Fortified wines are wines that have had brandy or alcohol added to them. This stops the fermentation process and results in wines that are both sweeter and stronger, typically containing around 20% alcohol by volume. There are several famous types of fortified wines including sherry, port, madeira, marsala, and malaga. Sherry is produced near Jerez, Spain using palomino grapes and follows the solera aging system. Port is produced in Douro Valley, Portugal using over 40 grape varieties and is fortified with grape spirits during fermentation. Madeira uses several grape varieties and is heated during aging, resulting in a distinctive caramel flavor. Marsala is produced in Sicily, Italy from local grape varieties

2. Introduction
Fortified wines are those wines in which brandy is added to stop the
fermentation process.
The original reason for fortifying wine was to preserve it.
The alcohol in the distilled beverage kills the yeast and leaves residu
al sugar behind.
The end result is a wine that is both sweeter and stronger, normally
containing about 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). Eg: Port wine.
In certain fortified wines brandy is added after the fermentation wh
en entire sugar is converted into alcohol resulting dry fortified wine
s. Eg: Sherry wine.

3. Solera System
Once the sherries are classified they are placed in the solera system.
 It is Designed to age & blend sherry to ensure consistent quality &
style.
 The solera has several rows of identical barrels each holding 130 g
allons.
 Each row is termed as “criadera” & number of criaderas in a syste
m is not fixed. There may 10-14 criadera in system.
 Bottom row of barrels termed as “solera” contains the oldest sherr
y & topmost criadera is topped with new wine “Añada”.
 At the time of bottling 1/3rd of wine is drawn from each barrel of t
he bottom row of the solera & the barrels are replenished with win
e drawn from the barrels of first criadera, the second criadera is to
pped with wine from the third criadera & so on to the top row.
 This method is also termed as running the scale which eliminates
any noticeable differences from year to year.

4.  This system makes “Añada” take on the characteristi
cs & quality of old wine when it is bottled.
 The drawn wines from solera undergoes further treat
ment to make it clear & bright.
 Traditionally fining is carried out by mixing the beat
en egg white into wine which coagulates & settles at t
he bottom taking all impurities along.
 The wines are then racked to remove the sediments.
 It is then sweetened & colored with Pedro Ximénez &
Moscatel .
 Alochol level is adjusted to 16-20% by adding grape
brandy depending on the style.

6. Bodegas Room

7. Some Famous International Fortifie
d Wines
Fortified Wines
SherryPort Madeira Marsala Malaga

8. Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that
are grown in district of Jerez, Spain. In Spanish, it is ca
lled “vino de Jerez”.
3 major towns producing Sherry.
• Sanlucar de Barrameda.
• Jerez de la Frontera.
• Puerto de Santa Maria.
 Sherry grapes are grown on Albariza soil.

9. Production of Sherry
 After the press, grape juice is taken to “bodegas” where i
t is placed in wooden barrels called “Butts”.
 Bodegas has arched ceilings & windowed walls for good a
ir circulation.
 Floors are sprinkled with water to maintain the humidit
y & to keep the temp. in Bodegas constant.
 Fermentation is carried out for about 3 months & all sher
ries are dry white wine with 10-14% alcoholic strength .
 Grape brandy is added to increase the alcoholic strength
to 15.5%.
 This new young wine are called as “Añada”

10. Types of Sherry
• Fino: It is a pale, straw colored, light & very dry sherry with 15.5-16 % pe
rcent alcohol. It is served chilled & often preferred as an aperitif wine.
• Manzanilla: This is palest, lightest & the driest of all sherries. It is prod
uced in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda & has a salty tang of t
he sea air. The alcoholic content is similar to that of fino.
• Amontillado: It is amber yellow in color with dry, nutty flavor & about
16.5 – 18% percent alcohol. It may be served at room temperature, chilled
or on the rocks, depending on the taste preference of the customers.
• Olorosso: In Spanish, olorosso means fragrant. These sherries have the
strongest fragrance of all sherries. They are bone dry, dark in color & full
bodied. It has an alcohol strength of 20 percent.

11. • Amorosos: It is traditionally name for a smooth, sweet olorosso. S
weetened oloroso of good quality improves in bottle, ending up wi
th a bitter sweet or dry finish. It is also termed as cream sherry.
 Cream: It is smooth, full, sweetish wine made bt blending oloroso
with a sweetening wine made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel.
 Palo cortado: It is between olorosso & amontillado in style. It is v
ery rare. It contains 18-21% alcohol.
The Best shippers for Sherry are
Croft, Terry, John harvey & Sons, Osborne, Williams & Humber
t.

