Fortified and aromatized wines

Sherry, Port, Madeira, Marsala, vermouth — fortified and aromatized wines occupy their own moments at the table.

A bottle of Fino Sherry, sharp and ice-cold; a glass of vintage Port passed around the table after dinner; a Martini stirred with dry vermouth; a sauce enriched with a splash of Marsala. These drinks have almost nothing in common in style or occasion, yet they all belong to the same broad family: wines that have been strengthened, and in some cases flavored, beyond what grapes and fermentation alone can produce.

Fortified and aromatized wines are not table wines. They do not compete with the bottle opened with the meal. Instead they occupy their own moments at the table and in the day — the aperitif before lunch, the digestif after dinner, the cocktail hour, the kitchen. Understanding them opens up a whole world of flavors that table wine cannot reach.

What makes a wine fortified?

All fortified wines start as ordinary wine — white, red, or occasionally rosé — to which distilled grape spirit (essentially brandy) is added at some point during or after fermentation. This raises the alcohol level, typically to somewhere between 15 and 22 percent, and makes the wine significantly more stable and longer-lived than an unfortified table wine.

The timing of when the spirit is added makes an enormous difference. Add it before fermentation is complete — as with Port — and the residual sugar remains in the wine, producing a naturally sweet result. Add it after fermentation has finished — as with most Sherries — and the wine is dry, with the added alcohol acting purely as a structural and preserving element.

Fortified and aromatized — what’s the difference?

Not all fortified wines stop at the addition of spirit. Aromatized wines take a second step: once fortified, botanicals are introduced — herbs, spices, roots, bark, flowers, citrus peel, and often dozens of other ingredients. Each producer works from their own formula, usually a closely guarded secret.

The best-known aromatized wine is vermouth, whose defining botanical is wormwood ( Artemisia absinthium ), though in most modern recipes the botanical list runs to twenty or more ingredients. Quinquinas add quinine — the bitter compound once used to treat malaria — while americanos, in the Italian aperitif tradition, rely on gentian root and similar bitter botanicals. European regulations require that wine make up at least 75 percent of the final volume in any aromatized wine.

When to drink them

The most practical way to navigate this family of wines is by the moment they suit. Broadly, they divide into four groups.

• Aperitif wines are dry, light, and sometimes bitter or gently saline. They are designed to sharpen the appetite before a meal, not to compete with it. Fino and Manzanilla Sherry, dry vermouth, and quinquinas like Lillet belong here. Serve them cold, often over ice, with light snacks — olives, almonds, cured meats, anchovies.
• Dessert and after-dinner wines are sweet, rich, and often barrel-aged. Vintage Port, Pedro Ximénez Sherry, sweet Madeira, and Australian Rutherglen Muscat belong here. A small glass alongside cheese, dark chocolate, or roasted nuts is the classic setting. Their sweetness echoes the food without overpowering it.
• Versatile middle styles — Amontillado and Oloroso Sherry in particular — sit between the two. Dry enough to work as an aperitif, rich enough to accompany roasted meat, game, or aged cheese.
• Kitchen and cocktail staples — vermouth, dry Sherry, Marsala, and Port — each have established roles in classic cooking and at the bar. Even a modest bottle earns its place in the kitchen.

The main fortified wines

Sherry — Spain’s great fortified wine is produced in the triangle between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María in Andalucía. The range of styles is extraordinary: from the palest, sharpest Fino and the salty, sea-air freshness of Manzanilla, through the richer, nutty Amontillado and the deep Oloroso, to the intensely sweet Pedro Ximénez — a wine so thick and dark it is sometimes poured directly over vanilla ice cream. Fino and Manzanilla are among the finest aperitif wines in the world. Sherry is also a natural ingredient in the Spanish kitchen, appearing in sauces, stocks, and classic preparations of game and seafood. 

Full guide to Sherry

Port — The most internationally recognized fortified wine comes from Portugal’s Douro Valley. Port is fortified during fermentation, which arrests the process and leaves the wine naturally sweet. Ruby Port is young, fruit-forward, and approachable. Tawny Port is aged in smaller barrels, developing nutty, dried-fruit character over years or decades. Late Bottled Vintage and Vintage Port represent the prestige end, produced from exceptional years and capable of aging in the bottle for a lifetime. White Port — both sweet and dry — is less well known but worth discovering, especially served chilled with tonic water as a long aperitif. Port pairs memorably with blue cheese, dark chocolate, and walnuts. 

Port wine — dedicated guide

Madeira — Produced on the Portuguese island of the same name, Madeira is one of the most remarkable and long-lived wines in the world. Its production involves deliberate heating — either in temperature-controlled tanks (estufagem) or by aging in warehouse lofts under the Atlantic sun — which oxidizes the wine and gives it extraordinary stability. A well-made Madeira can age for decades or even centuries without deteriorating. Styles range from the dry, minerally Sercial through the medium-dry Verdelho and the richer Bual to the sweet, complex Malmsey, and all of them share a striking combination of depth and sharp, refreshing acidity that makes them versatile at the table. 

