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Fortified Wine
History of use
A fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, ordinarily brandy, has been added. The practice first evolved as the additional alcohol content functioned as a preservative, however the distinct flavours created have seen the production of fortified wines continue despite alternative preservation methods having been developed. Aside from sherry, the most commonly recognised fortified wines include port and madeira from Portugal, marsala from Italy and vin doux naturel from France.
Fortuitously, fortified wines were particularly popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the first boom periods for their respective whisky production in the 19th century. The barrels used to ship the wines from Europe, known as "transport casks," where plentiful and available to distillers who used them to age their whisky. This proved hugely popular for the flavours they imparted on the spirit. Changes to bottling laws, shipping practices and declining interest in drinking fortified wines however mean that transport casks are a thing of the past, and modern-day whiskies tend to be aged in barrels specially seasoned with the wines for the distinct purpose of maturing spirits.
Seasoned casks however provide distillers with greater variety of choice, and the more commonly used port casks have been joined over the years by greater experimentation in Scotch and Irish whisky maturation with the likes of marsala and madeira, each bringing their own unique flavours. Fortified wine casks have also increasingly infiltrated the traditional ageing methods for American whiskey since the debut of the port-finished Angel's Envy in 2006, and emerging single malt producers in other new world winemaking countries like Australia have been able to make use of their native industry with great success.
Fortified wines can be aged in standard butts or barriques but can often have their own distinct barrel types as well. Usually large in size, a port pipe will normally be 500 litres in capacity for example, while a madeira puncheon will be around 400 litres.