12. Grape Varietal Used for Sherry
 Palomino: (White Grape) 90% of all sherry is produced
from palomino.
 Pedro Ximénex: (White Grape) Used for sweet sherries
& also for sweetening & coloring the wine before bottling
.
 Moscatel:( White Grape) Used for sweetening & colorin
g the sheeries & also produces inexpensive sweet sherries
.

13. PORT
Port wine (also known as vinho do Porto, Portuguese pro
nunciation: [ˌviɲu duˈpoɾtu], Porto, or usually simply p
ort) is a Portuguese fortified wine produced with distill
ed grape spirits exclusively in the Douro Valley in the n
orthern provinces of Portugal.[1] It is typically a sweet,
red wine, often served as a dessert wine, although it als
o comes in dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

14. Production of Port
 Port wine is produced from the grapes grown in upper Douro
valley of Nothern Portugal.
 The important step in making port is the rapid extraction of
color from the grapes & introducing the grape spirit at the ap
propriate stage to bring fermentation to a halt & retain sugar.
 There are 40 varietals of grapes grown in quintas wine estat
e of Douro region for making port wine.
 Grapes are harvested by end of september & are taken to the
shipper’s lodge located in Douro valley for pressing & fermen
ting.

15.  The shippers buy the grapes from the same vineyards every yr. to e
nsure consistency in the quality.
 The grapes are gently pressed by traditional way foot pressed. As t
his type of pressing gently squeezes the skins to extracts the color
& required tannin.
 Foot pressing squeezes the skin without crushing the pips & releas
ing their bitter oils into the must.
 Due to the increased labor cost this method is carried out only by
the top quality port producers.
 The juice of grapes is transferred to large vats for fermentation. Su
gar is converted to alcohol & the color is extracted from the skins.
 When the wines receives enough color & the sugar content has fal
len to between 8.5 to 6 Baumè the half fermented wine is drawn of
f & mixed with predetermined quantity of grape spirit which stops
further fermentation by killing the yeast.

16.  The ratio of wine grape spirit is 4:1 i.e four parts o
f wine is mixed with one part of grape spirit.
 This results in sweet fortified wine called port.
 The wines are matured in oak cask & blended wit
h old or new ports to achieve the required standar
ds.
 The quality of wines are tested & certified by “ins
tituto do Vinho do porto” & it also keeps the rec
ord of port wines produced & stored at lodges.

17. Types of Port
Port is divided into two main categories.
 Wood Port: These ports are matured in oak casks & are ready t
o drink after they have been bottled. Following are some styles
of Wood Port.
A) Ruby Port:
 Youngest & cheapest port made by blending wines from more than o
ne yr.
 Matured in wood for about 5 yr until it becomes reddish (Ruby) color.
 Its inexpensive port consumed with in 2yrs from the date of bottling.
B) Tawny Port:
 Made by Blending port & maturing them in casks for 7yrs.
 Some tawny ports are matured in wood for 10, 20, 30 or over 40 yrs &
indicated on label.
 Inexpensive tawny ports are made by blending white ports with ruby
ports.

18. C) White Port:
Made from white grapes & is pale gold in color.
It is dry in taste & suitable for aperitif.
D) Colheita Port:
These are tawny port made from single vintage instead of
different yrs.
It should be matured in wood for a minimum of 7yrs & it
may be aged up to 60yrs.
Date of vintage & date of bottling will be stated on the la
bel.

19.  Vintage Port: Following are some of the styles & cha
racteristics of vintage or bottle ports.
A) Crusted Port:
It is blended port that has been bottled after 5 0r 6 yrs of
wood ageing & stored until it throws a crust.
 It spends at least 7yrs in bottle.
B) Late Bottled Vintage:
It is a wine from a single yr & blended from wines from a
number of estates.
It is aged in casks for 4-6 yrs & is ready for drinking after
bottling.
The label carries the information on the date of vintage
& the yr of bottling.

20. C)Vintage Character Port (VCP):
 This port is a blend of good quality ruby ports of more than 1
yr.
 It is aged for about 4yrs & is ready to drink soon after bottlin
g.
D) Vintage Port:
 Vintage yr is declared when the suppliers or manufacturers o
f port believe that their wine is of excellent quality & it can qu
alify for vintage status.
 Samples are sent to Instituto do vinho do Porto for approval.
 This wine is matured in casks for 2- 3yrs & is aged in bottles f
or 20yrs & sometimes 40 yrs.
 White splash is put on the bottle to identify the position in w
hich it is stored.
The Best Shipper for Port wine are Croft, Cockburn Smithes,
Morgan Bros, Smith Wood house

21. MADEIRA
Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese
Madeira Islands, off the coast of Africa. Madeira is
produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry win
es which can be consumed on their own as an aperi
tif to sweet wines usually consumed with dessert. C
heaper cooking versions are often flavoured with sa
lt and pepper for use in cooking, but these are not f
it for consumption as a beverage.

