Art Chowder January | February, Issue 25 | Page 44

Second, the brandy infuses the wine with
more alcohol than it could ever ferment
by grapes alone. This added alcohol
helps the wine resist the twin threats of
oxidation and bacteria better than any
unfortified wine could ever hope.  If they
will not melt away our excess pounds,
they will warm us nicely on a cold,
winter’s night.
Without a doubt, fortified wines are
the longest-lived wines in the world. 
This makes them delicious for holding
onto until that special dinner arrives,
whenever that may be — as well as
the perfect gift for birth year bottles. 
Whatever year you search for, there
will likely be a dark sherry and maybe a
vintage port to commemorate the birth
year — or the retirement year.  Older
versions are usually the best values
in the wine shop ranging from $30 to
$2000, depending on the age.  Quick
perusal of a rare wine site finds a 1712
Madeira for sale for just under 2000
dollars.  This means the oldest wine for
sale is more than 200 years old at half
the price of a new Petrus.  We can’t do
it every day, but it does make a memory
for a lifetime.
Stylistically, fortified wines fit narrow
niches in our menus, usually at the
start and the end of a course of plates. 
Also, the alcohol stands out, so they are
enjoyed by themselves or with bold-
flavor foods.  First courses like garlicky
scampi or lobster bisque reward the
bracing acidity of (dry) Manzanilla
sherry to balance the richness and
stimulate the appetite.  Aperitifs like this
act like the slice of lemon — balancing
the garlic, butter or cream with robust,
flavor-carrying gusto.  After dinner, the
lingering, complex sweetness of a Bual
madeira or vintage port polishes off the
appetite with their sweetness to match
the richness of dessert or cheese.  By
themselves, the dry aperitifs awaken the
appetite while the sweeter after-dinner
digestifs conquer it.
44
ART CHOWDER MAGAZINE
Each version of fortified wine comes from a PhD-worthy history all its own
— from the northern shores of Portugal to islands off the coast of Africa to old
Moorish Spain to the Marsh of Allah on the western tip of Sicily — places full
of history and the need to trade in the bounty of wine they were given.  These are
bottles of wine and they are bottles of history, delicious even if we still have to
take vitamins and go to the gym.