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Fortified wine is integral to the history of the world of beverages. Its legacy was established in the 1600s as the wine trade rounded the Cape of Good Hope and crossed the Atlantic Ocean. Fortification, popularized by the British, made it possible for wines to survive during these long trips.
Fortified wines have a huge diversity across the spectrum of their incarnations, and there are wide-ranging offerings within their respective categories. In terms of price, they vary as much as their unfortified counterparts. They are dry, sweet, and all points in between. They can be unaged or complexed by oxidative maturation, mass-produced or the preserve of savvy enthusiasts. Some are drunk very young, when vibrantly fruity. Others are consumed as 200-year-old vinous treasures. The variances of style are virtually limitless.
Today, fortified wines constitute 5% to 10% of global wine production, with a market value of around US$19 billion. This guide focuses on the world’s most important fortified wines, ranging from the Iberian classics to France’s vins doux naturels to Cape Port. These are the wines, appearing on restaurant lists and in retail settings in the major wine markets globally, that are important for expert-level professionals to understand.
Fortified wines are defined by the addition of distilled grape-based spirit before, during, or after alcoholic fermentation. All fortified wines have elevated alcohol, and each category is made using a distinct method of production that sets it apart from other categories. In this respect, these wines could be considered more “made,” or manipulated, than their unfortified or dry wine counterparts.
The timing of fortification is crucial in the manufacture of fortified wines as, depending on the addition of the spirit, it prevents or arrests fermentation, rendering a wine sweet because of the presence of unfermented grape sugars. Some wines are fortified after fermentation has been arrested, whether through osmotic pressure in very sweet wines or upon the completion to dryness of alcoholic fermentation. Fortification is an enabler in microbially aged wines and a stabilizer in wines destined for a long oxidative maturation.
Because of the difficulties inherent in accurately measuring the sugar in fermenting grape must, fortification is not a precise science. To fortify a wine to the desired level, the following variables must be considered:
When calculating how much alcohol to add, and when to add it, the winemaker must first know the alcohol in the fermenting (or fermented) must or wine and the degree of alcohol that the fortification should reach. The possibility of alcohol lost through evaporation during élevage must also be considered.
Although the precise origin of fortified wines is unknown, the widespread practice of adding brandy to a wine, and the popularity of the resulting styles, is attributed to the British. One of the earliest mentions of fortification references the abbot of Lamego adding spirit to the abbey’s wines to render them more stable. This technique was later exploited in 1678 by a Liverpool wine merchant who visited the abbey, in the Douro region, and shipped its fortified wines back to England, finding that they survived the trip well. Soon after, when England and France were once again at war and it was difficult for the British to purchase French wine, Douro became a reliable source of wines. Certainly, by the second decade of the 18th century, Port wine was sometimes fortified. Merchants found that these wines were more resilient to the effects of heat and oxygen during long and turbulent sea voyages, and none more so than the wines of Madeira, whose style was heavily influenced by these vinhos da roda—literally, “rolled wines,” or “wines of the round voyage.”
Both the Dutch and British navies, as well as their respective merchant fleets, were instrumental in spreading the popularity of these new wines, steadily increasing demand throughout their respective colonies and beyond. Admiral Lord Nelson was a very good customer of the Marsala-producing houses of Sicily during the struggles with France. These wines were robust and resilient during voyages at sea that frequently spanned two or more years.
While it wasn’t exclusively the British who spread the popularity of fortified wines, they certainly drove the category more than any other group, heavily influencing Australian and South African fortified wines, Port, Madeira, Marsala, and the once-prevalent fortified variants of Commandaria.
The rugged landscape of Douro, in northeastern Portugal, is fabled for its fortified wines. The delimited area covers more than a quarter of a million hectares, with roughly 26,000 hectares (64,200 acres) assigned to the production of Porto DOC wine.
