Alcohol

What are the structural components

Acidity, Tannin, Body, Alcohol, bubbles, sweetness

Sherry/Jerez

• Sherry/Jerez- Mostly dry fortified with brandy, sweet version called Pedro Ximinez

• Palomino grapes 12-13% alcohol. Oak barrels with flor aka wild yeast. Yeast dies at 15% Alc

• Fino: category of dry low end sherry wines 

• Manzanilla: driest and most expensive version of sherry aged in salt marshes. Very high acid and salt 

• Flor: natural yeast on top of wine to protect from oxidation and fruit from dying at 15% alc

•  

Madeira

Island of the coast of Morocco. Fortified and heavily oxidized wine enjoyed by early Americans. Aged 20 years in oak 2 years in bottle.

Marsala

cooking wine that is fortified and made by solera system.

Port

• Wine fortified with brandy. Stops fermentation process by fortification.

• Tawny spends more time in barrel than when’s in bottle ruby. Ruby is mainly aged in bottle.

Tawny

• Inexpensive Tawny Porto – blend of white & red wines

• Better quality wines aged 6 years before release

• Indicated-Age Tawny Porto

• Rival Vintage Porto in quality

  • 10, 20, 30, & 40 Year

  • Blends of wines from different harvests

  • Colheita Ports – vintage-dated Tawny wines

Jerez: Oloroso

•Not attacked by Flor – most oxidized of all  dry styles

•Dark mahogany color

•Oloroso may be dry or sweet

•Sweet blended with Pedro Ximenéz wine

•Usually the highest alcohol – 17-18%

Amontillado

• Starts its life as a Fino – attacked by Flor

• Loses its Flor & exposed to the air – ends like an Oloroso

• Reclassified as Amontillado

• Not as fresh & pale in color as Fino

• More medium body than Fino – but lighter than Oloroso

• Dry, amber color & roasted nut aroma – 16-17%

Vin Doux Naturel

• Fortified wines from southern France

• Made similar to Port

• Muscat de Frontignan

• Banyuls

• Maury

• Rivesaltes

Solera System

•Sherry is a non-vintage product

•Multiple vintages – use fractional blending system called the solera

•System refreshes older wines – gives complexity to younger wines

•Creates consistent quality & style

•Aging in 130-gallon barrels – “botas” – roughly ⅔ full

•Terms

•Criadera – the levels of solera system

•Añada – youngest level – new wine added here

•“Solera” – the system but also the oldest level – wine bottled from here

Chaptilization is…

…illegal

adding sugar to the must to increase sweetness which in turn creates more alcohol. Illegal in most places not to increase sweetness but to increase alcohol