Fortified wines are beautiful but often misunderstood creatures. So what exactly is a fortified wine? Well it’s a wine made with an addition of alcohol. It all starts off much the same way as a table or dessert wine until alcohol is added in the form of grape or brandy spirit . This increase in alcohol stops the natural fermentation and the timing of this addition will determine the residual sweetness of the wine. If the spirit is added early, the wine will be sweeter and if left until later it will be a drier. The final alcohol of fortified wines varies anywhere from 16% to 22% depending upon the style and the age of the wine. There are as many different styles of fortified wines as there
“It’s sweet but cohesive with orange and lemon characters met by nutty spirit. What I like is that it’s sweet, yes, but it never runs away with itself; it sucks you in but then keeps the conversation lively. I wouldn’t say that it finishes dry but it finishes clean and fresh. I wouldn’t call it intriguing either but it almost is. It’s certainly worth the experiment at $20.” Rated: 90 Points Reviewed by Campbell Mattinson
