This document provides information on fortified wines such as Sherry, Port, and Madeira. It discusses [1] the definition of fortified wines and how they are made by adding alcohol during or after fermentation, [2] the production regions and styles of Sherry in Spain and Port in Portugal, and [3] how Madeira is produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira using a process called "estufa" to heat and cook the wine.

1. FORTIFIED WINES
DEFINITION & INTRODUCTION____________________
Table wines that are strengthened by the addition of alcohol, usually a grape
spirit (brandy) are called fortified wines. Brandy may be added during fermentation
as in Port wine or after fermentation as in Sherry. These wines are usually red or white
in colour. These wines are now known as Liqueur wines or vins de liqueur. Their
alcoholic strength varies between 16 – 22% by volume. For instance:
Sherry - (16-21%) - made in Spain
Port - (18-22%) - made in Portugal
Madeira - 18%) - made at Madeira island, Portugal
Marsala - (18%) - made at Sicily, Italy
Malaga - (18%) - made in southern Spain
Other examples include Muscat and Muscatel made from Muscat grape. They are
sweet and raisin-like with a strong bouquet. For example: Muscat de Beaumes-de-
Venise in Cotes du Rhone. This wine is fortified with spirit before fermentation is
complete so that some of the natural sugar remains in the wine. It is drunk young.
VARIOUS FORTIFIED WINES______________________
(i) SHERRY:
Real Sherry comes only from the demarcated area of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalucia,
south-west Spain. Jerez (pronounced Hereth), Sanlucar de Barrameda and Peurto de
Santa Maria are the centers of production.
Grapes: Listan Palomino, Pedro_Xeminez and Moscatel are used for the production of
Sherry. Palomino accounts for 85% of the yield and provides the base wine from which
all sherries are produced.
Soil: Three types of soil accommodate the vine. ALbariza is white, chalky and the best.
Barro is next best and is of heavy, mud clay. Arena is sandy soil, which is gradually
being used for crops other than the grape.
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2. Climate: The climate is uneven and when the rain falls in late October and early
November, they are conserved. This is done by digging a square metre of soil down
towards the roots of each vine, which is called as serpia. The excess soil is formed into
a rim along the square. The rains lodge within the rim and later seep through to the
roots to keep the vine healthy and productive in the torrid summer heat.
MAKING SHERRY
The grapes (gathered in September) are laid out on esparato grass mats to dry. They
are then mechanically crushed in bodegas (cellars). Fermentation takes place in oak
casks or stainless steel vats. At first the fermentation is tumultuous (bubbling, seething,
foaming as if a pot was boiling) and then slumbers gently to a completion. The new wine
is put into a group of small casks called criaderas. Its alcoholic strength is 12.5%.
In this nursery or cradle, the wine's progress is monitored. By springtime, flor (flower) is
formed on the surface of some wines. Technically, it is a yeast strain called
Saccharomyces beticus that forms a 10 mm thick crust. Flor contributes to the wine's
individual taste and character besides sealing the wine from harmful bacteria and
prevents it from oxidising. However, the development of flor is unpredictable. Wines that
have the development of flor will become Finos and the others Olorosos. The finos are
then fortified up to 15.5% and Olorosos are strengthened to 18% by volume by the
addition of high-strength local brandy. Both styles will be fortified again before being
sold. Bottled Sherries vary in strength between 16 and 21% - the sweeter varieties are
more heavily fortified. All Sherries are put into an appropriate solera, once their
classification is done.
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3. THE SOLERA SYSTEM
The word solera comes from the Italian word suelo, which means shoe-sole. But, in
terms of sherry, it is translated to mean casks touching the ground. The purpose of
solera system is to provide a consistent product. It is thus, a system of blending and
maturing.
