From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!alice!rabbit!sif Newsgroups: net.wines Title: Fortified Wines Article-I.D.: rabbit.1216 Posted: Sun Mar 13 02:04:37 1983 Received: Sun Mar 13 13:27:16 1983 Fortified wines are made by adding alcohol (usually in the form of brandy) to the fermenting must. This stops the fermentation and raises the alcohol level. If the fermentation was far from complete, the resulting wine can be both sweet and alcoholic. Thus is port made. It is true that many wine yeasts die in the 11-13% range, but there are yeast cultures that are far more tolerant of ethanol. The grape and the details of fermantation also control the degree of alcohol that the yeasts can produce. A number of California Chardonnays from 1981 are in the 15% range (and burn acordingly). Late Harvest Zinfandels routinely exceed 15% without fortification. If memory serves, David Bruce made a Late Harvest Zinfandel in 1970 that came in at 18.1%, allegedly without fortification! (The wine was wretched but interesting).