The Douro is a markedly warm region that follows a continental climatic pattern, with summer temperatures topping 40 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit) and almost all precipitation occurring between November and April. In this area, rainfall varies according to proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, with the coast at Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia receiving at least 1,200 millimeters (47 inches) annually. Just 70 kilometers (45 miles) away, at the western end of Porto DOC, in Baixo Corgo, rainfall is 900 millimeters (35 inches) annually. Further east, and into the warmer Cima Corgo, that figure falls to around 700 millimeters (28 inches). In the remote Alto Douro, the average temperatures are the highest, as this area is farthest from the coast, and rainfall is just 400 to 500 millimeters (16 to 20 inches) annually. Throughout these subregions, the altitudes, topography, and aspects change significantly, and various rivers feed the Douro, impacting microclimates and the subsequent terroirs.
The vineyards of Douro are often steeply raked and precipitous, and the soils are free draining and shallow. Apart from elements of largely impenetrable granite around the fringes of the region, the main rock stratum is metamorphic, comprised of schist. Douro schist is relatively pale and reflective. Because of ancient tectonic activity, this hard rock has been thrown up into vertical waves, forming splits in its otherwise impenetrable layers. This enables the vines to send their roots down deep into fissures in the substrate where they can find nutrition and moisture, despite a dry environment with minimal organic matter.
Because of the steep and rugged terrain of Douro, pruning and harvesting are still mostly conducted by hand, so mechanization, where it is possible, is used instead for working the soil, spraying, mowing, weeding, and hedging the vines. One of the startling features of the Port wine region is its precipitously steep vineyards. Gradients greater than 30% are common, severely limiting the amount of land that can be planted to vines.
In Douro, as in many older winegrowing regions, terracing was the traditional solution to providing a platform on which to plant vines on an otherwise challenging slope. Here, the narrow terraces that closely follow the contours of the land are called socalcos. These intricate dry stone walls support the narrow vineyard terraces behind them. Although sloping, socalcos are much less steep than the mountainsides they occupy, and, while they are not well suited to mechanization, small machines and tractors can sometimes be used. Recently, the Symingtons have been successfully experimenting with small mechanical harvesters designed for the terraces. These harvesters, though slower than the larger machines sometimes used on the flattest vineyards in Baixo Corgo, will provide a partial solution to the labor shortage in Douro. Ultimately, the size of the narrow socalcos dictates the number of vines that can be planted on them, and anything up to 6,500 vines per hectare can be found.
From around the mid-1960s, and especially in the 1980s, with improved access afforded by better roads, a new type of terrace called patamares was developed. Unlike socalcos, patamares do not have retaining stone walls, instead relying on taludes (steep earth ramps or banks) with two or three rows of vines above on the sloping terrace. Patamares are much cheaper to create than socalcos, and, though prone to collapse and soil erosion after heavy rain, they can be repaired with small, tracked tractors or bulldozers. The ramps, however, reduce the plantable vineyard area, which drops to 3,000 to 3,500 vines per hectare, approximately half the density possible with socalcos. This reduction in usable planting space is particularly significant with the narrow, single-row patamares estreitos.
A final vineyard system is vinha ao alto, which was developed in the late 1970s. In these vineyards, rows of planted vines run up and down the contours of the land, rather than across them. This system is unsuitable to steeper slopes, particularly those above a 30% incline. Planting densities for vinha ao alto range from roughly 4,500 to 5,000 vines per hectare.
Although there are still co-planted vineyards in Douro, most Port is no longer made as a field blend. This is particularly the case with the vines planted on the newer patamares and vinha ao alto; one goal in developing these systems was to provide control and predictability through establishing well-understood single grape blocks. In their own way, however, the co-planted vineyards on the terraces also provide insurance against the vagaries of different varieties across vintages.
Most vines planted for Port wine production are in the form of single or double Guyot, set low in vertical rows.
The Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP) represents the interests of wine producers in the region, regulating both Port and the unfortified wines of Douro. The IVDP determines the volume of Port that can be produced in any given year via the beneficio system and the volume that can be released onto the market, with producers obliged to release no more than one-third of their stocks annually. The IVDP is also responsible for the land registry of vineyards and companies making and shipping wine, and it upholds the standards of each Port style through tasting and analysis.
Under the beneficio system, each vineyard is given a letter, from A to I, denoting its quality. Grapes from vineyards rated below F cannot be used to produce Port wine; instead, they can be made into dry wine or distilled for spirits. Each year, the beneficio sets the volume of wine that can be made from each grade of vineyard and a corresponding grape price per kilo. Prices outside the beneficio are much lower.
Vineyard owners are given a certificate for each of their vineyards, and they may trade them. Many producers feel that the tradability of these certificates does not serve the interests of either the winemakers or the industry, as there is too much incentive to exchange lower-quality grapes during trading. This is particularly true for growers who do not make their own wine and rely purely on trading certificates to make money.
While sales of Port are gradually declining, the average price of Port is steadily rising, reflecting the general premiumization of the special categories (that is, those beyond basic Ruby, Tawny, white, and rosé). In 2023, global sales of Port surpassed 65,648,800 million liters. The entry-level categories accounted for more than 80% of sales by volume, leaving just 20% to the special categories. These, however, accounted for at least 45% of sales by value.
Touriga Nacional: The mid- to late-ripening Touriga Nacional is the basis of many top-quality Ports and is considered the finest Port variety for ageworthy styles. It is relatively disease resistant and not significantly affected by powdery or downy mildew, but it can be highly vigorous, directing a lot of its energy into its canopy, and it can also suffer from poor fruit set. The hallmarks of this grape are notable acidity, marked black fruit intensity, and thick skins that produce wines of a deep color and elevated tannic structure. Touriga Nacional is the fifth most planted red grape in Portugal.
Touriga Franca (Touriga Francesa): Touriga Franca is the most planted red grape in Douro and the second most planted in Portugal. It is a late-ripening variety that is suited to sites that remain warm until later in the growing season; as a result, it is often planted in the lowest-elevation and warmest south-facing sites. Touriga Franca is prolific, but, despite its thick skins, it grows in compact bunches that can harbor fungal diseases, though this is less common in hotter, drier sites. It is popular with producers because of its deep color, its relatively firm structure, and the fragrance it brings to a blend.
Tinta Cão: Tinta Cão is a late-ripening variety with notable vigor and a long vegetative cycle. Because of this, it rarely becomes overripe. Thanks to its small, open bunches of thick-skinned berries, it is not particularly susceptible to fungal diseases. Though it does not contribute a great deal of structure or color, Tinta Cão provides marked freshness, ensuring slow evolution and longevity in Port blends.
Tinta Roriz (Aragonez, Tempranillo): Tinta Roriz is the most planted grape in Portugal. It ripens relatively early in Douro and benefits from being cultivated on cooler sites where there is not significant stress on the grape close to harvest. Despite its thick skin, Tinta Roriz can suffer from powdery mildew, and fruit set can be erratic. While it is prolific and capable of producing high yields, for optimum maturation of the berries and to prevent stemminess, yields are typically controlled. Wines made from Tinta Roriz can age well in wood and bottle.
Tinta Barroca: Tinta Barroca is another early-ripening variety that benefits from the slightly cooler sites at higher elevations or on north-facing slopes, where it is less likely to dehydrate or lose acidity. The variety has long bunches with thin-skinned berries that are prone to sunburn, though not to fungal diseases. The wines demonstrate high fruit intensity and, though pale, have a fine tannic structure and do not oxidize rapidly.
Tinta Amarela (Trincadeira): A fairly late-ripening variety, Tinta Amarela has small, tightly bunched clusters and thick-skinned grapes. It is prone to disease pressure and, because of this, is more successful on arid sites. Tinta Amarela yields wines that are not particularly concentrated or deep in color but have an attractive fragrance.
