Fortified vs Unfortified Wine: What’s the Difference?
You’ve heard of fortified wines before, but just how are they different from regular table wines? Fortified wines have distilled spirits added during the winemaking process and are higher in alcohol than unfortified wines, often 17%+ versus 11%-15% abv for traditional wine. No additional alcohol is added to unfortified wines. Both fortified and unfortified wines […]
Touriga Franca Wine: Quick Guide
Pronounced tore-EE-gah FRAN-kah. Anyone who’s a fan of big red wines should take the time to learn about Portugal’s unique red wine grapes. Like Touriga Franca. Touriga Franca (also called Touriga Francesa) is a native grape of northern Portugal in the Douro and Dão regions. Touriga Franca’s primarily used as a blending grape in Port […]
What Is a Good Sweet Wine for Beginners?
New wine drinkers figure out pretty quickly that the liquid in their wine glass doesn’t taste anything like grape juice. Good sweet wines for beginners include: Moscato d’Asti, White Zinfandel, Cabernet d’Anjou, off-dry Riesling, Vin Doux Naturel, Demi-Sec and Doux Champagne, Port, and Sauternes. Wines come in a range of sweetness levels, so you have […]
Touriga Nacional: Quick Guide
Pronounced: tore-ee-gah naw-see-oh-nahl If you’re holding a bottle of Touriga Nacional right now, please invite me over. Seriously. Touriga Nacional is a black wine grape native to Northern Portugal. Winemakers use Touriga Nacional as a main blending grape in age-worthy sweet fortified Port wines, as well as fine dry red table wines. Touriga Nacional wines […]
11 Strong Red Wines to Try Tonight!
So, you’re looking for a red wine with a little brawn to it? Something that will bite back with your BBQ brisket? Climate and grape variety both play a role in crafting strong red wines. Widely available good strong red wines with high alcohol include Zinfandel, warm climate Cabernet Sauvignon, and new world Syrah (Shiraz). […]
Wine Flights: Everything You Need to Know
If you hang around wine people long enough, you’re going to run across the term “wine flight”. A wine flight is not, in fact, an airplane full of wine nerds – though I’d be up for that! A wine flight is a set of different but related servings of wine. Typically a wine flight is […]
What Is Vin Doux Naturel Wine?
Sweet wines have something of a tarnished reputation in today’s popular drinking culture. Perhaps it’s an unfortunate hangover from the cheap sweet plonk that flooded the markets in the ‘70s and ‘80s. But not all sweet wines should be so easily dismissed. Vin doux naturel, or ‘natural sweet wine’, is a traditional sweet wine from […]