Port & Sherry
Fortified wines — the most notable being Port and sherry — are made by adding a neutral spirit (usually brandy) to stop fermentation and raise the alcohol level of the wine. This process allows fortified wines to age longer in the bottle and to remain fresh for a longer period after they have been opened. Fortified wines can be made from white or red grapes and run the gamut from dry to sweet, introducing a range of distinct styles. A favorite dessert wine, Port, is a fortified wine made in the Douro region of Portugal from a variety of different grapes. Port can be unaged or aged in wood barrels to create Ruby Port or aged for extended periods of time, even decades, to create Tawny. The best Port vintages are extensively aged to create Vintage Port, which can develop and improve for decades. Madeira is also a Portuguese fortified wine, but it is made on the Madeira Islands off the coast of Africa. Styles of Madeira run from the very dry Sercial, which is typically enjoyed as an aperitif, to the decadently sweet Malvasia, which is usually paired with desserts. Showing similar versatility is the Spanish fortified wine Sherry. Sherry is typically made with the Palomino grape and ranges from the dry Fino to the very sweet Jerez Dulce, which is often made with Pedro Ximénez grapes. Marsala is Italy’s versatile fortified wine, drawing from the city of Marsala in Sicily, and it too can range from dry to sweet. Today, Marsala is most commonly used in Italian cooking — dry versions appearing in sauces and sweet versions appearing in desserts. A final wine that deserves note is Vermouth, for which we have a dedicated section.
Top Port & Sherry Posts:
Exploring Port Wine: Touring Porto and the Douro Valley
What is Fortified Wine and How Is It Made?
2016 Vintage Port (and Beyond)
Madeira Wine 2018
Hidalgo Fino and Bodegas Dios Baco Oxford 1.970 Pedro Ximenez Sherry
It was only a few months ago when we saw Dow’s 2018 Late Bottled Vintage Port. Now it’s already back with the 2020 release, released in honor of a black and white photography competition held by the brand. (Check out the winners on Dow’s Instagram page.) As for this 2020 wine, it comes across with…
Dow’s has fully revamped its labels with this LBV Port release, opting for a dark label in lieu of the white label we saw in 2016 and prior. As expected, however, those changes mean little for what’s in the bottle, which remains a bold investigation into various flavors of chocolate-covered cherries, plump raisins, and a…
It’s not every day we get a chance to review a vintage Port release, and it’s especially rare to find a 25 year old expression in our inbox. Sandeman‘s 2000 vintage Port was bottled in 2002, but some bottles appear to have been held back for this celebratory release, 25 years after its harvest. The…
Getting to Tenuta di Castellaro isn’t going to be easy. It’s based in Lipari, in the Aeolian Islands, which is off the coast of Sicily to the north. But getting there might be worth it, as the operation produces some outstanding wines, three of which had the good fortune to review. Thoughts follow. 2021 Tenuta…
Graham’s Six Grapes is one of the most widely bottled Ports and a wine I’ve tasted on many occasions over the years, simply because it’s everywhere. Somehow we have never reviewed it, until today. The story of the name goes like this: Originating in the 19th century, Graham’s winemakers would mark each barrel of…
Hot take: Just because a wine is white doesn’t make it a “summer sipper.” And just because a wine is red doesn’t mean it isn’t one. We of course receive wines for all seasons every day of the year here at Drinkhacker HQ, and twice a year we count down our favorites, each with a…
Until quite recently, high quality Marsala wine rarely made its way to the USA. Some mediocre varieties were imported, most intended merely for cooking purposes. But Florio Wine Cellars, the dominant producers of the style, is trying to change that. I previously reviewed one of their dry, well-aged Marsalas and was very impressed. Today we…
We regularly take a fresh peek at Dow’s Tawny Port collection, with regular reviews dating back to 2019. Recently Graham’s updated its packaging with a more traditional bottle design, while dropping the cardboard canister. Like most nonvintage Port, consistency is the name of the game, though we were more impressed with these wines now than…
Marsala is rarely sipped by itself in the U.S., most often appearing as the cooking wine used to make veal or chicken marsala. But like Port and sherry, Marsala is a fortified wine that can be crafted and aged to be distinctive and enjoyable on its own. Today we sample the highest classification of Marsala,…
An odd little combination for you today: Two wines from Sicily, one table wine and a vintage bottle of Marsala. 2022 Corvo Irmana Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC – A surprisingly fruit-forward expression of Nero d’Avola, this 2022 features a tart attack of rhubarb and black cherry, fading slowly to sweeter strawberry and raspberry notes. Moderately…