Fortified Wines

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

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fortified wines are those which have been subject to fortification and therefore include sherry, port, madeira, vermouth, málaga, montilla, marsala, topaque and muscat, vins doux naturels, and several strictly local specialities. Liquids such as vins de liqueur (see also mistela) made by adding spirit to grape juice rather than wine are not, strictly, fortified wines. Practically all warm wine regions (see australia, california, cyprus, south africa, for example) make some sort of fortified wine, often in the image of port and sherry even if they are not allowed to use those protected names, within Europe anyway. It is an almost invariable rule that anywhere hot enough to produce good fortified wine is too hot to provide the ideal climate for its consumption. See also liqueur wine.