Fortified Wines

Sherry + Port
What are Fortified wines….

⚫ A wine that is fortified – has spirits ( usually neutral,

distilled grape spirits, a clear brandy ) added to it.

⚫ Examples- Sherry, Port, Madeira, Marsala, Malaga

⚫ The original reason for fortification was to preserve wines,

as the higher alcohol level and additional sweetness (if the
alcohol is added before fermentation finishes, killing the
yeast and leaving residual sugar) help to preserve the wine.
Definitions …
⚫ Sherry
⚫ It is a blended and fortified wine from Spain. Alcoholic % - 18-21%
⚫ It is a white blended wine

⚫ Port wine
(also known as Vinho do Porto, Oporto, Porto, and often
simply Port) is a Portuguese, fortified wine from the Douro Valley in
the Northern provinces of Portugal.

⚫ Typically a sweet red wine, but also comes in dry, semi-dry and
white varieties.

⚫ T he bottled strength is in the region of 18-20% but can be high as 22%.

Terrior & Grapes…
Sherry Port
⚫ Jerez Triangle ⚫ Sub regions of Duoro
Valley
⚫ Soil - Albariza
⚫ BAXICO CORGO
⚫ CIMA CORGO
⚫ Grapes- ⚫ DOURO SUPERIOR
⚫ Palomino ⚫ Grapes used -
⚫ TOURIGA NACIONAL
⚫ Pedro Ximenez
⚫ TINTA RORIZ
⚫ Muscatel
⚫ TINTA BARROCA
⚫ TINTA CAO
⚫ TOURIGA FRANSECA
Manfacturing Process..
Sherry Port
FERMENTATION
FERMENTATION

FORTIFICATION
FORTIFICATION

MATURATION & BLENDING

(SOLERA SYSTEM) MATURATION

BOTTLING BOTTLING
Service Temperatures …
Sherry
⚫ Amontillados &
Olorosos - 17 deg C
⚫ Finos – 8 deg C
⚫ Stored in a cool place. To
be consumed within 4-
days of opening.
Port
⚫ Vintage Port - 18 deg C
⚫ Ruby & Tawny –
11-14 deg C
⚫ White Port – 8 deg C
⚫ Stored in a cool place with
no exposure to sunlight. To
be consumed within 4-
days of opening.
Service…
Sherry Port
⚫ Dry sherries served as ⚫ White, dry ports as
aperitifs. aperitifs
⚫ Sweet sherries as a
digestif. ⚫ Reds & Tawny with nuts,
⚫ Served in a Sherry copita cheese in the dessert &
glass fromage course or after a
meal
Brands…
Sherry Port
⚫ Osborne ⚫ Cockburn
⚫ Sandman ⚫ Sandman
⚫ Harvey ⚫ Dow
⚫ Graham ⚫ Fonesca
⚫ Croft
A bit more about Sherry…
⚫ On harvesting, the grapes are sun dried to concentrate the
sugars. Only free run juice is used.
⚫ The new wine is fermented until dry and then transferred to big
butts (casks)
⚫ On the wines' surface a type of cream or veil of yeasts has
formed. This veil is called "Flor“ (flower).

⚫ This is a natural formation and preserves the wine from

oxidation.
⚫ In some barrels the flor dies because it has consumed all
nutrients in the wine and sinks to the bottom.
⚫ These different levels of fortification and alcohol content, aging
will determine the type of sherry
Solera System
⚫ Each row of casks or criadera represents a different aged wine, the
oldest being at the bottom, which is the floor level with younger
wines above it
⚫ The lowest row or scale is known as "solera" (from the Spanish
word suelo, or ground) and contains the oldest wine.
⚫ Wine for bottling is always drawn off from the ground-level casks
("solera").
⚫ Later, the wine extracted from the butts on the ground-
⚫ level row is replaced by the same quantity of wine from the first
nursery.
⚫ This wine in turn is replaced with wine from the 2nd nursery and
so on up to the wines on the highest row of butts, which are
finally blended with the new wines from the last harvest.
⚫ This insures the "flor" protecting the wine will not be damaged
⚫ This operation is known in Jerez as "running the scales"
Styles of Sherry..
⚫ Fino ('fine' in Spanish) is the dryest and palest of the traditional varieties of
sherry.

⚫ Manzanilla is a variety of fino sherry. If it loses its “flor” it will be called a

Manzanilla Pasada

⚫ Amontillado is aged first under a cap of flor yeast, and then is exposed to
oxygen, which produces a result darker than fino but lighter than oloroso.

⚫ Oloroso ('scented' in Spanish) is a variety of sherry aged oxidatively for a

longer time than a fino or amontillado, producing a darker and richer wine.

⚫ Cream Sherry is created by blending dry oloroso is sweetened with Pedro

Ximénez or Moscatel wine.
Different Syles of Sherry…
A bit more about Port..
⚫ The wine is then stored and aged, often in barrels stored in caves
(Portuguese meaning "cellars") before being bottled.

⚫ The Douro valley where Port wine is produced was defined and
established as a protected region, or appellation in 1756 — making
it the oldest defined and protected wine region in the world..

⚫ The bottled strength is in the region of 18-20% but can be high as

22%.

⚫ Minimum aging of 3 yrs before being released in the market

Styles…
⚫ Tawny Port – Barrel matured wines, showing lighter amber colours.
Aged for about six years. Expensive port wine.

⚫ Vintage port – Finest and most expensive port style. Product of single
harvest. Matured in oak cask for minimum 8 years.

⚫ Ruby Port – A blend of old and young wine. The old for softness and
young for fresh fruitiness. Chilled before bottling. 2-3 yrs aging.

⚫ White Port – Made from white grapes. Same process, can be dry,
medium, or sweet. Minimum aging