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Hort/VE 113 Fall 2012Sessions 20 & 21- Dessert (Fortified)

Wine Production

Introduction to Vines and Wines

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Introduction

• “Dessert wine”-Includes wide range of wines that are sweet

S it bl t d t• Suitable to accompany dessert• Late-harvest wines• Port-style wines• Fortified wines (sherry)

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Characteristics of Dessert Wine

• Even though they are often sweet, dessert wine is defined by alcohol content

• Also referred to as fortified wine

• Yeast tolerant to alcohol• Only legal source of the alcohol is distillation

from other wine (brandy)• Quality of the starting wine used for

distillation is relatively unimportant• Dessert wines are microbiologically stable and

keep quite long after opening

Late harvest wines

• Grapes picked at higher sugar• Partial dehydration

• Water evaporates and leaves sugar behind

• Effect on yeast• Fermentation is slow

• Alcohol and sugar content

• Unable to ferment to dryness• Residual sugar levels: 6% +

Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot)

• Common fungus, grows everywhere• “Discovered” in the 16-18th centuries in EuropeC t ll d b l h di id• Controlled by sulphur dioxide

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Botrytis cinerea (Noble Rot)

• Vineyard conditions that allow growth:• Moist mesoclimate, soils that can hold moisture and later release into the air

• Need rainfall for germination• Need rainfall for germination• Warm weather• Ignoble Rot

Infection of the skin

Some grapes more vulnerable• Highly susceptible: Chenin blanc, White Riesling, Zinfandel (tight clusters)

• Susceptible: Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc

• Moderately susceptible: Gewurtztraminer, Semillon

• Least Susceptible: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot (thick skin)

Winemaking• Harvest

• Separate fruit from raisined fruit

• Crushing may be skipped• Pressing is slow• Pressing is slow• Syrup is chilled and clarified: suspended solids and brown pigments

• Fermentation• Botrytis has used up some of nutrients

• High sugar concentrations

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• Fermentation • Stopped by chilling followed by centrifugation/filtration to remove yeast cells

• Once alcohol content reaches 8 13%

Winemaking(cont.)

• Once alcohol content reaches 8-13%• End timing depends upon:

• Style being made• Progress between the two processes 1) sugar to alcohol, 2) production of volatile acidity

• Clarification and stabilization• Standard methods

Winemaking(cont.)

• Aging

Botrytis-Affected Wines

• Sauterne• Blend of Sauv Blanc, Semillon, Muscadellegrapes, 12-13% alcohol, 6-8% residual sugarg

• German late harvest• White Riesling, 7-10% alcohol, 12-15% residual sugar

• Tröckenbeerenauslese (TBA) • Not all vintages

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Icewine(Eiswein)

Icewine

• No growth of Botrytis• Made from frozen grapes

Icewine(cont.)

• Grapes left on vine until first deep frost • Grapes pressed in frozen state to ensure water in grape will not meltwater in grape will not melt

• Grapes must be frozen naturally on the vine at -8°C or colder

• Final sugar concentration in the must required to be 35° Brix (g soluble solid/100 g solution)

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Harvested when frozen!

Fake Icewine

• Fake icewine:• Grapes picked at temperatures above -8°C• Wine produced using cryogenic methods

Fake icewine

Real icewine

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Fortified Wine Production

Fortified Wines

• Neutral grape spirit (80-95% alcohol) added to wine to raise alcohol content• Wine spirits required for all fortified

iwines

• Alcohol content greater than 17% can kill yeast or bacteria

• Even if added sugar

• So, fortified wines are more stable

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Distillation

Fortified Wines

Brandy:

• Distilled grape wine, aged in oakg p g

• Diluted to 40% alcohol

• Cognac – from the Cognac region in France

Whiskey-Brandy’s first cousin• Alcoholic beverage distilled from fermented grain mash and aged

• Scotch: double-distilled in Scotland• Canadian: rye barley corn aged 3 Canadian: rye, barley, corn, aged 3 years

• American• Bourbon: 51-79% corn• Rye: at least 51% rye• Tennessee Whiskey: bourbon but filtered through sugar maple charcoal

