1. 11/21/2012
Introduction to Vines and Wines
Hort/VE 113 Fall 2012
Sessions 20 & 21- Dessert (Fortified)
Wine Production
Go and Vote-
everybody counts!
Introduction
• “Dessert wine”-Includes wide range of
wines that are sweet
• S it bl to accompany d
Suitable t dessert
t
• Late-harvest wines
• Port-style wines
• Fortified wines (sherry)
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2. 11/21/2012
Characteristics of Dessert Wine
• Even though they are often sweet, dessert
wine is defined by alcohol content
• Also referred to as fortified wine
• Yeast tolerant to alcohol
• Only legal source of the alcohol is distillation
from other wine (brandy)
• Quality of the starting wine used for
distillation is relatively unimportant
• Dessert wines are microbiologically stable and
keep quite long after opening
Late harvest wines
• Grapes picked at higher sugar
• Partial dehydration
• Water evaporates and leaves sugar behind
• Effect on yeast
• Fermentation is slow
• Alcohol and sugar content
• Unable to ferment to dryness
• Residual sugar levels: 6% +
Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot)
• Common fungus, grows everywhere
• “Discovered” in the 16-18th centuries
in Europe
• C t ll d by sulphur di id
Controlled b l h dioxide
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3. 11/21/2012
Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot)
• Vineyard conditions that allow growth:
• Moist mesoclimate, soils that can hold
moisture and later release into the air
• Need rainfall for germination
• Warm weather
• Ignoble Rot
Infection of the skin
Some grapes more vulnerable
• Highly susceptible: Chenin blanc, White
Riesling, Zinfandel (tight clusters)
• Susceptible: Chardonnay, Pinot noir,
Sauvignon blanc
• Moderately susceptible: Gewurtztraminer,
Semillon
• Least Susceptible: Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot (thick skin)
Winemaking
• Harvest
• Separate fruit from raisined fruit
• Crushing may be skipped
• Pressing is slow
• Syrup is chilled and clarified:
suspended solids and brown pigments
• Fermentation
• Botrytis has used up some of nutrients
• High sugar concentrations
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4. 11/21/2012
Winemaking(cont.)
• Fermentation
• Stopped by chilling followed by
centrifugation/filtration to remove yeast
cells
• Once alcohol content reaches 8 13%
8-13%
• End timing depends upon:
• Style being made
• Progress between the two processes 1) sugar to
alcohol, 2) production of volatile acidity
Winemaking(cont.)
• Clarification and stabilization
• Standard methods
• Aging
Botrytis-Affected Wines
• Sauterne
• Blend of Sauv Blanc, Semillon, Muscadelle
grapes, 12-13% alcohol, 6-8% residual
sugar
g
• German late harvest
• White Riesling, 7-10% alcohol, 12-15%
residual sugar
• Tröckenbeerenauslese (TBA)
• Not all vintages
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5. 11/21/2012
Icewine
(Eiswein)
Icewine
• No growth of Botrytis
• Made from frozen grapes
Icewine(cont.)
• Grapes left on vine until first deep
frost
• Grapes pressed in frozen state to ensure
water in grape will not melt
• Grapes must be frozen naturally on the
vine at -8°C or colder
• Final sugar concentration in the must
required to be 35° Brix (g soluble
solid/100 g solution)
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6. 11/21/2012
Harvested when frozen!
