonial America. Madeira was used to toast the completion of the Declaration of Independence and was a favorite of the first US president, George Washington. When punch was first introduced into British drinking circles, in the late seventeenth century, it was consumed in opposition to the old-fashioned fortified wines, but by the mid-eighteenth century it was found on the same table as the punch bowl, and even in it. Fortified wines also became popular in American mixed drinks such as juleps and the Sherry Cobbler in the nineteenth century. See julep; punch; sangaree; and Sherry Cobbler.
Fortified wines became a prominent mixer in cocktails in the latter half of the nineteenth century, especially vermouth, which is a major component of cocktails such as the Manhattan and Martini. See Manhattan Cocktail and Martini. (Vermouth is not only an aromatized wine, but it is also fortified, and barrel aged as well.) See vermouth. But other fortified wines such as port, sherry, and Madeira can be found in early cocktail manuals and are increasingly being rediscovered in new cocktails as well.
Dominé, André. The Ultimate Guide to Spirits and Cocktails. Königswinter, Germany: H. F. Ullmann, 2008.
OIV Regulations
Sherry Wines website. https://www.sherry.wine (accessed April 9, 2021).
Wondrich, David. Punch!. New York: Perigee, 2010.
By: Derek Brown