Other Fortified Wines

Here is an outline of some less-common fortified wines:

1. Spain - Moscatel de Valencia: made from Muscat of Alexandria and mostly fortified before fermentation to c. 15% abv; simple fresh perfumes.


2. Greece - Muscat of Samos: Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains, grown at altitude on hillside terraces, can be fortified before fermentation (Samos Doux), to interrupt fermentation (Samos VDN) or unfortified (Samos Nectar). It comes from the Greek island of Samos, in the Aegean and is allegedly "Greece's most famous wine" (after retsina).

3. Greece - Mavrodaphne of Patras: a Greek appelation in the Peloponnese which produces a fortified sweet red made from the Mavrodaphne grape, cask aged for a long time, giving a tawny colour.
4. Cyprus - Commandaria: Cypriot wine, made from sun-dried grapes, fortified after fermentation has stopped naturally. Fermentation achieves only a low level of alcohol - about 10% abv (NB PX is even less). Aged oxidatively for at least 2 years in oak at the coast. Static or solera systems can be used.
5. Cyprus - Fortified Cyprus Wine: sherry-style, fortified mid-ferment, cask-aged for a year then sweetened with concentrated grape must (although there are dry styles aged under flor in solera).

6. Australia - premium vintage and tawny styles are made from Rhone varieties (esp Shiraz); to a lesser extent, Madeira- and Sherry-styles; see separate post on Rutherglen

7. California - basic cream sherry-styles, but sweetened; some quality Muscats and Port styles

8. South Africa - Port-style wines using Rhone/Port varieties; Sherry styles; Moscatel

(Sources: WSET materials, The Oxford Companion to Wine)

Montilla-Moriles

Five need-to-know facts about Montilla-Moriles:

1. Montilla-Moriles is a D.O. (Denominacion de Origen) in Cordoba, Andalucia. It was created in 1945.

2. The predominant soil is albariza (white Andalucian soil, high limestone content, dries without caking, releases water slowly to vines over growing season); 70% of grapes are Pedro Ximenez (also some Airen and Muscat of Alexandria but NOT Palomino); and vines are low-yielding bush vines.

3. Vinification is similar to sherry. Fino styles are not fortified but get to 15% abv naturally. Oxidised styles (Oloroso styles) can be aged naturally or fortified. The terms Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso etc may be used within Spain but are restricted to Sherry in other EU countries, where they are re-labelled as Pale Dry, Medium Dry, Pale Cream and Cream.

4. A solera system is used, as for sherry.

5. The minimum age for Montillas is 2 years (rather than 3 for Sherry), but the majority are much older.

(Sources: WSET materials, The Oxford Companion to Wine)

Flor

1. Flor is a benevolent film-forming yeast which, in a winemaking context, can form on the top of partially-filled barrels of maturing sherry, protecting the wine from oxidising. It is typified by those yeasts native to Jerez.

2. A by-product of the action of flor yeast is the chemical acetaldeyde, which gives fino-style sherries their distinctive "salty" aroma. The presence of acetaldehyde causes the "sherry-like" nose of some unfortified wines which are made using flor or flor-like yeasts.

3. Flor feeds on glycerine, polyphenols, higher alcohols and volatile acidity.

4. It only develops in wine which is between 14.5 and 16.0% abv (and not, as per legend, due to a magical, ineffable quality in the Andalucian air). It forms on all sherry pre-fortification, so even some Oloroso Seco styles may have some flor characteristics.

5. It is used in the production of Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado and Palo Cortado. In the case of Amontillado, the yeast either die away naturally after consuming all the glycerol, gradually exposing the wine to oxygen, or the wine is moved to a different solera mid-process. Palo Cortado makes use of the second technique only and so can be fuller-bodied than Amontillado.

(Sources: WSET materials, The Oxford Companion to Wine)

Vins Doux Naturels

Here are 5 essential facts about VDNs.

1. Despite their name, VDNs are not naturally sweet. They are fortified mid-ferment (at about 15-18% abv) to arrest the fermentation process, as is port, a technique known as mutage.

2. VDNs are generally either Muscat- or Grenache-based.

3. The most common Muscat grapes are Muscat Blanc a Petits Grains (used for Muscat de Beaumes de Venise from the Rhone and Muscat de Saint-Jean de Minervois from Languedoc-Rousillon) and Muscat of Alexandria (used in Muscat de Rivesaltes, also from L-R).

4. Grenache (or sometimes Grenache Blanc) is used to make Rasteau from the Rhone and Banyuls and Rivesaltes from L-R.

5. Grenache-based VDNs can be aged oxidatively. The terms Rancio, Ambre and Tuile all indicate oxidatively-aged VDNs. Hors d'age indicates a wine that has been aged for at least 5 years.

A contrasting style is vin de liqueur or mistelles, made by adding grape spirit to grape must (the process known as mutage). Fortification occurs pre-ferment, meaning there are no secondary fermentation products and the final product tastes more sprirt dominated than VDNs. E.g. Pineau des Charentes.

Rivesaltes
(L-R, French Catalonia, near Perpignan)

Banyuls-sur-Mer
(L-R, French Catalonia, near Perpignan)

Beaumes de Venise
(Rhone, near Carpentras)

Vaison la Romaine
(Rhone, near Rasteau)

(Sources: WSET materials, The Oxford Companion to Wine)