Fake Icewine
• Fake icewine:
• Grapes picked at temperatures above -8°C
• Wine produced using cryogenic methods
Fake icewine
Real icewine
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7. 11/21/2012
Fortified Wine Production
Fortified Wines
• Neutral grape spirit (80-95% alcohol)
added to wine to raise alcohol content
• Wine spirits required for all fortified
wines
i
• Alcohol content greater than 17% can kill
yeast or bacteria
• Even if added sugar
• So, fortified wines are more stable
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8. 11/21/2012
Distillation
Fortified Wines
Brandy:
• Distilled grape wine, aged in oak
g p g
• Diluted to 40% alcohol
• Cognac – from the Cognac region in
France
Whiskey-Brandy’s first cousin
• Alcoholic beverage distilled from
fermented grain mash and aged
• Scotch: double-distilled in Scotland
• Canadian: rye, barley, corn, aged 3
rye barley corn
years
• American
• Bourbon: 51-79% corn
• Rye: at least 51% rye
• Tennessee Whiskey: bourbon but filtered
through sugar maple charcoal
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Types of Dessert Wine
May be red, white or rosé
• Colors are often oxidized due to processing
• White types
• White port
• Cheap ones from Thompson seedless
• Dry vermouth
• Used to make martinis
Rosé Types of Dessert Wine
• “California” Tokay: blend of port,
sherry & angelica
• Hungarian Tokay: valuable sweet (not
dessert) wine
• Made from Botrytis infected grapes
• So sweet fermentation
sweet,
occurs over a period of
years
• Even with special yeast,
most treasured Tokay is
rarely over 20% alcohol
Red Types of Dessert Wine
• Red: “everything that is not white or rosé”
– Madeira -
– Sherry Madeira
- Spain
Sweet Vermouth
(used to make Manhattans)
– Port - Portugal
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10. 11/21/2012
Vermouth
• From the German for “wormwood” - now
illegal to use wormwood because of CNS
damage - other herbs are used instead
• Styles
• French – dry vermouth
• Fortified white wine, flavored
wine
with herbs and spices
• Italian – sweet vermouth
• Also made from fortified white
wine
• Reddish brown from caramel
coloring
Fortified Wines
• Port – grape spirit added during
fermentation
• Sherry – grape spirit added after
fermentation(sugar and alcohol l
f t ti ( d l h l lower
than Port)
• Result: High alcohol content (17-22%)
• Need a hot climate to create sugar
levels and high alcohol
Traditional Port Making
• Originally, from the Duoro
River region of Portugal
• Named from the fact that
these wines are shipped out of
the Portuguese city of Oporto
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11. 11/21/2012
Traditional Port Making (cont.)
• Extensive treading is
needed to maximize
color extraction because
of brief fermentation
• Fermented to only 5%
alcohol before
fortification
• Add neutral grape alcohol (brandy) to 18-
20%, stops fermentation, leaving 9-10%
residual sugar
• Grapes blended for color and flavor
Port Types
• Vintage: aged several years in a
barrel then up to 20 or more years
in a bottle
• Highest quality, typically declared only
once or twice in a decade
• Can age for as much as 50 years
Port Types(cont.)
• Ruby
• Aged in wood for ~2 years,
fruity, bright red
• Tawny: blend from several
different years
• Aged in wood for up to 40 yrs
• Inexpensive tawny ports are
made by blending white port and
ruby port
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12. 11/21/2012
Port Production
• Crush, fortify, ferment, press,
stabilize
• B
Barrel aging
l i
• Tawny port aged for 4-6 years in newer
barrels
• Brick red/brown, less fruity, oaky
• Ruby or vintage port aged in neutral
barrels
Port Production (cont.)
• Finishing and bottle aging
• Ruby port – can reach market months to
over year after harvest bright red fruity
harvest, red,
• Vintage – 2-4 years of aging in wood,
matured ~20 years in bottle
Video clips-Port
Traditional vs Modern Methods:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oRhg
wY7z6M&feature=related
History Channel Clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTILOl
zCyv8&feature=relmfu
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13. 11/21/2012
Sherry production
Regions for Sherry and Madeira
• Sherry comes originally
from the south of Spain in
the very hot Juarez
region
• Any other place must
use a geographic
descriptor– e.g.
California Sherry
• Madeira comes originally
from the very hilly island
of Madeira in the Atlantic
Ocean
Sherry and Madeira vs. Port
• Both sherry and madeira are completely
fermented before fortification (unlike
port)
• Both are already oxidized therefore
heating or cooking with them does not
alter their taste
• Cooking sherry is low grade sherry with
added salt (to make it undrinkable)
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14. 11/21/2012
Sherry
• Fortified wines that originated in
Spain
• Deliberately oxidized
• T
Two basic types: (difference i d i
b i t (diff is during
oxidation)
• Fino – use yeast
• Oloroso – don’t use yeast
Sherry
• Sherry:
• Pale yellow to med brown in color
• Light and nutty or richer bouquet
g
• Sugar:
• Dry: 1-2.5%
• Medium: 2.5-3.5%
• Cream: 7.5-10%
• Alcohol: 17-20%
Types of Sherry
• Fino: yeasts that initially fermented
the wine begin aerobic fermentation
and create a film of living yeast (flor)
on the surface that protects wine
from oxidation
• Amontillado: also starts with flor
layer, then is later fortified to 18%
that kills the flor, allowing oxidation
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15. 11/21/2012
Types of Sherry(cont.)