Sezão: Sezão is a mid- to late-ripening variety with a deep color intensity and elevated acidic freshness. Historically, it was used to intensify the color of Port wines; today, it is often relied on for wines intended to age.
The timing of harvest depends on the location of the vineyard and the weather. In the warm Douro Superior, harvest often begins in the middle of August. In the cooler Baixo Corgo, it can be as late as the end of September or even early October. Between the two, in Cima Corgo, harvest usually begins during the third week of September.
One of the most significant quality developments in the harvesting of Douro grapes has been the introduction of small, stackable plastic bins with slatted sides. These 25-kilogram (55-pound) baskets prevent the invariable squashing of grapes that occurred in the much larger hods, bins, bags, and baskets that were historically used, and ensure that whole clusters arrive to the winery intact.
In dry red wine production, the maceration of the grapes and juice before, during, and after fermentation can last for two weeks or significantly longer. Port wine producers, however, must arrest fermentation by mutage (the addition of grape spirit) early in the process of fermentation. Port production, then, is focused on rapid, vigorous extraction prior to fortification.
The traditional apparatus for making Port is the granite lagar. Although it is estimated that only about 2% of Port is made in these stone basins, as many of them were taken out of use in the 1960s and 1970s, they appear to be making a comeback. To make Port using the lagar, bunches are destemmed and the grapes are crushed before being poured into the lagar, which typically holds 8,000 to 14,000 liters (2,100 to 3,700 gallons), to a depth of around 45 to 60 centimeters (18 to 24 inches). Some stems are added back in with the grapes for flavor, tannin, and ease of pressing. Laborers then step in, and the rhythmic knee-lifting march begins to the sound of a rogador (a senior member of the team) ordering the corte (cut), backward and forward, left and right. This might continue for a couple of hours.
While very vigorous in its ability to extract color, tannin, sugars, and aroma and flavor precursors, foot treading is also gentle and prevents the release of bitter phenols from the pips. After a few hours, fermentation might begin spontaneously, or it might take a couple of days to begin. This depends on the temperature of the incoming grapes, the ambient conditions within the press room, and, of course, the effect of many warming feet. Today, most lagares are fitted with heat exchangers that can aid the onset of fermentation and prevent temperatures from running too high. Once the musts begin to ferment, workers known as macacos (monkeys) use mantas (monkey sticks) to prevent the cap from drying out and causing volatile off-flavors, and to encourage color extraction.
A modern variant on the lagar is the robotic lagar, a bank of polyurethane-clad robot feet that emulate the extraction afforded by foot treading. These can be operated above a traditional stone lagar or a steel lagar. The latter can be hydraulically tilted to enable rapid removal of the skins and stalks, and it can be easily cleaned. The skins and stalks left behind in these lagares are pressed and added back into the wines in small measure at a later stage. Qualitatively, the results are very similar to traditional foot treading.
Another modern system for fermentation is autovinification, which was first adopted in the 1970s, when electricity started to become commonplace throughout Douro. In autovinification, a sealed tank, usually made from concrete, houses a chamber above. CO2 produced from fermentation raises grape juice up through pipes and into the higher chamber. At a certain pressure, a valve is released, and the wine in the holding chamber is poured onto the cap—an ingenious solution for a region once beset by unreliable electrical supply.
A drawback to the original autovinification system was that, before fermentation began, limited extraction was possible. Modern mechanical modifications and systems that draw the juice up and over the must have assisted in somewhat remedying this problem. Although foot treading and robotic lagares are considered the most appropriate methods for making top-quality Port, adapted autovinifiers can produce excellent wines, too.
This system has also been adapted through the addition of piston plungers, which, when fitted to temperature-controlled stainless steel vats, can achieve very high levels of extraction; and, when retrofitted to traditional concrete autovinifiers, can produce high-quality wines. Many producers operate their own proprietary variants based on these improved and adapted systems.
