Commandaria wine Commandaria is made in
Cyprus' unique AOC region north of Limassol from high-altitude vines of
Mavro and
Xynisteri, sun-dried and aged in oak barrels. Recent developments have produced different styles of Commandaria, some of which are not fortified.
Madeira wine Madeira is a fortified wine made in the
Madeira Islands. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an
aperitif, to
sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert. Madeira is deliberately heated and oxidised as part of its maturation process, resulting in distinctive flavours and an unusually long lifespan once a bottle is opened.
Marsala wine Marsala wine is a wine from
Sicily that is available in both fortified and unfortified versions. and gets its name from the island's port,
Marsala. The fortified version is blended with
brandy to make two styles, the younger, slightly weaker
Fine, which is at least 17%
abv and aged at least four months; and the
Superiore, which is at least 18%, and aged at least two years. The unfortified Marsala wine is aged in wooden casks for five years or more and reaches a strength of 18% by
evaporation. It is produced by adding alcohol to non-fermented or partially
fermented grape juice (or apple juice to make
pommeau). The addition of alcohol stops the fermentation and, as a consequence Mistelle is sweeter than fully fermented grape juice in which the sugars turn to alcohol.
Moscatel de Setúbal Moscatel de Setúbal is a Portuguese wine produced around the
Setúbal Municipality on the
Península de Setúbal. The wine is made primarily from the
Muscat of Alexandria grape and is typically fortified with
aguardente. The style was believed to have been invented by
José Maria da Fonseca, the founder of the oldest table wine company in Portugal dating back to 1834.
Port wine Port wine (also known simply as port) is a fortified wine from the
Douro Valley in the
northern provinces of
Portugal. It is typically a
sweet red wine, but also comes in dry, semi-dry and white or rosé styles.
Sherry Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of
Jerez, Spain. The word "sherry" itself is an
anglicisation of Jerez. In earlier times, sherry was known as
sack (from the Spanish
saca, meaning "a removal from the
solera"). In the European Union "sherry" is a
protected designation of origin; therefore, all wine labelled as "sherry" must legally come from the Sherry Triangle, which is an area in the province of
Cádiz between
Jerez de la Frontera,
Sanlúcar de Barrameda and
El Puerto de Santa María. After
fermentation is complete, sherry is fortified with
brandy. Because the fortification takes place after fermentation, most sherries are initially dry, with any sweetness being added later. In contrast,
port wine (for example) is fortified halfway through its fermentation, which stops the process so that not all of the sugar is turned into alcohol. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles, ranging from dry, light versions such as
finos to much darker and sometimes sweeter versions known as
olorosos. Cream sherry is always sweet.
Vermouth Bianco, an Italian vermouth Vermouth is a fortified wine flavoured with aromatic herbs and spices ("aromatised" in the trade) using closely guarded recipes (
trade secrets). Some of the herbs and spices used may include
cardamom,
cinnamon,
marjoram, and
chamomile. Some vermouth is sweetened. Unsweetened or dry vermouth tends to be bitter. The person credited with the second vermouth recipe,
Antonio Benedetto Carpano from
Turin, Italy, chose to name his concoction "vermouth" in 1786 because he was inspired by a German wine flavoured with
wormwood, an herb most famously used in
distilling absinthe. Wine flavoured with wormwood goes back to ancient Rome. The modern German word
Wermut (
Wermuth in the spelling of Carpano's time) means both
wormwood and
vermouth. The herbs were originally used to mask raw flavours of cheaper wines, imparting a slightly medicinal "tonic" flavor.
Vins doux naturels Vins doux naturels (VDN) are lightly fortified wines typically made from white
Muscat grapes or red
Grenache grapes in the south of France. As the name suggests,
Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise,
Muscat de Rivesaltes and
Muscat de Frontignan are all made from the white Muscat grape, whilst
Banyuls and
Maury are made from red
Grenache. Other wines, like those of
Rivesaltes AOC, can be made from red or white grapes. Regardless of the grape, fermentation is stopped by the addition of up to 10% of a 190
proof (95% abv)
grape spirit. The Grenache vins doux naturels can be made in an oxidised or unoxidised style whereas the Muscat wines are protected from oxidation to retain their freshness.
Vins de liqueur A vin de liqueur is a sweet fortified style of French wine that is fortified by adding brandy to unfermented grape must. The term vin de liqueur is also used by the European Union to refer to all fortified wines. Vins de liqueur take greater flavour from the added brandy but are also sweeter than vin doux. Examples include
Floc de Gascogne which is made using 1/3
armagnac to 2/3 grape juice from the same vineyard,
Pineau des Charentes in the
Cognac zone,
Macvin in
Jura; there is also
Pommeau similarly made by blending apple juice and apple brandy.
Low-end fortified wines Inexpensive fortified wines became popular during the
Great Depression for their relatively high alcohol content. The term
wino was coined during this period to describe impoverished alcoholics of the time. These wines continue to be associated with the homeless, mainly because marketers have been aggressive in targeting low-income communities as ideal consumers of these beverages; organisations in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland have urged makers of inexpensive fortified wine, including
E & J Gallo Winery to stop heavily marketing such products to liquor stores in impoverished areas. In 2005, the
Seattle City Council asked the
Washington State Liquor Control Board to prohibit the sale of certain alcohol products in an impoverished "Alcohol Impact Area." Among the products sought to be banned were over two dozen beers, and six fortified wines:
Cisco, Gino's Premium Blend,
MD 20/20,
Night Train Express,
Thunderbird, and Wild Irish Rose. The Liquor Control Board approved these restrictions on 30 August 2006.
Gwaha-ju Gwaha-ju is a fortified
rice wine made in
Korea. Although rice wine is not made from grapes, it has a similar alcohol content to grape wine, and the addition of the distilled spirit,
soju, and other ingredients like
ginseng,
jujubes,
ginger, etc., to the rice wine, bears similarity to the above-mentioned fortified wines. ==Terminology==