22. Production of Madeira
• Madeira is a Portuguese Fortified wines that comes f
rom the island of Madeira in the Atlantic ocean.
• During 18th century when wines were shipped ,the wines
were heated during the sea voyage which developed a me
llow burned flavor & improved the quality. This gave birt
h to Madeira wines.
• After pressing the juice is quickly transported to Funcha
l (capital city of island) for fermentation.
• The wine thus obtained is known as Vinho Claro which
is then fortified with local brandy.
• Wines are then stored in “pipes” (casks) & then placed i
n “estufa” in a large centrally heated store.

23.  The casks containing wine are gradually heated
to 50°c & held at this temperature for about 3
months & then slowly cooled down to normal
temperature.
 Results in caramel like flavor of wine.
 It also stabilizes the wine & increases the quality.
 The wine now is indifferent to heat & cold & can
withstand the exposure to air.

24. Types of Madeira
 Sercial: Driest Madeira with slight almond flavor. Quite hars
h when young & takes more time to mature. Served chilled as
aperitif.
 Verdelho: Soft & sweet wine with a smoky flavor. Goes well
with soups.
 Bual: Full-bodied sweet wine with a velvet brown color.
 Malmsey: Dark rich wine with a full flavor. Called as finest w
ines.
 Blends: Some Madeira are blended & marketed under the sh
ipper’s brand name. Such as Rainwater.
The Best Shipper/ Producers: Blandy’s . Ferraz, Leacock,
Cossart Gordon etc.

25. MARSALA
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 Cont
rollata (DOC) status in 1969.[1] The European Union g
rants 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.[2]

26. Production of Marsala
 Marsala is an Italian Fortified wines that comes from the regi
on of Sicily.
 Local Grapes called Grillo Catarratto & Inzolia are used for th
e preparation.
 It is made from a blend of white wine, brandy & heated must
, which is then matured in the solera system.
 However now it is mostly been used for culinary preparation
s.

27. Types of Marsala
 Marsala Fine: Varies in style from dry to sweet & needs mini
mum period of 4months of ageing. It must not be less than 17
%Abv.
 Marsala Superiore: Varies in style from dry to sweet & must
be minimum 2yrs old. It must not be less than 18%Abv.
 Marsala Speciale: It is Marsala with flavors such as Coffee, a
lmonds, fruits etc.
 Marsala Vergine:It is driest of all Marsalas & is normally offe
red as aperitif. Aged for minimum 5yrs & must have 18% abv.
Best Producers/ Shipper: Florio, Ballor, Taylor, etc.

28. MALAGA
Malaga is a sweet fortified wine originating in the Spanish
city of Málaga made from Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel g
rapes. The center of Malaga production is Sierra de Almij
ara, along with Antequera, Archidona, San Pedro Alcant
ara, Velez Malaga and Competa, in the Spanish wine regi
on of Málaga DOP.

29. Production of Malaga
 Malaga is a sweet Fortified wines that comes from the Mal
aga on the Mediterranean coast of Spain.
 Main Grape used for its production are Pedro Ximenez.
 Grapes are dried on the straw mat for the production of
Malaga.
 It is then blended with concentrated grape juice after ferm
entation and is then fortified.
 It is matured in solera system.

30. Types of Malaga
Malaga is classified as per the age, color & sugar content.
 According to the age.
• Malaga: Aged for 6-24months.
• Malaga Noble: Aged for 2-3yrs.
• Malaga Anejo: Aged for 3-5yrs.
• Malaga Transanejo: Aged for more than 5yrs.
 According to the color.
• Dorado/ golden: No addition of grape syrup.
• Rojo Dorado/tawny: Addition of up to 5% grape syrup.
• Oscuro/brown: Addition of grape syrup of 5 to 10%.
• Color: Addition of grape syrup of 10 to 15%.
• Negro/ dark: Addition of grape syrup of 15% above.

31.  According to the Sugar Content.
• Dulce crema or cream: Contains sugar between 100g/l & 14
0g/l. Its color ranges from amber to dark amber.
• Dry pale or pale dry: Has sugar content not more than 45g/l
• Pale cream: Has sugar content higher than 45g/l
• Sweet: Has sugar content more than 140g/l. Its color ranges f
rom amber to black.
Producers of Malaga:
Scholtz Hermanos, Larios, Manischewitz, Jorge Ordonez.