Madeira — dedicated guide

Marsala — Sicily’s fortified wine is produced in the western part of the island, around the port city of Marsala. While a basic Fine Marsala is often used as a cooking ingredient, the higher categories — Superiore, Superiore Riserva, and especially Vergine — are serious wines with genuine aging potential and complexity. Marsala Vergine, aged for at least five years without added sweetening, is dry, amber, and worth discovering as a drinking wine in its own right. In the kitchen, Marsala gives its name to the classic Italian-American Chicken Marsala and appears in zabaione and other traditional Italian desserts.

Marsala — dedicated guide 

Other fortified wines — Beyond the four classics, a handful of other fortified wines deserve attention. Australia’s Rutherglen region in Victoria produces rich, amber-colored muscats with intense aromas of raisins, dried figs, and warm spice — some of the most opulent dessert wines in the world. Portugal’s Moscatel de Setúbal, made on the peninsula south of Lisbon, is a sweet aromatic muscat of considerable elegance. France produces vins doux naturels in the south — Banyuls and Maury are deep, Grenache-based reds; Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise is a floral, golden white. All are made by the same principle: spirit added to arrest fermentation and preserve natural sweetness.

The main aromatized wines

Vermouth — The most important aromatized wine, and the one with the deepest roots in cocktail culture. Vermouth exists in two main traditions. The French style is dry and pale, crisp and relatively low in sugar, at its best ice-cold as an aperitif or stirred into a classic Martini. The Italian style is sweet, red (or occasionally white), richer and more aromatic, and essential to the Negroni and the Manhattan. Spain has developed its own vibrant vermouth culture, particularly in Catalonia and Valencia, where rojo (red) vermouth served over ice with an orange slice and an olive is a fixture of the Sunday aperitif hour. Vermouth is also a useful kitchen ingredient, substituting for white wine in sauces and adding a layer of botanical complexity.

Vermouth — dedicated guide

Quinquinas and americanos — Quinquinas are aromatized wines in which quinine — extracted from the bark of the cinchona tree — is the defining botanical. The best known are Lillet (French, available in Blanc, Rouge, and Rosé), Dubonnet, and Byrrh. They tend to be lighter and more wine-like than vermouth, and work well as long aperitifs over ice with tonic water or soda. Americanos, in the Italian tradition, use gentian root and other bitter botanicals — Cocchi Americano being the most widely available example. Both families have a strong presence in European aperitif culture and appear in a growing range of classic and contemporary cocktail recipes.

In the kitchen and in cocktails

Fortified and aromatized wines are working ingredients, not just drinking wines.

In the kitchen, dry Sherry adds depth to soups, bisques, and seafood sauces. Port reduces into a rich sauce for duck, game, or beef. Marsala is the base of Chicken Marsala and the essential liquid in zabaione. Madeira, with its high natural acidity, enriches stocks and pan sauces and holds its character well under heat. Dry vermouth can substitute for white wine in many recipes, adding a layer of herbal complexity.

In cocktails, the connections are just as direct. Dry vermouth defines the Martini; sweet vermouth defines the Negroni and the Manhattan. Sherry is appearing increasingly in modern cocktails as a lower-alcohol alternative to spirits. Quinquinas and americanos form the base of numerous aperitif cocktails across France, Italy, and Spain. For a full range of wine-based cocktail recipes, see our wine cocktails guide.

For pairing fortified wines with food — particularly cheese — see our cheese and wine pairing guide.

Serving and storing

Fortified and aromatized wines are more resilient once opened than table wines, but they are not indestructible.

Dry styles — Fino, Manzanilla, dry vermouth — should be treated almost like a good white wine. Store them in the refrigerator once opened and finish within one to two weeks. The flor yeast that gives Fino and Manzanilla their character begins to fade as soon as the bottle is opened.

Richer, sweeter styles — Oloroso, Amontillado, Port, sweet vermouth — will keep for several weeks in a cool, dark place. Madeira is the most resilient of all: once opened, it can remain in good condition for months without significant deterioration, a consequence of the oxidative production process that is built into its character from the start.

Serving temperatures at a glance

Fortified wines

A toast to sherry — Styles, production, and food pairings

Sherry and the Jerez DO — The DO and wine region

Wine in the south of Spain — Andalucía and beyond

Wine in Portugal — Port, Madeira, and the full picture of Portuguese wine

Port wine — dedicated guide — Styles, production, food pairing · coming soon

Madeira — dedicated guide — The indestructible wine · coming soon

Marsala — dedicated guide — Sicily’s fortified wine · coming soon

Aromatized wines

Vermouth — dedicated guide — Dry, sweet, and everything in between · coming soon

Food and drink

Cheese and wine pairing — Including fortified wine pairings

Wine cocktails — Recipes using wine as a cocktail base.