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Types of Dessert WineMay be red, white or rosé

• Colors are often oxidized due to processing• White types

• White port• Cheap ones from Thompson seedless

• Dry vermouthDry vermouth• Used to make martinis

Rosé Types of Dessert Wine• “California” Tokay: blend of port,

sherry & angelica• Hungarian Tokay: valuable sweet (not

dessert) wine• Made from Botrytis infected grapes

• So sweet fermentation • So sweet, fermentation occurs over a period of years• Even with special yeast, most treasured Tokay is rarely over 20% alcohol

Red Types of Dessert Wine• Red: “everything that is not white or rosé”

– Sherry - Spain

– Madeira -Madeira

Sweet Vermouth (used to make Manhattans)

– Port - Portugal

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Vermouth• From the German for “wormwood” - now

illegal to use wormwood because of CNS damage - other herbs are used instead

• Styles• French – dry vermouth

• Fortified white wine flavored • Fortified white wine, flavored with herbs and spices

• Italian – sweet vermouth• Also made from fortified white wine

• Reddish brown from caramel coloring

Fortified Wines

• Port – grape spirit added during fermentation

• Sherry – grape spirit added after f t ti ( d l h l l fermentation(sugar and alcohol lower than Port)

• Result: High alcohol content (17-22%)• Need a hot climate to create sugar levels and high alcohol

• Originally, from the DuoroRiver region of Portugal

• Named from the fact that these wines are shipped out of

Traditional Port Making

these wines are shipped out of the Portuguese city of Oporto

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• Extensive treading is needed to maximize color extraction becauseof brief fermentation

• Fermented to only 5%

Traditional Port Making (cont.)

• Fermented to only 5%alcohol before fortification• Add neutral grape alcohol (brandy) to 18-

20%, stops fermentation, leaving 9-10% residual sugar

• Grapes blended for color and flavor

• Vintage: aged several years in a barrel then up to 20 or more years in a bottle• Highest quality, typically declared only once or twice in a decade

• Can age for as much as 50 years

Port Types

• Can age for as much as 50 years

Port Types(cont.)• Ruby

• Aged in wood for ~2 years, fruity, bright red

• Tawny: blend from several different years• Aged in wood for up to 40 yrs• Inexpensive tawny ports are made by blending white port and ruby port

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Port Production• Crush, fortify, ferment, press, stabilize

B l i• Barrel aging• Tawny port aged for 4-6 years in newer barrels

• Brick red/brown, less fruity, oaky• Ruby or vintage port aged in neutral barrels

Port Production (cont.)

• Finishing and bottle aging

• Ruby port – can reach market months to over year after harvest bright red fruityover year after harvest, bright red, fruity

• Vintage – 2-4 years of aging in wood, matured ~20 years in bottle

Video clips-Port

Traditional vs Modern Methods:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oRhg

wY7z6M&feature=related

History Channel Clip:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTILOl

zCyv8&feature=relmfu

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Sherry production

Regions for Sherry and Madeira• Sherry comes originally

from the south of Spain in the very hot Juarez region• Any other place must use a geographic use a geographic descriptor– e.g. California Sherry

• Madeira comes originally from the very hilly island of Madeira in the Atlantic Ocean

Sherry and Madeira vs. Port

• Both sherry and madeira are completely fermented before fortification (unlike port)

• Both are already oxidized therefore • Both are already oxidized therefore heating or cooking with them does not alter their taste• Cooking sherry is low grade sherry with added salt (to make it undrinkable)

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Sherry

• Fortified wines that originated in Spain

• Deliberately oxidizedT b i t (diff i d i • Two basic types: (difference is during oxidation)• Fino – use yeast• Oloroso – don’t use yeast

Sherry

• Sherry:• Pale yellow to med brown in color• Light and nutty or richer bouquet• Sugar:g

• Dry: 1-2.5%• Medium: 2.5-3.5%• Cream: 7.5-10%

• Alcohol: 17-20%

Types of Sherry• Fino: yeasts that initially fermented the wine begin aerobic fermentation and create a film of living yeast (flor) on the surface that protects wine from oxidationfrom oxidation

