Text
Fortified wine terms you need to know
Small Batch Learning
Updated Mar 27, 2019- Dry: Description of flavour that usually means “not sweet”. In fortified wine terms this helps to differentiate certain styles in the sub-categories of sherry and vermouth from other sweeter styles.
- Residual sugar: All grapes (and other fruit used for wine) have sugar inside, which is what the yeast turns to alcohol during fermentation. If you stop the fermentation before the yeast has converted all that sugar to alcohol, you get leftover sugar, known as residual sugar. This makes the final product sweeter.
- Aperitif: Drinks consumed before a meal, particularly in the evening, to help stimulate the appetite. Traditionally these would either be dry or bitter fortified wines, but also sparkling wines. The opposite, for after a meal, is a digestif – these would typically be sweeter styles of fortified wines, liqueurs, or neat spirits.
