Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, and the aromatised wine vermouth.
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👉 Fortified wine in the context of Barossa Valley (wine)
The Barossa Valley wine region is one of Australia's oldest and prestigious wine regions. Located in South Australia, the Barossa Valley is about 56 km (35 miles) northeast of the city of Adelaide. Unlike most of Australia whose wine industry was heavily influenced by the British, the wine industry of the Barossa Valley was founded by German settlers fleeing persecution from the Prussian province of Silesia (in what is now Poland). The warm continental climate of the region promoted the production of very ripe grapes that was the linchpin of the early Australian fortified wine industry. As the modern Australian wine industry shifted towards red table wines (particularly those made by the prestigious Cabernet Sauvignon) in the mid-20th century, the Barossa Valley fell out of favor due to its reputation for being largely a Syrah from producers whose grapes were destined for blending. During this period the name "Barossa Valley" rarely appeared on wine labels. In the 1980s, the emergence of several boutique families specializing in old vine Shiraz wines began to capture international attention for the distinctive style of Barossa Shiraz, a full bodied red wine with rich chocolate and spice notes. This led to a renaissance in the Barossa Valley which catapulted the region to the forefront of the Australian wine industry.
Many of Australia's largest and most notable wineries are either headquartered or own extensive holdings in the Barossa Valley. These include such wineries as Penfolds, Peter Lehmann, Orlando Wines, Seppeltsfield, Wolf Blass and Yalumba. Many Shiraz vines in the Barossa Valley are several decades old, with some vineyards planted with old vines that are 100–150 years old including Turkey Flat in Tanunda that is home to the oldest commercially producing grape vines, originally planted in 1847. Other grape varieties grown in the Barossa Valley include Grenache, Mourvedre, Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, Chardonnay and Semillon.
In this Dossier
- ⭐ Core Definition: Fortified wine
- 👉 Fortified wine in the context of Barossa Valley (wine)
- Fortified wine in the context of Trifle
- Fortified wine in the context of Sherry
- Fortified wine in the context of Marsala wine
- Fortified wine in the context of Port wine
- Fortified wine in the context of Stuck fermentation
Fortified wine in the context of Trifle
Trifle is a layered dessert of English origin. The usual ingredients are a thin layer of ladyfingers or sponge cake soaked in sherry or another fortified wine, a fruit element (fresh or jelly), custard and whipped cream layered in that ascending order in a glass dish. The contents of a trifle are highly variable and many varieties exist, some forgoing fruit entirely and instead using other ingredients, such as chocolate, coffee or vanilla. The fruit and sponge layers may be suspended in fruit-flavoured jelly, and these ingredients are usually arranged to produce three or four layers. The assembled dessert can be topped with whipped cream or, more traditionally, syllabub.
The name trifle was used for a dessert like a fruit fool in the sixteenth century; by the eighteenth century, Hannah Glasse records a recognisably modern trifle, with the inclusion of a gelatin jelly.
Fortified wine in the context of Sherry
Sherry (Spanish: Jerez [xeˈɾeθ]) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versions similar to white table wines, such as Manzanilla and fino, to darker and heavier versions that have been allowed to oxidise as they age in barrel, such as Amontillado and oloroso. Sweet dessert wines are also made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes, and are sometimes blended with Palomino-based sherries.
Under the official name of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, it is one of Spain's wine regions, a Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP). The word sherry is an anglicisation of Xérès (Jerez). Sherry was previously known as sack, from the Spanish saca, meaning "extraction" from the solera. In Europe, "sherry" has protected designation of origin status, and under Spanish law, all wine labelled as "sherry" must legally come from the Sherry Triangle, an area in the province of Cádiz between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. In 1933 the Jerez denominación de origen was the first Spanish denominación to be officially recognised in this way, officially named D.O. Jerez-Xeres-Sherry and sharing the same governing council as D.O. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Fortified wine in the context of Marsala wine
Marsala is a fortified wine, dry or sweet, produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala first received Denominazione di Origine Controllata (DOC) status in 1969.The European Union grants Protected designation of origin (PDO) status to Marsala and most other countries limit the use of the term Marsala to products from the Marsala area.
While unfortified wine is also produced in the Marsala region, it does not qualify for the Marsala DOC.
Fortified wine in the context of Port wine
Port wine (Portuguese: vinho do Porto, Portuguese: [ˈviɲu ðu ˈpoɾtu]; lit. 'wine of Porto'), or simply port, is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in the Douro Valley of northern Portugal. It is typically a sweet red wine, often served with dessert, although it also comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.
Only wines from Portugal are allowed to be labelled "port".
Fortified wine in the context of Stuck fermentation
A stuck fermentation is the term used in brewing beer or winemaking when the yeast becomes dormant before the fermentation has completed. Unlike an "arrested fermentation", where the winemaker intentionally stops fermentation (such as in the production of fortified wines), a stuck fermentation is an unintentional and unwanted occurrence that can lead to the wine being spoiled by bacteria and oxidation.
There are several potential causes of a stuck fermentation; the most common are an excessively high temperature killing off the yeast, or a must deficient in the nitrogen food source needed for the yeast to thrive. Once the fermentation is stuck, it is very difficult to restart due to a chemical compound released by dying yeast cells that inhibits the future growth of yeast cells in the batch. Winemakers often take several steps to limit the possibility of a stuck fermentation occurring, such as adding nitrogen to the must in the form of diammonium phosphate or using cultured yeast with a high temperature and alcohol tolerance. These steps will each have their own subtle or dramatic effect on the resulting flavors and quality of the wine.