The solera comprises of a group of casks placed one on top of the other four or more
scales high. The oldest wines are always in the bottom casks and the youngest in the
top row. The wine required for sale is partially drawn off from the bottom casks. Only,
one-third of the volume is extracted each year. This is replaced by wine from casks in
the scale immediately above. Thus, it continues through the tiers with the older wines
continually refreshed and replenished by those from above. Inevitably, the younger
wines take on the characteristics of the old.
Before botling the wine is tested for strength, quality, and clarity. Pedro Ximenez and
Moscatel grape juice is boiled down to one-fifth by volume and added to the blend for
for final sweetness and colour to suit the style.
STYLES OF SHERRY
(a) Fino: It is pale, dry, light and delicate sherry with a wonderful bouquet. It is a
producer's dream because it can be converted into any style. It is served chilled.
(b) Manzanilla: It is a type of fino sherry - light and dry with an attractive salty tang,
which is obtained from its maturation by the sea. It is made from grapes grown by the
sea at Sanlucar de Barrameda. As it ages, it loses its flor and becomes Manzanilla
Pasada. It is served chilled.
© Amontillado: It is an extension of a robust style fino and resembles wine from the
nearby region of Montilla. Often it is slightly sweetened and coloured to suit international
markets. It may be prefixed “dry” but in real sense are not so.
(d) Oloroso: Like all Sherries, it is naturally dry but considerable sweetening is added.
It is promoted under names such as Milk, Cream, Golden, Brown and Amoroso. The
colour is deep golden or brown. It is served at room temperature.
(e) Palo Cortado: It is a wonderful style of sherry served at room temperature. It smells
like Amontillado and tastes like Oloroso. It is not available outside Spain.
(f) Almacenista: These are dry, old, unblended, exceptional quality Sherries. It means
a stockholder, warehouse or bodega owner who produces sherry to be sold to a bigger
concern. They are used to improve more mundane brands.
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4. SHERRY SHIPPERS
The best known sherry shippers are:
Croft Duff Gordon Garvey
Gonzalez Byas Harveys La Riva
Osborne Pedro Domecq Sandeman
Williams & Humbert
(ii) PORT:
Port is a great fortified wine associated with England. The name comes from Porto
(Oporto city), and is made from grapes grown in Upper Douro valley in northern
Portugal – a demarcated region of production.
Grapes: Grape varieties that may be used to make red Port are Bastardo, Donzelinho
Tinto, Tinta Roriz, Tinta Francisca, Touriga Francesa, Tinta Cao and Mourisco.
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5. Gouveio, Malvasia Fina, Malvesia Rei, Donzelinho and Rabigato are varieties for white
port.
Soil: Vineyards are mostly sited on hillsides overlooking the Douro river. The soil in
these terraced vineyards is made up of granite and schistose stone. Schist is brown,
slatey, and rich in minerals and is very important for port production. Picks, crowbars
and explosives are used to break it for planting. Cultivation of vine is extremely labour-
intensive and expensive as the vineyards are steep and mechanization is not possible.
Climate: Winters are very cold and summers are very hot in Douro valley i.e. it has an
extreme climate. All the rainfall falls in the winter month of December. When the rains
fall, the water lodges in the terraces and the moisture is conserved to keep the vines
healthy throughout the long, hot summer.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY
In the seventeenth and eighteenth century, because of friction between France and
England, a trade relationship developed between the later and Portugal. Portuguese
wines were imported in England at one-third less duty than French wines.
At that time, the wines of Douro were red & sweetish and traveled badly on their voyage
to England. Sometimes, a second fermentation would occur and spoil the wine. As a
result, the British merchants found a solution of adding brandy to keep the wine healthy
and stop the refermentation. Real success came when the brandy was added early in
the fermenting process resulting in retaining of natural sweetness.
MAKING PORT
The stalks are removed (as only a little tannin is required) and the grapes are crushed
without breaking the pips in a centrifugal crusher. The juice and skins are pumped into a
special vat called an autovinificator and the must starts to ferment. Pressure also builds
up. The must is forced up into an open reservoir with the help of a must-propelling
machine at the top of the vat where carbon dioxide is released. The must comes back
down through the cap (manta) of grape skins, extracting maximum colour and
goodness. The CO2 escape valves close automatically on top. The procedure is
repeated until the saccharometer shows the desired sugar content reading.
