The Fortified Delights
Fortified wines are bit like your brash cousin who lights up any party. With their big, bold flavours and higher alcohol levels, these vinous delights bring the fun and frivolity. From the velvety ports to the crisp finos, fortified wines offer a flavour trip around the globe. So slip off your loafers, kick back, and let’s explore this spirited world.
The Port Brigade
When it comes to British fortified wine royalty, none are more regal than Port. Made in the lush Douro Valley of Portugal, this fortified beauty is famous for its rich, intense flavours of plums, blackberries, and chocolate. Whether you favour the youthful ruby style or the elegantly aged tawny, Port makes for a smashing partner to blue cheeses like Stilton. Don’t be daft though – chill your bottle slightly before serving to temper the alcohol heat.
As Paul Symington, whose family has been making Port for over 350 years, notes: “A great aged tawny is like Shakespeare – complex yet sublime.” Heed his advice and invest in a bottle from an acclaimed house like Graham’s or Warre’s to experience Port at its zenith.
The Sherry Spectrum
“Auntie, is it reeally past noon already?” you chuckle, glass of sherry in hand. This fortified gem from southwest Spain offers a chameleon of styles for any hour. The bone-dry finos and manzanillas are perfect for whetting the appetite before a meal. Or go for the richer, nuttier olorosos and amontillados to accompany spicy dishes like Beef Vindaloo. The sweeties like creamy PX make ace dessert wines too.
When in London, pop into the historic Balls Brothers for a sherry flight and tapas. Their buyer Raul Gonzalez reveals “a great sherry has this amazing salinity that dances with the food.” Sancho Panza himself would approve.
Madeira Magic
This tiny Portuguese island offers some of the most indestructible – and delicious – wines around. Madeira’s unique winemaking involves heating the wine to simulate the hot conditions wines faced on the long sea voyages of yore. The result is an incredibly stable, concentrated elixir with notes of burnt caramel, nuts, and exotic spices.
The drier Sercial and Verdelho styles are stellar partners for rich game dishes or blue cheeses. For dessert, reach for the lusciously sweet Malmsey or Bual. Madeira also has incredible aging potential – a bottle from 1795 remains one of the oldest wines I’ve ever tasted.
And Beyond…
The fortified adventures don’t end there. From the unctuous vins doux naturels of Southern France to the rare treasures of South Africa’s Constantia region, there’s a whole spirited planet to explore. Raise a glass of Vinyes Pupitres Garnatxa and let its flavours of Christmas cake and candied citrus peel wow you.
Or journey to Australia for some “tawny PORT” from the Barossa and Eden Valleys. Makers like Morris and Seppeltsfield have been crafting these amazingly complex elixirs for over a century.
So there you have it – a whirlwind tour of fortified’s finest. Powerful yet promiscuous, these wines are perfect for injecting some mischief into any occasion. Embrace their unruly charm and you’ll never look at the wine world the same way again.