• Amontillado: also starts with florlayer, then is later fortified to 18% that kills the flor, allowing oxidation

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Types of Sherry(cont.)• Oloroso: fortification so high, florcannot develop so shows greatest oxidation

C m h : t d l• Cream sherry: sweetened oloroso

• Darkest and sweetest sherry

• Most popular type in USA

• White wine base

• Fortified with brandy (grape spirits)

• Racking

Making Sherry

• Oxidation and aging-with or without flor yeast

• Sugar content adjusted with sweet fortified wine

Making Sherry(cont.)• Start with white wine (shermat)

• During harvest, sugar content alone is criteria

• Most grapes at 23-24°brix

• Fermentation to completion (5-7 days)

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Making Sherry(cont.)• Fortification with brandy

• Amount added depends upon type of sherry

• Finos receive less fortification (15%) than Olorosos (18%)Olorosos (18%)

• Placed in large oak casks for aging and maturation• These “butts” hold 132 gallons

• Standard barrels: 53-61 gallons

Oxidation• Without the ‘flor’ yeast

• For Olorosos

• Shermat fortified to 18-20% alcoholalcohol

• Wines aged in partially filled oak barrel

• Allows oxidation

• The longer the aging, the darker color and more complex the flavors

Oxidation

• With the ‘flor’ yeast• Shermat fortified to 14-15% alcohol (lower than without)

• Inoculated with flor in tank• Supplied with oxygen

• Conducted on the surface of the wines stored in partially-filled barrels

• Metabolism contributes to pungent bouquet

• Flor would die quickly• Need system to keep alive (Solera)

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the ‘flor’ yeast

Sherry Production

• Blending the young and old (during oxidation by flor yeast)

F ti n l bl ndin t m: l• Fractional blending system: solera

• Same cask type but different age

• Removed for filtration, bottling

• Why use the solera system?

• Flor yeast would otherwise die without impacting character

Sherry Production(cont.)

p g

• Keeps supplying the needed nutrients for flor growth

• Minimizes vintage to vintage variation

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SoleraProcess

•Solera system ensures consistency•Tiers of sherry casks from oldest (bottom) to •Tiers of sherry casks from oldest (bottom) to newest (top)• 1/4 - 1/3 of the oldest wine is drawn off for bottling

• Wine from the next oldest tier is used to refill barrels

• Continues up the tiers with new wine added at the top

Solera System

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZaT2hKvzcM

•Old gives the young character; young give the old nutrients•Date on the sherry: year the solerawas started

•If it says “3 years old ” that is the

Solera Process

•If it says 3 years old, that is the age of the youngest wine

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• Finishing and Blending• Blended to adjust sweetness, color

• Depends on intended market

Sherry Production(cont.)

p

• Can add sweetened fortified wine

• Cold stabilized, clarified and bottled

Making Madeira• Madeira is also oxidized• Four traditional types• Each type is made from a different cultivar

• Altitudes and harvest time depend on cultivar

Length of fermentation before fortification with brandy (18-20%) depends upon cultivar/type:•Malvasia is fortified very early in the

Making Madeira(cont.)

Malvasia is fortified very early in the fermentation

•Boal and Verdelho are fortified around the fourth day

•Sercial is fortified after about a month of fermentation

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•After fortification, the wine is placed and held in a heated area (between 35-60°C) for ~3 months

•The wine is aged in oak for up to

Making Madeira(cont.)

g p15 years

•Can be aged in the bottle even longer

Madeira styles:

• Sercial is the lightest, driest style

• Verdelho, sweeter and stronger

• Boal (or Bual), fuller & sweeter than previous two

• Malmsey is the richest, darkest, and sweetest

Madeira styles:

Sercial and Verdelho are generally used as apéritifs while the heavier, sweeter styles, Boal and Malmsey

d d t i are used as dessert wines, digestifs.

Madeiras can either be vintage or from a solera.

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Fortified Muscats

• Very fruity and floral• Lower alcohol than other

fortified wines (~16%)• Muscat hamburg used for red m g f

fortified wines (like port)• Orange muscats (dessert

wines) by fortifying fermenting grape juice