When the alcoholic strength reaches between 6% and 8% i.e. sugar content is at 6°
Baume, the must is pumped into a vat in the adega (barn-like cellar). Aguardiente (local
brandy at an alcoholic strength of 78%) is also added at the same time to stop further
fermentation. The proportion allowed is 100 litres of brancy to every 450 litres of wine.
The mixture is thoroughly roused and integrated. The fortified wine obtained is naturally
sweet and has alcoholic strength of 16.5%.
This wine is rested in winter. The sediment falls to the bottom of the vat and makes the
wine bright. Before June (i.e. after about three months), the wine is transported from the
Douro to the shipper's loja (meaning lodges or warehouses) at Vila Nova de Gaia.
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6. These lodges are located on the left bank of Douro. The new port is now fortified to 21%
alcoholic strength. This is settled, classified and transferred to wooden tuns or pipes. A
pipe holds 115 gallons or produces 660 bottles of port.
STYLES OF PORT
Various styles of Port are as follows:
(a) Ruby port: It is a young port, deep red or ruby in colour and hence the name. It is a
blended port of different years and is matured for about four years during which it takes
on its hue. Air penetration and the racking process help in this colour-change. This port
was used in the drink - port and lemon.
(b) Tawny port: It is a blended port of different years and matured in cask until it
becomes tawny or russet brown in colour. It is matured from 8 to 20 years in casks.
Colheitas are old tawny ports from a single vintage. They are smooth and delicate, often
maturing for 20 to 40 years in cask. Cheap tawny ports are blends of ruby and white
ports.
(c) Crusted port: It is a blend of several vintages and bottled young. As it ages in bottle
it forms a crust (deposit or lees), hence the name. It is smooth and requires decanting.
(d) Vintage port: It is a product of a single year when all the elements have combined
to produce-the ultimate in quality. Shippers declare a vintage on average once every
four years. The wine receives a short maturing period in cask and is bottled without
fining between 1st July in the second year and 30th June of the third year. It spends the
rest of its life slowly ageing in bottle. The wine is usually aged for over 20 years. Corks
are usually replaced every 15 years as they become brittle and crumbly because of their
long contact with alcohol. Decanting is required while serving them.
(e) Late bottled vintage (LBV): This is a wine of a single good year, but kept twice as
long maturing in cask than for vintage ports. It is bottled between 1st July of the fourth
year and 30th June of the sixth year. Once bottled it is ready for drinking and does not
require decanting.
(f) Vintage character port: It is a blend of different years and matured in cask for about
four years. It is of good quality but not like vintage quality. It is ready to drink once
bottled.
(g) Single Quinta port: This is a port made from one estate in a year when the general
standard was not good enough to be declared a vintage. It may be treated as for
vintage port.
(h) White port: It is made as other ports from white grapes. It is pale gold in colour with
a soft, rich, honeyed taste. White port is matured in wood before bottling.
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7. (i) Aperitif white port: It is made from white grapes and fermented until almost
completely dry. It is thus fortified after the fermentation is over. It is matured in wood
and bottled for sale.
CLASSIFICATION
Port that has spent most of its life maturing in cask - white, ruby, tawny - is classified as
wood port and that aged in glass for most of its life is classified as bottle port.
PORT WINE SHIPPERS
Port wine shippers include:
Calem Churchill Cocksburn
Croft Delaforce Dow
Ferreira Fonseca Graham
Sandeman Taylor & Warre Quinta do Noval
(iii) MADEIRA:
Madeira is a versatile fortified wine served as an aperitif, as a soup wine, as a dessert
wine or as an after-dinner wine and produced on the Portuguese island of Madeira. This
island lies in the Atlantic Ocean, 560 kms from Lisbon.
