In ancient Babylon, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead (fermented honey beverage) he could drink for a month after the wedding. Because their calendar was lunar or moon-based, this period of free mead was called the “honey month,” or what we now call the “honeymoon.”
READ MORE »Posts in category FORTIFIED WINES
VERMOUTH
Vermouth is a fortified wine, flavored with aromatic herbs and spices (“aromatized” in the trade) such as cardamom, cinnamon, marjoram and chamomile. Some vermouth is sweetened; however, unsweetened, or dry, vermouth tends to be bitter. The person credited with the second vermouth recipe, Antonio Benedetto Carpano from Turin, Italy, chose to name his concoction “vermouth” in 1786 because he was inspired by a German wine flavoured with wormwood, an herb most [...]
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There are three general styles of vermouth, in order from driest to sweetest: extra dry, bianco/white, and sweet/red. Sweet red vermouth is drunk as an apéritif, often straight up, as well as in mixed drinks like the Manhattan. Dry white vermouth, along with gin, is a key ingredient in the mixing of martinis. Red vermouths are sometimes referred to as [...]
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Reserve (5 years)- This is the minimum amount of aging that a wine labeled with one of the noble varieties is permitted to have. Special Reserve(10 years)-At this point the wines are often aged naturally without any artificial heat source. Extra Reserve (over 15 years)-This style is rare to produce with many producers extending the aging to [...]
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There are four major types of Madeira, named according to the grape variety used. Ranging from the sweetest to the driest style, they are: v Malvasia (also known as Malmsey or Malvazia) v Bual or Boal v Verdelho v Sercial
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Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif, to sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert. Cheaper versions are often flavored with salt and pepper for use in cooking. The islands of Madeira have a long winemaking history dating back to the Age of Exploration when [...]
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Marsala is produced using the Grillo, Inzolia, and Catarratto white grape varietals, among others. Marsala wine was traditionally served as an aperitif between the first and second courses of a meal. Contemporary diners will serve chilled with Parmesan (stravecchio), Gorgonzola, Roquefort, and other spicy cheeses, with fruits or pastries, or at room temperature as a dessert wine. Marsala is sometimes discussed with another Sicilian wine, Passito di Pantelleria (Pantelleria Island‘s raisin wine). Different Marsala [...]
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Marsala wine is frequently used in cooking, and is especially prevalent in Italian restaurants in the United States. A typical Marsala sauce, for example, involves reducing the wine almost to a syrup with onions or shallots, then adding mushrooms and herbs. One of the most popular Marsala recipes is Chicken Marsala, in which flour-coated pounded chicken breast halves are braised in a mixture of Marsala, butter, olive oil, [...]
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Marsala is a wine produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala wine first received Denominazione di origine controllata, or DOC, status in 1969. While the city’s natives sometimes drink “vintage” Marsala, the wine produced for export is universally a fortified wine similar to Port. Originally, Marsala wine was fortified with alcohol to ensure that it would last long ocean voyages, but [...]
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Mistelle (sifone in Italian, mistela in Spanish) is sometimes used as an ingredient in fortified wines, particularly Vermouth, Marsala and Sherry, though it is used mainly as a base for apéritifs such as the French Pineau des Charentes, It is produced by adding alcohol to non-fermented or partially fermented grape juice. The addition of alcohol stops the fermentation and, as a consequence Mistelle is sweeter than fully [...]
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