A guest asks for "a glass of Sherry" before dinner and you have five bottles, ranging from bone-dry and saline to thick, black and sweeter than treacle. Fortified wine is the category where a wrong pour is most obvious.
Sherry: flor and the solera
From Jerez in Andalucía, chiefly the Palomino grape. What decides the style is whether a film of yeast called flor grows on the wine's surface.
| Style | Ageing | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Fino / Manzanilla | Under flor (biological) | Bone dry, pale, saline, yeasty, delicate. Serve chilled, treat as fresh |
| Amontillado | Under flor, then oxidative | Dry, amber, hazelnut, more body |
| Oloroso | Oxidative from the start, no flor | Dry, deep brown, walnut, rich and powerful |
| Palo Cortado | An in-between style | Amontillado nose, Oloroso body |
| Pedro Ximénez (PX) | Sun-dried grapes, oxidative | Intensely sweet, black, raisin and fig |
Most Sherry is aged in a solera - a fractional blending system where wine is drawn from the oldest tier of casks and topped up from the next youngest, so every bottle contains a little of many vintages. That is why most Sherry carries no vintage.
Port
From the Douro in northern Portugal, fortified with grape spirit during fermentation, which stops it and leaves natural sweetness.
| Style | Ageing | Decant? |
|---|---|---|
| Ruby / Reserve | Short, in bulk | No |
| Late Bottled Vintage (LBV) | Around 4-6 years in bulk | Usually not (most are filtered) |
| Tawny (10, 20, 30, 40 year) | Long, oxidative in wood | No - and it can be served lightly chilled |
| Colheita | Tawny from a single year | No |
| Vintage Port | Around 2 years in wood, then decades in bottle | Yes - always. Heavy sediment; use a filter or muslin |
Vintage Port is declared only in outstanding years. Once opened it deteriorates within days; tawny, being already oxidised, keeps for weeks.
Madeira
From the Atlantic island, deliberately heated and oxidised - a process born of long sea voyages in warm holds. Practically indestructible once opened, which makes it the most yacht-friendly wine that exists. Styles run from dry to sweet, traditionally named after the grape: Sercial (driest), Verdelho, Bual, Malmsey (sweetest).
Onboard Notes
- Fino and Manzanilla are effectively fresh wine. Buy small bottles, refrigerate, and discard after a few days - a tired Fino is a poor advertisement.
- Vintage Port needs 24 hours standing upright before decanting. Plan it the day before, not at the cheese course.
- Madeira and tawny Port are the only open bottles that survive a crossing. Keep both for the after-dinner request you cannot otherwise fill.