Grapes: There are four main vines in cultivation which produce white grapes: Sercial,
Verdelho, Bual (Portuguese Boal) and Malmsey. The grapes are grown near the coast
on the steep terraced slopes, where irrigation is necessary to keep the vines healthy.
These vines are trained on pergolas, which give the grapes some protection from the
fierce sunrays. The grapes grown at sea level - Bual and Verdelho - are picked first,
then the Malmsey and lastly the Sercial grapes that are cultivated on the higher, cooler
terraces. The grapes are mainly troddened by foot and the juice is transported down in
goatskin containers to the central wineries at Funchal.
BACKGROUND & HISTORY
Madeira island was discovered by Joao Gonsalves Zarco. As it was covered with trees,
it was named as Madeira - meaning 'wood or timber'. The trees were set on fire, which
burnt for seven long years, enriching the volcanic soil with potash. This soil is very
suitable for cultivation of vine and sugar cane. The vine flourished with the help of sub-
tropical climate and the wines of Madeira were exported to England and other European
countries by the end of 15th century.
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8. MAKING MADEIRA
Fermentation: The drier Madeiras (Sercial and Verdelho) are vinified as for sherry and
are fortified only after the completion of fermentation. The sweet Madeiras (Bual and
Malmsey) are made in the fashion of port and fortification takes place during
fermentation, thus retaining their natural sweetness. Grape spirit i.e. brandy or highly
rectified rum is generally used for fortification.
The estufa system: Madeira casks were used as ballast on ships going to and from the
East Indies. This long journey (involving crossing the equator twice) imparted an
attractive 'cooked' flavour to the wine.
An estufagem is a simulated version of this process. It consists of an estufa - a heated
chamber with tanks. After filling these with wine, the tanks are slowly heated, never
increasing by more than 5° C per day. As the temperature increases the wine is baked,
over a month, up to a temperature of 45-50°C. it is held at this heat for a minimum of
three months. Some shippers keep the wine in the estufa longer at lower maximum
temperatures as they feel it gives better results. Another month is then taken to turn the
heat down in the same slow, gradual manner. (A thermometer, with a governmental
seal, is attached to each estufa. If the estufa is heated beyond a certain permitted
temperature the seal will break and the wine cannot be sold as Madeira.)
The wine is given a light fortification before going into the estufa and a more substantial
one when it comes out. Madeira is eventually bottled at an alcoholic strength of 21%.
Before that it will be matured through the solera system and rested before sale.
STYLES OF MADEIRA
Each style of Madeira is based on one of the types of grapes used in its production.
Tinta Negramole is sometimes used to make a cheaper version of these famous
brands.
(a) Serdal: It is dry, amber in colour, nutty flavoured and has a crisp, piquant aftertaste.
It is served chilled as an aperitif and refreshes the palate.
(b) Verdelho: It is a golden, versatile, medium sweet wine with a dry finish. It can be
drunk as an aperitif, with soup or cake, or enjoyed on its own.
© Bual: It is richer, stronger, deeper and sweeter than Verdelho. Bual has a slightly
honeyed flavour that is never cloying. It is ideal as a dessert wine.
(d) Malmsey: It is the most renowned of all Madeiras. It is deep-brown, luscious, fat,
dessert wine. Although it is gloriously sweet it has a lovely, contrasting dryness on the
palate.
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9. (e) Rainwater: It is a blend of the lighter Madeiras - Sercial and Verdelho. Rainwater is
popular in America and in some parts of England. It gets its name from the time when
casks of Madeira were accidentally diluted with rainwater.
(f) Vintage Madeiras: These are very rare. Solera-dated Madeiras are readily
available but are not vintage Madeiras. The date on the label indicates when the
solera was first established. -
MADEIRA SHIPPERS
Madeira shippers include:
Blandy Cossart Gordon Leacock
Lomelino Rutherford Miles
(iv) MARSALA:
It is the main dessert wine of Italy and takes its name from a town by same name in
north-west of Sicily. It is a dark, assertively flavoured luscious wine with a scorched
taste like that of Madeira. It has a versatile use in the kitchen being used to flavour
some veal dishes and sweet dishes, such as Zabaglione & Tiramisu. Various
concoctions like Marsala all”uovo are famous. It is an inexpensive after-dinner drink.