• Oloroso: fortification so high, flor
cannot develop so shows greatest
oxidation
• C
Cream sherry: sweetened oloroso
m h : t d l
• Darkest and sweetest sherry
• Most popular type in USA
Making Sherry
• White wine base
• Fortified with brandy (grape spirits)
• Racking
• Oxidation and aging-with or without
flor yeast
• Sugar content adjusted with sweet
fortified wine
Making Sherry(cont.)
• Start with white wine (shermat)
• During harvest, sugar content alone
is criteria
• Most grapes at 23-24°brix
• Fermentation to completion (5-7
days)
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16. 11/21/2012
Making Sherry(cont.)
• Fortification with brandy
• Amount added depends upon type of sherry
• Finos receive less fortification (15%) than
Olorosos (18%)
• Placed in large oak casks for aging and
maturation
• These “butts” hold 132 gallons
• Standard barrels: 53-61 gallons
Oxidation
• Without the ‘flor’ yeast
• For Olorosos
• Shermat fortified to 18-20%
alcohol
• Wines aged in partially filled oak
barrel
• Allows oxidation
• The longer the aging, the darker
color and more complex the flavors
Oxidation
• With the ‘flor’ yeast
• Shermat fortified to 14-15% alcohol
(lower than without)
• Inoculated with flor in tank
• Supplied with oxygen
• Conducted on the surface of the wines stored
in partially-filled barrels
• Metabolism contributes to pungent bouquet
• Flor would die quickly
• Need system to keep alive (Solera)
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17. 11/21/2012
the ‘flor’ yeast
Sherry Production
• Blending the young and old (during
oxidation by flor yeast)
• F
Fractional blending system: solera
ti n l bl ndin t m: l
• Same cask type but different age
• Removed for filtration, bottling
Sherry Production(cont.)
• Why use the solera system?
• Flor yeast would otherwise die
without impacting character
p g
• Keeps supplying the needed
nutrients for flor growth
• Minimizes vintage to vintage
variation
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18. 11/21/2012
Solera
Process
• Solera system ensures consistency
• Tiers of sherry casks from oldest (bottom) to
newest (top)
• 1/4 - 1/3 of the oldest wine is drawn off
for bottling
• Wine from the next oldest tier is used to
refill barrels
• Continues up the tiers with new wine added
at the top
Solera System
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZaT2
hKvzcM
Solera Process
• Old gives the young character; young
give the old nutrients
• Date on the sherry: year the solera
was started
• If it says “3 years old ” that is the
3 old,
age of the youngest wine
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19. 11/21/2012
Sherry Production(cont.)
• Finishing and Blending
• Blended to adjust sweetness, color
• Depends on intended market
p
• Can add sweetened fortified wine
• Cold stabilized, clarified and bottled
Making Madeira
• Madeira is also oxidized
• Four traditional types
• Each type is made from a different
cultivar
• Altitudes and harvest time depend on
cultivar
Making Madeira(cont.)
Length of fermentation before
fortification with brandy (18-20%)
depends upon cultivar/type:
• Malvasia is fortified very early in the
fermentation
• Boal and Verdelho are fortified
around the fourth day
• Sercial is fortified after about a
month of fermentation
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20. 11/21/2012
Making Madeira(cont.)
• After fortification, the wine is
placed and held in a heated area
(between 35-60°C) for ~3 months
• The wine is aged in oak for up to
g p
15 years
• Can be aged in the bottle even
longer
Madeira styles:
• Sercial is the lightest,
driest style
• Verdelho, sweeter and
stronger
• Boal (or Bual), fuller &
sweeter than previous two
• Malmsey is the richest,
darkest, and sweetest
Madeira styles:
Sercial and Verdelho are generally
used as apéritifs while the heavier,
sweeter styles, Boal and Malmsey
are used as d
d dessert wines,
t i
digestifs.
Madeiras can either be vintage or
from a solera.
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21. 11/21/2012
Fortified Muscats
• Very fruity and floral
• Lower alcohol than other
fortified wines (~16%)
• Muscat hamburg used for red
m g f
fortified wines (like port)
• Orange muscats (dessert
wines) by fortifying fermenting
grape juice
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