What sets fortified wine apart from the rest? The fact it simply is fortified!
Fortification is a process of increasing a wines’ alcohol content by adding in a distilled spirit, most commonly brandy. There are many types of fortified wine but the best known are Port, Sherry and Madeira. Historically wines were fortified to survive the long journey at sea as the higher alcohol prevented them from deteriorating.
Like most wines there are set rules, regions and regulations that govern the production of each fortified style.
There are two distinct ways of making this wonderfully versatile fortified wine, Biological or Oxidative. For the purposes of this article we're using the dry styles to explain how sherry is made and the difference between ageing with yeast and with oxygen.
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