Fortified Wine

Fortified wines cover a wonderfully diverse array of styles, from bracingly dry to lusciously sweet. As a result, they are embraced both as aperitifs and dessert wines – and everything in between. Dry or sweet, fortified wine is made via the addition of a distilled spirit – usually brandy – traditionally as a form of preservative, thereby increasing the alcohol level. The most common forms of fortified wine that we see today are Sherry, Port, Madeira and the sweet Vins Doux Naturels of the South of France. In Sherry, the spirit is usually added after fermentation, so most Sherries are essentially dry – though the likes of Pedro Ximenez (PX) harnesses sun-dried grapes for sweetness. In the other examples – notably Port – the spirit is typically used to stop fermentation, so the wines retain a considerable amount of sugar. From Tawny to Vintage Port, these are wines that are wonderfully indulgent, but can also be supremely refreshing.