Cookbook:Fortified Wine

Fortified wines are wines to which additional alcohol, usually brandy, has been added.

The original reason for fortifying wine was to preserve it. Alcohol is a natural preservative, and when added before the fermentation of wine is complete, it kills the yeast and leaves residual sugar behind as well as preventing contamination by spoilage organisms. The end result is a wine that is both sweeter and stronger, normally containing about 20% alcohol by volume (ABV). When the perfection of bottling methods made fortification no longer necessary, fortification nevertheless continued because wine drinkers had acquired a liking for this kind of wine.

Fortified wines include:


 * Madeira
 * Marsala
 * Port
 * Sherry
 * Vermouth