Pumping over alone can produce convincing Ports, though less adequately than foot treading, modern robotic lagares, or autovinifiers. Sometimes pumping over, in one form or another, is practiced jointly with piston plungers for optimal extraction.
The early-stage fermentation creates great complexity of flavors in the must and begins, in the presence of rising alcohol, to extract tannins. Once the natural alcohol reaches approximately 5% to 7% ABV, the fermenting wine is drawn off and aguardente (spirit) of 77% ABV is added. Aguardente imparts a sappy, herbal character to the wine. The spirit is now sourced by the individual shipper, pending approval by the IVDP. At this point, the wine is a fiery 19% to 22% ABV (usually around 20% ABV) and has 80 to 120 (most often 95 to 105) grams of residual sugar per liter. All microbial activity has been arrested, and the wine is ready for the appropriate maturation pathway.
Most Port is aged in oak, and the more recent wood supply is usually from France. In the past, vats were sometimes made from Brazilian mahogany (macacahuba wood). Casks were occasionally Italian chestnut, but historically oak was mostly sourced from an area that was formerly Russia (now Lithuania), as well as from northern Portugal and the southern US. Barrels vary from the small pipes, casks of around 600 liters (usually 550 to 640 liters) that are mostly used for the maturation of top Tawny and Vintage Ports, up to the balseiros, huge oak vats that can be greater than 100,000 liters and are used in the storage of earlier-drinking wines, such as Ruby Port. Because oak aromas and flavors are undesirable in Port, new vessels are seasoned in the maturation of unfortified wines. The timber of these many denominations of barrel is closely maintained and continually remade.
The cooler, more humid climate of Vila Nova de Gaia is ideal for the maturation of Port, and particularly Ruby-style wines. Until 1986, this town was the legally required location for aging because of both shipping logistics and the lack of electricity and refrigeration elsewhere in Douro. As the city of Porto grows, encroaching on the Port lodges of Vila Nova, producers are keeping more of their Tawny Ports up in Douro, where the aridity and heat have less of an effect on them than they would on their Ruby styles. Producers are also adapting their quintas in Douro to provide better temperature control and higher humidity for aging.
Ruby Port: Ruby Ports are nonvintage wines best suited to early drinking. They have spent a maximum of three years in large vats made of either wood, stainless steel, or concrete, and are approachable on release and typically fruity.
Reserve Ruby Port: Despite the name, Reserve Ruby Port is a quality designation, not an aging designation; there is no minimum age for Reserve Ruby Ports. Like Ruby Ports, these wines are made from more than one vintage, but Reserve Rubies are finer in quality and consequently more expensive.
Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) Port: LBV Ports are from a single vintage and have been matured in large-format barrels or stainless steel. They must be bottled between four and six years following the vintage. There are unfiltered variants, which have greater concentration, body, and complexity. If aged for at least three years in bottle, LBV Port can be labeled as “bottle matured.” These wines were formerly referred to as Vintage Character.
Crusted Port: These are nonvintage wines that must be aged in wood for no longer than two years. They are bottled without fining or filtration, leading to a crust forming in the bottle. They can be released immediately after bottling, though the best examples can include “bottle matured” on their labels if they have been aged for at least three years in bottle. Crusted Port is produced in very small quantities with the intention of providing an experience like that of Vintage Port but at a lower price.
Single Quinta Vintage Port: In vintages when a producer does not make a Vintage Port, a Single Quinta Vintage Port may be produced from just one of the estates, or quintas, that usually contribute to the vintage blend. Some Vintage Ports are made only from one estate, so they are always a Single Quinta (e.g., Quinta do Vesuvio).
Vintage Port: Vintage Port is the apogee of red Port production and is made from the best-quality grapes from superior sites. Producers must state their intention to release, or declare, a Vintage Port in the second year after the harvest. As the name suggests, these wines are from a single year and must spend a maximum of three years in pipe. Usually, Vintage Ports are bottled in the second spring following the vintage, approximately 18 to 20 months after the harvest. Once bottled and released, Vintage Ports can be cellared for decades, improving as they mature.
