Certified Sommelier Fortified Wines Flashcards

Fortified wine definition

Fortified wines are manipulated through the addition of neutral grape spirit, in order to strengthen the base wines for the purpose of added body, warmth, durability or ageworthiness.

Three general methods of fortification

A wine's fermentation may be arrested through the addition of spirit while sugars remain.A wine may be fortified after the fermentation has concluded. Grape must is fortified prior to fermentation, producing a mistelle rather than a fortified wine. This category was once exclusively known as vins de liqueur (liqueur wines), but the EU has extended its definition to include all fortified wines.

Method for Port fortification

The wine's fermentation is arrested through the addition of spirit while sugars remain

Where does Port come from

Portugal's Douro ValleyDemarcated in 1756 (one of the world's oldest appellations)

Oversees the production of Port

Douro Port Wine Institute - Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e Porto (IVDP)The IVDP requires Port houses to maintain compliance with the lei do tergo ("law of the third"), a decree restricting sales of Port to one-third of a house's total inventory annually

Beneficio authorization

The IVDP grants the maximum amount of wine that may be fortified in a given year, based on a matrix of twelve factors (based on soil, climate, and vines)

Preferred red grapes for Porto

Touriga NacionalTouriga FrancesaTinta RorizTinta CÃ£oTinta BarrocaTinta AmarelaTinta FranciscaBastardoMourisco Tinto

Preferred white grapes for Porto

GouveioMalvasia FinaViosinhoRabigatoEsgana CÃ£oFolgasÃ£o.

What percentage of red grapes must constitute the blend

60%

Beneficio

The fortification of wine with spirit. Known as "mutage" in France, this halts fermentation killing the yeasts and preserving sweetness in the Port

When does fortification of Port usually occur

When approximately one-third of the sugar content has been converted to alcohol

What spirit is added to Port

Aguardente ("burning water")A 77% alcohol neutral grape spiritContributes nothing to the character of the wine. It imparts the robustness necessary for the new Port to reach a proper maturity

Traditional vessel for aging and shipping Port

A pipeIn Douro Valley, it usually holds 550L. In Vila Nova de Gaia, it often holds 620L.A pipe for shipping Port is 534.24L

Two broad styles of Port

RubyTawny

Ruby Ports

Bottle-agedGenerally display darker color, more youthful fruit and spice tones, and a more aggressive, fiery character

Tawny Ports

Cask-agedDevelop more complex, mature tones of toffee, dried fruits, toasted nuts, and timeLighter, amber tones of color as it ages in wood

Ruby Port: Vintage Port

Most expensive style. Only declared in exceptional years. Aged in cask before being bottled three years after harvest

Ruby Port: Late-Bottled Vintage Port

Spends 4-6 years in cask prior to bottling

Tawny Port: Reserve Tawny

Aged for at least seven years prior to bottling

Tawny Port: Tawny with Indication of Age

Result from high quality fruit and are matured in seasoned wood.The age is an approximation. The IVDP deems a 10 year old Tawny Port to taste like a 10 Year old Tawny Port regardless of the wine's actual age.

Tawny Port: Colheita Tawny

Vintage-dated Port that spends a minimum of seven years in cask

Madeira's distinctive character

Originally developed their distinctive character on lengthy ocean voyages through the tropics, where the wines would be subjected to repeated heating and cooling. The torna viagem ("round trip") is approximated today by heating the wine during the production process. When coupled with lengthy cask aging, the resulting wine is nearly indestructibleâthe ravages of heat and air are embraced, as they impart Madeira's distinctive character

Where can Madeira DOP wines be produced

On Madeira or neighboring Porto Santa

Regulatory body for Madeira

Wine, Embroidery and Handicraft Institute of Madeira (IVBAM)

Three types of companies involved in the Madeira wine trade

The production companies make the wine, and most are based in Funchal, Madeira's capital. Shipping companies trade wine, rather than make it, and are usually based in London. A shipper will select wines from a producer, who will then bottle the wine under the shipper's brand. Partidistas, who store wine and sell it at maturity to other traders for a profit. Partidistas are similar to the almacenistas of the Sherry trade

Principal grape of Madeira

Tinta Negra (formerly called Tinta Negra Mole) is the island's workhorse, accounting for nearly 85% of its total production.

Principal noble white grapes of Madeira

Sercial (Esgana CÃ£o), Verdelho (Gouveio), Boal (Bual, Malvasia Fina), and Malmsey (originally Malvasia Candida, now more commonly Malvasia Branca de SÃ£o Jorge). However, these four grapes account for only a small minority of the total production on the island.

Varietal labeling for Madeira

If a variety is included on the label, the wine must contain a minimum 85% of the stated grape if the wine is a multi-vintage blend, or 100% of the stated variety if a vintage is indicated.

Varietal wines for Madeira

from sweetest to driest: MalvasiaBoalVerdelhoSercial

Madeira fortification

For fine wines fortification with 95% abv grape spirit, imported from France, will occur during fermentation if a sweeter style is desired. Malvasia may only ferment for a few hours prior to fortification, so that most of the sugar remains. If a medium dry or dry wine is the goal, a winemaker will allow fermentation to continue for a longer period of time, but even the "dry" wines of the island contain significant amounts of residual sugar

Modern heating methods for Madeira

After fortification, the young wine is then subjected to either the Estufagem or Canteiro process.

