Wine-based BEverages

Welcome to vine to wine this is your host Linda Moran. Today I thought we would take a look at the types of beverages or products which are derived from wine. Beverages like Sherry, Port and Brandy.

Spirits are alcohol made by means of distillation. Brandy, sherry, and Dubonnet are distilled from grape wine. Liqueurs however are generally distilled from fruit wines. Many distilled wines are used as Apertifs (ah-pair-teefs) and are usually served before a meal with or without an appetizer.  Sherry is a good example. Brandy and Cognac are made by a tedious process of distilling wine and are made in many levels of quality. Calvados which is made by distilling apple wine is quite a delicacy when well executed. Wine based beverages such as Port and Sherry, are fortified wines, which means alcohol was added to the wine to stop the fermentation. They are often sweet but varying styles will also have varying degrees of sweetness. Port is usually served after dinner. Liqueurs are not wine based but they can be flavored with some of the same things that are also used to make wine. Liqueurs are alcoholic beverages that have been flavored with fruit, herbs, nuts, spices, flowers, even cream, and made with added sugar. They are often quite sweet; usually not aged any longer than it takes for the flavors to blend.

A liqueur may also be referred to as a cordial. They are often combined with a mixer such as club soda to create a cocktail. These are a few of the more common wine based beverages. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.