Unaged Tawny Port: These basic Tawnies are nonvintage wines matured for no longer than Ruby Ports (three years) and designed for early drinking. The extraction process for unaged Tawnies is short, and they appear somewhat garnet rather than tawny (brown) in color. Inexpensive Tawnies are frequently color adjusted with the addition of caramelized grape must, or mosto torrado, to create the impression of age.
Reserve Tawny Port: Reserve Tawny Port has greater concentration and complexity than basic Tawny and must be matured in wood for at least seven years. Through the aging process, these wines will eventually appear tawny.
Indication of Age Tawny Port: These are wines from a blend of many vintages that must follow an indicated time in pipe and/or toneis (large, horizontal wooden casks of 10,000–20,000 liters) and list an average age of 10, 20, 30, 40, or 50 years. Rather than strictly adhering to the average age designation, however, these wines must have a taste profile typical of the stated designation. They must be approved by an IVDP tasting panel. These wines develop in the presence of oxygen while in wood and become a tawny color, but they are topped up to avoid excessive oxidation. Their bouquet and palate are markedly tertiary and reflect dried-fruit characteristics as well as abundant nonfruit complexity. These are wines that are ready to be drunk on release. In 2022, a new category called Very, Very Old Tawnies was created for wines averaging over 80 years in cask. Older Tawnies often possess the so-called Douro bake flavor, redolent of singed fruit cake combined with a volatile quality—not an unpleasant characteristic if it doesn’t dominate.
Colheita Port: This is a Tawny Port from a single harvest that has spent at least seven years maturing in cask. Colheita Port has the singular character of a vintage wine but is oxidative, tertiary in character, and rich. These wines are also topped up to avoid uncontrolled oxidation.
Also called pink Port, rosé Port is usually made from grapes from the coolest sites in Baixo Corgo. These wines are intended to be sweet, fruity, and accessible. The must macerates for just a few hours before draining. A cooler fermentation ensues, and it is arrested with high-quality aguardente that is as neutral as possible. Rosé Port is then released onto the market as a nonvintage wine within 12 months. The first example of pink Port was from Croft in 2008.
Although Moscatel is found throughout the Douro, most of it is planted around the town of Favaios, where the local cooperative is the dominant producer. Made similarly to Port, Moscatel do Douro spends three years in larger wooden toneis and balseiros. These wines are oxidative, often intensely sweet, and reminiscent of muscovado sugar and molasses.
Once an afterthought of the Port world, often used as an adjustment to Tawny Ports, white Port wines have vastly improved over the past decade through more thoughtful grape selections, more protective handling, cooler fermentation temperatures, and a greater reliance on stainless steel maturation. Producers of white Port favor Malvasia Fina and Moscatel Galego Branco (Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains), though the usual Douro white grapes, including Arinto, Codega, Gouveio, Loureiro, Rabigato, and Viosinho are also used in these wines.
At the more modest end of the spectrum, the grapes, often led by Moscatel, are crushed and cold-macerated for a couple of hours before being pressed, and a cool fermentation of the juice alone begins. Fermentation is arrested with the highest-quality aguardente. These wines range in residual sugar from around 40 to over 100 grams per liter. They are reductively made, and wood is typically not used in their short maturation. Higher-end, invariably oxidative styles of white Port are usually based on Malvasia. They macerate on their skins slightly longer than the standard blends before being pressed and then fermented at a higher temperature to extract greater levels of phenols that assist their maturation. Once fortified, they are matured in small oak pipes. Thanks to notable evaporation and concentration during their cask maturation, aged white Ports are often amber and bordering on orange. They are luscious wines that typically have at least 100 grams of residual sugar per liter, and often much more.
White Port may be released as standard white Port or with the same designations as Tawny Ports, following the same requirements.
TK
Compiled by MW Demetri Walters (December 2024)
Edited by Stacy Ladenburger