Australian Wine Styles - Fortified Wine

Fortified Wine, sometimes, is described as “liquid sunshine”, because the grapes used in making the wine, are left on the vine much longer, than is with other types of Australian wines, this way the berries gets to store more natural sugar while drying out slightly under the warm Australia’s autumn sunshine.  

The fortification process, generally involves adding a small amount of brandy spirit to partially fermented red wine, to retain the colours and flavours, regardless of the wines’ storage or treatment. Once fortified the wine is left to mature in small oak barrels, even as long as for decades, allowing the time for it to get matured in to an aromatic wine with immense depth, concentration and flavour.  

The origin, of fortifying Australian wines, is in the 1850s. The process was developed, to overcome the problem of getting the wines safely across the equator, and over a great distance to the UK.   

Fine Australian fortified white wines are produced by many of the wineries in the country. Australian fortified white wines are lighter textured, aromatic and comes fortified with varying levels of sweetness.  

Fruits being used to make Fortified Australian Wine 

Muscat
As in elsewhere in the world, in Australia too Muscat is renowned for the sweet wines they produce.

Muscat (fortified)
A much-celebrated Australian fortified wine. Fruits grown in the Rutherglen region in northeast Victoria have an international reputation for producing an Australian fortified wine with a rich, mellow flavour. Being classified as  'classic', 'grand' or 'rare' (the richest of the lot), Australian fortified wines produced from Muscat in the Rutherglen region are about the most intense, 'toffee-ish' pudding wines you're ever likely to experience.

Tawny
One of the best-known Australian fortified wines. Kept in the barrel for a hundred years since 1878 by the Seppelt wine making family in the Barossa, only a limited number of Para Liqueur Vintage tawny wines were released in 1978. The next limited release will be after the passage of another hundred years; hence this is an exceptionally rare Australian fortified wine.