Catarratto, Grillio and Inzolia grape varieties used in production of Marsala are semi-
dried before being harvested. A sweet wine is made from these grapes. Brandy is mixed
with this wine to get sifone. Caramelised reduction of unfermented grape juice called
vino cotto is added to this sifone to get Marsala. Some are matured for four months and
better varieties upto five years. It is often blended and matured by solera system. There
is a fairly dry variety, called Virgin, extensively consumed as an aperitif.
(v) MALAGA:
It is sweet liqueur wine with an aroma and bouquet of raisins and comes from the area
around the town of that name in Andalucia, Spain. Germany is its main market.
It is made mainly from two grapes: Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez. Usually, the grapes
are shriveled in sun and the sugar is concentrated. For dry Malagas, juice is extracted
immediately after picking.
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10. Malaga Lagrima – a wine of great finesse is made from Lagrima - juice released from
grapes by the pressure of their own weight. The juice is fermented in large oak or resin
– lined cement vats and then matured and blended through the solera system.
Typically, Malagas are sweet (dolce) but dry (seco) and medium sweet (semi-dolce) are
also available.
OTHER FORTIFIED WINES________________________
Some of the less famous sweet fortified wines produced in these as well other countries
are as follows:
(i) TARRAGONA: Known as poor man’s port, it comes from the area south of
Barcelona, Spain. It is a thick, deeply coloured, very sweet wine at a moderate price.
(ii) MOSCATEL DE SETUBAL: Setubal is less concentrated sweet fortified wine
with a perfume of fruit. It is made at the port of Setubal, thirty kilometers south of Lisbon
by method similar to those used for making port.
(iii) PORT AND SHERRY STYLES PRODUCED IN NEW WORLD
COUNTRIES: There is vast production of port-styles and sherry-styles outside the
Douro valley and the area of Jerez.
Some port-styles from South Africa and Australia are comparable to or surpass, the
plainest kinds of authentic port. In South Africa, a large range of excellent sherries is
made offering better value for money than the humbler wines from Jerez. Especially
successful are South African finos. Cyprus produces an extensive range of Sherrie. The
sweet Sherries are not without appeal though they lack the finesse of well-made sweet
Spanish Sherries. One or two dry Sherries are also made.
POINTS TO PONDER____________________________
1. Explain the following terms: (a) Bodega [Nov-05]
2. Describe the manufacturing process of Madeira and Sherry. [Nov-05 / Nov-04]
3. Give two examples of grapes used in the production of Sherry & Port. [April-05 /
Nov-04]
4. Explain the following types of Port: (a) Tawny Port (b) Vintage Port (c) Single
Quinta Port (c) Crusted Port (d) Crusted Port (e) Ruby Port (f) White Port [April-05]
5. Explain four styles of sherry. [April-05]
6. Name the grapes used in the manufacture of Port. [April-04]
7. Explain the various types of Port and name the four shippers of Port wine. [April-04
/ Nov-04]
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11. 8. With the help of a labeled diagram explain the Solera system with reference to the
production of Sherry. [April-04 / Nov-04]
9. Explain the following terms: (a) Butt (b) Quintas (c) Bodegas (d) Estufa [April-04]
10. Write a short note on Estufa system with reference to Madeira wine. [Nov-04]
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12. 8. With the help of a labeled diagram explain the Solera system with reference to the
production of Sherry. [April-04 / Nov-04]
9. Explain the following terms: (a) Butt (b) Quintas (c) Bodegas (d) Estufa [April-04]
10. Write a short note on Estufa system with reference to Madeira wine. [Nov-04]
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