Fortified wine: history and practice

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Every normal middle-aged man, probably, at least once in his life tried port wine or Madeira - drinks from the Soviet past. Fortified grape wine was then consumed in much larger quantities than dry, due to its increased strength, most likely. But let's not get too nostalgic. We will talk about what fortified wine is, how it differs from ordinary wine, in our article. Also from the material you will learn how to make this drink with your own hands at home.

Definition: fortified wine

This is a type of alcoholic beverages that are made from ordinary wort or pulp by both complete and incomplete fermentation, with the addition of ethyl alcohol or other spirit-containing strong alcohol. What does it mean, simply put, that the wine is fortified? At the final stages of manufacture, alcohol is added to the product. So the drinkhas a higher strength (in some cases - up to 20%) compared to non-fortified wines. And a characteristic taste.

These drinks traditionally include: sherry, port, Madeira, Marsala. Also some Tokay and dessert wines.

How to use it correctly?

Fortified wine should be drunk as an aperitif (a drink that stimulates the appetite) or a digestif (a drink that promotes digestion). Use chilled to 10-18 degrees. Preferably from special glasses: narrow and tall. Based on port wine, madeira, sherry, cocktails are also prepared, which are also considered aperitifs.

Fortified wines are best combined: port - with blue cheese, almonds, walnuts, chocolate, dried fruits; sherry - with sheep's cheese, olives, almonds, ham; Madeira with first courses, cheeses and nuts; marsala - with chocolate desserts.

From history

Fortifying wines began in time immemorial. Wine merchants who transported alcohol by water (which sometimes took a long time) noticed that the wine spoiled too quickly from temperature changes and constant shaking during inclement weather. They also came up with the idea of adding grape spirit to dry wine. And, I must say, this unusual type of wine at that time was to the taste of many true connoisseurs of alcoholic beverages. This kind of wine can be white, and red, and pink. The usual fortress is from 16 to 22%. Once opened, bottles last longer than canteens.

Sherry

This is fortifiedwine made from white grapes is one of the national symbols of Spain. It is known that grapes were brought to Spain by the Phoenicians as early as 1100 BC. The Arabs who later invaded Spain tried to uproot the vineyards for religious reasons (the Koran forbade the consumption of alcohol). But the inhabitants of the province of Jerez saved the vine from cutting down, telling the caliph that they would produce raisins from grapes to feed the soldiers. The Christians who defeated the Arabs in the 13th century began to produce and drink sherry again. Warriors even watered their horses with it so that the animals would become fearless and not be afraid of enemies. In England, sherry became known as "sherry", due to the difficult pronunciation of the word for the British. By the way, sherry was the first known wine to travel in barrels to the New World, thus discovering America. The standards by which it is produced are approved by a special document, according to which only wine produced in the “magic triangle”, the province of Jerez, can be called this way.

Port and Madeira

This alcoholic drink comes from Portugal. It is here, in the city of Porto, that the production of this drink is believed to have begun. At the first stages, it is aged in oak barrels, fortified and left to mature either in a barrel or in a bottle. Madeira is another Portuguese wine from the island of Madeira, from which the wine takes its name. Its distinctive feature is caramel and nutty notes, and - of course - the fortress.

Marsala

Similar to Madeira Sicilian wine. It has been produced since the 18th century in Sicily. Compared to Madeira, it has moresugar.

Crimean fortified wines

Massandra products are also appreciated by true lovers of fortified wines. These include: red and white port, black, white and pink Muscatel, Cahors. Port wine has more strength (17%), but less sugar (6). Muscat has a traditional ratio (16/16). These wines are classified as fortified dessert and fortified strong wines (according to the Soviet classification).

How to make fortified wine?

This unique and beloved drink can be made with your own hands. It will differ from table dry or semi-dry in its strength, which gives the drink originality and new tastes.

So, at the first stage, we prepare grape wine according to the classical technology - using the process of natural fermentation and a water lock. There are a lot of recipes for such a wine, with all sorts of variations, so we will not repeat ourselves and proceed immediately to the second stage.

At the second stage, the prepared young wine must be fixed - add a degree to it. This can be done in several ways.

First way

Fortress is added with sugar (20 grams per liter of not yet fully fermented juice to increase the strength by one degree). Sugar is mixed and the wort is put under a water lock for further fermentation. After two weeks, the wine is drained through a filter and put into the cellar in order to ripen. After - bottled and corked.

Second way

And the most common! Ethyl alcohol (preferably cognac) is poured into the strained must - up to about 20% of the volume of wine. After the addition of alcohol, the bacteria die and the wine stops fermenting. It is filtered and taken out to the basement for clarification (a couple of weeks). After poured into bottles and corked. Store in a horizontal position, periodically turning so that the cork does not dry out. This way you can make fortified wines at home.