It can vary dramatically in flavor depending how it’s aged and produced. Sherry is produced in Spain, near Jerez de la Frontera in the Spanish countryside. There Are At Least 4 Different Styles of Sherry Tawny Ports and Reserve Tawny Ports are lighter in color and style, but err more on the side of caramel and prune flavors. Vintage Ports are high-quality wines only crafted in the best years, with lasting aging potential. LBV or Late Bottle Vintage Port’s are single-year Port’s with black and red fruit flavors. Reserve Ruby Ports are aged longer, and tend to be of better quality. When shopping for Port, look for Ruby Ports - the lowest tier of quality, these wines are typically non-vintage, simple and fruity. RELATED: Itinerary for Exploring Porto Portugal and Beyond

How Port is matured overtime, determines ultimately what the style will be. Port is produced is in a variety of styles, but typically it all begins with a blend of red grape varieties residing within Portugal’s Douro Valley. There Are At Least 6 Different Styles of Port Other styles of Fortified Wine, such as Madeira, can be crafted from blends of as many as 5 different grape varieties. There are too many for us to discuss in this article, but some wines, such as Sherry, are made from only one grape. But many others are often used when crafting the wine in a blended format. The dominant grape typically used to make Port is Touriga Nacional.

Not all fortified wines are created equal, and the grape variety used to make the base of any particular fortified wine is big determinant in overall flavor. Different Grapes Are Used to Produce Various Styles of Fortified Wine The most famous fortified wine is undoubtedly Port. However, Sherry, Madiera, Vermouth, Marsala, Mistelle, Moscatel de Setúbal and Commandaria are all also relatively well-known. There Are Several Styles of Fortified Wineįortified wines are produced all over the world, but there are 8 common styles that are most recognized in this category. Think of there being many different variables in an equation, resulting in an innumerable number of answers. Using different concentrations of base wines from different grapes and blends, stopping fermentation at varying degrees of residual sugar content, adding different styles of distilled spirit to stop fermentation, aging the wine in different styles of oak and aging the wine for different lengths of time all play a big part in affecting the final product’s outcome. RELATED: The Best Things to Do When Visiting Porto Portugalįortifying a Wine Allows for Endless Flavor Possibilitiesįortifying a wine doesn’t just make it stronger, it also can bring more flavor nuances to the table. More all-encompassing, to “Fortify” something means to change and build on its base structure. It describes the protection and preservation of the wine, in addition to describing a degree of enhancement and strengthening. To “Fortify” a Wine is to Make it Strongerįortification is a wonderfully versatile word to use to describe this category of wine. This ultimately results in a sweeter, more alcoholic end product. Once the yeast cells (which convert sugar to alcohol) are dead, any residual sugar they didn’t convert remains in the liquid. This is done to typically achieve at least one of several possible goals: to strengthen the wine, to preserve the wine, and/or to halt fermentation, resulting in a sweeter, stronger wine.Īdding more alcohol to a base wine stops the fermentation process because this addition will kill off the yeast. A fortified wine is simply a wine that has had a distilled spirit added to it.

Port wines