Estufagem

Most wines are transferred to the estufa, a stainless steel vat that warms the wine by circulating hot water through serpentine coils inside the tank. In this method, the wine is heated to a temperature of 113-122Â°F and held there for at least three months; during this period sugars in the wine will slowly caramelize and give the estufa wine its distinctive character. Once the Estufagem process is completed, the wine enters a period of rest (estÃ¡gio) for a minimum 90 days before being transferred to cask for aging. Estufagem wines may not be released until two years after the harvest. A more delicate variation on the Estufagem process involves placing the wine in armazens de calor, rooms warmed by nearby tanks or steam pipes rather than the direct heat of the estufa. This variant technique, chiefly utilized by the Madeira Wine Company, utilizes lower temperatures over a longer period of timeâsometimes up to one year.

Canteiro

Used for the best wines. The wines are cask-aged for a period of at least two years in lodge attics. In this manner, the wine is exposed to the gentler, natural warmth of the sun as it undergoes a much slower process of maturation, preventing the burnt caramelization of sugars and resulting bitter flavors associated with rapid heating. Although Canteiro wines may be bottled at a minimum three years of age, the best Vinhos de Canteiro will remain in cask for 20 years or more, developing into the rarest and most treasured wines of the island: Frasqueiras.

Sherry

Sherry is a fortified wine from AndalucÃa on the southern coast of Spain.

Region considered the home of Sherry production

Jerez, the hottest wine region in Spain and the home of Sherry production, is located within the coastal province of CÃ¡diz, flanked by the Guadalquivir River to the northwest. The three towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa MarÃa, and SanlÃºcar de Barrameda are at the center of Sherry production, and DO regulations require Sherry to be matured in and shipped from one of these three municipalities.

DO zones for Sherry

Sherry is the product of two DO zones: Jerez-XÃ©rÃ¨s-Sherry and Manzanilla-SanlÃºcar de Barrameda. The two DOs share an identical production zone and similar production guidelines, but the latter must be aged in the seaside town of SanlÃºcar de Barrameda.

Climate for Sherry

On the coast, the cool Atlantic breezes alleviate the heat of the region, but the effect quickly dissipates as one moves inland: summer average temperatures may be nearly 20Â° F higher in Jerez de la Frontera than in SanlÃºcar de Barrameda. The hot, dry levante wind intensifies the region's heat. The howling levante blows from the east and essentially cooks the grapes on the vine during ripening. The humid Atlantic poniente wind alternates with the levante, and promotes the growth of flor, a film-forming yeast necessary in the maturation of Sherry.

Three principal soil types of Jerez region

AlbarizaBarrosArenas

Soil for Sherry: Albariza

A chalky, porous, limestone-rich soil of brilliant white color, produces the best Sherry. The moisture-retentive albariza retains water from autumn and winter rains, while the friable soil structure allows vine roots to penetrate deeply in a search for water trapped beneath its baked, impermeable surface during the arid growing season. The snow-white albariza soils are concentrated on the gentle slopes of Jerez Superior, a sub-region between SanlÃºcar de Barrameda and the Guadalete River, which flows into the Bay of CÃ¡diz just to the south of Jerez de la Frontera.

White grapes authorized for Sherry production

Palomino (ListÃ¡n) (95% of vineyard acreage in Jerez)Pedro XimÃ©nez (PX) (used for sweetening Sherry)Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria) (used for sweetening Sherry)

Jerez pruning technique

Vara y pulgarGrowers prune alternate spurs each year: one year's vara (stick) will be pruned back after harvest to become the following year's pulgar (thumb).

Why must the principal grape for Sherry be pressed quickly

Palomino Fino is prone to rapid oxidation

Three stages of quality for Sherry must

Free-run juice (primera yema)Press wine (segunda yema)Poorer quality press wine for distillation (mosto presna)

Fermentation of Sherry must

Primera yema and segunda yema are fermented separately. Before fermentation commences, the must is acidified since Palomino provides a low-acid must. Tartaric acid is added directly. Thus must is clarified before fermentation begins. Sherry today is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks

Stages of Sherry fermentation

Tumultuous fermentation - a hot and vigorous initial phase lasting up to a weekSlow fermentation (lenta) - high temperatures subside and any remaining sugar in the wine is converted to alcohol over a period of weeks

Biological aged Sherry

For Fino and Manzanilla styles. Film-forming yeast known as flor del vino. Normal yeasts die as the wine sugar runs out. Saccharomyces yeasts metabolize glycerin, alcohol, and volatile acids in the wine. Flor need oxygen so a film is formed at the surface to protect the wine from oxidation.This produces a finer Sherry so it is used with primera yeam and grapes grown in the finer albariza soils

Oxidative age Sherry

For Oloroso syle

Solera for Sherry

Fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many years. A solera is literally the set of barrels or other containers used in the process.

Marsala

Marsala is a fortified wine from the island point of Sicily, first manufactured in 1773 by the English Port and Sherry merchant, John Woodhouse. Marsala wines are fortified with grape spirit either during or after fermentation, depending on the desired level of sweetness. The addition of either mosto cotto (cooked must) or sifone, a mistelle produced by fortifying the unfermented must of overripe grapes, are used to adjust both color and sweetness.

Certified Sommelier Fortified Wines Flashcards ionicons-v5-c

Certified Sommelier Fortified Wines Flashcards