,WSET Diploma D5 Fortified Wines Study Guide
2025/2026 – Complete Notes, Exam Questions, Key
Terms, and Detailed Explanations for Sherry, Port,
Madeira, VDN & More.
In which styles are fortified wines made?
Dry and sweet, red, white and rosé, youthful and aromatic or fully developed and oxidative.
What is the role of the grape variety in fortified wines?
It can provide aromas and flavors or be used as a neutral base for the flavors of maturation to
display.
Name a fortified wine where the grape variety gives most of the wine's aromas and flavors
VDN are an example of fortified wines where the grape variety (Muscat) provides the main
flavors and aromas of the wine.
What is an example of a fortified wine where the grape variety is mostly neutral and the main
aromas are coming from maturation?
Palomino is a mostly neutral grape variety and the flavors of Sherry come from the maturation
process.
Besides aromas and flavors, what are other components of fortified wines that play an
important role in style?
Acidity, color and tannin
Name examples of high and low acidity fortified wines
Madeira is made with Sercial and Verdelho, varieties with high levels of acidity. By contrast,
Palomino based Sherries are low in acidity
Name 2 contrasting fortified wines when it comes to the importance of color
Tawny Port needs to look aged quickly and so is made with lower levels of color wines as
opposed to Vintage Port which is intended to keep its deep color for a long time (Touriga
Nacional and Sousao)
How do tannins influence the style of fortified wines? Name 2 opposing examples
,Early drinking styles do not require high levels of tannins (such as Ruby Port and Maury Grenat).
Long aged wines require high levels of tannins to keep color and allow long periods of ageing
(Vintage Port)
Besides tannins, color and acidity, what else influences the style of fortified wines?
Vineyard site (location, aspect and altitude), Timing of Harvest, Skin Contact and Extraction,
Timing of Fortification, Fortifying Spirit, Maturation time and vessel and ouillage, Blending,
Fining and Filtration
Which wine region underlines the important of vineyard site for the style and quality of the
wine produced?
Douro, as vineyards are scored according to factors such as location, aspect and altitude, a score
that determines how much and which quality of Port wine can be produced.
How does vineyard site influence the style and quality of VDN?
Muscat de Frontignan produces fuller wines with riper flavors from low altitude vineyards than
the high altitude sites of Muscat de St Jean de Minervois
Why is the timing of harvest so important for fortified wines?
Botrytis has to be avoided at all cost, therefore harvest is usually done before autumn rains and
humidity. For Sherry, just-ripe flavors are desirable and low alcohol is. Other styles, such as
Rutherglen Muscat or PX requires concentrated sugar levels and will be left on the vine much
longer
Which wines require high levels of extraction (of tannins, color and flavors)?
Red fortified wines.
Why is extraction so key for red fortified wines?
The wines are often sweet and the fermentation will be interrupted by adding alcohol 2-3 days
after the start of fermentation, so the extraction needs to be as efficient as possible, especially
for wines made to age.
Which are fortified wines made from black grapes that require little extraction?
Basic Tawny and Rosé Ports to create wines with a paler appearance.
Why would white fortified wines leave the must in contact with skins for an extended period of
time?
To increase body, texture and to extract additional flavors, such as Madeira, Muscat based VDN
or White Ports.
, Which wines would avoid skin contact as much as possible and why?
Sherries such as Fino or Manzanilla as the phenolics extracted would interfere with the growth
of the flor yeast
When are dry fortified wines fortified?
After the fermentation is completed
When is the majority of sweet fortified wines fortified?
Midway through the fermentation process. The yeasts cannot operate at a certain alcohol level
and will leave the residual sugar unfermented. The Greater the amount of sugar - the earlier it
happened in the fermentation process.
Which styles of sweet fortified wines are not made by adding alcohol midway through
fermentation?
Pale Cream, Medium and Cream are fermented to dryness and the sweetness comes from a
sweetening component. Cream Sherry for example, is made by blending PX, combining aged,
dry Palomino with raisined PX.
What is the role of the fortifying spirit?
Vary in alcohol (most are 95-96% ABV) but Port uses a spirit of 77% ABV which contributes more
of its own flavors and aromas
The amount of spirit added also has an impact on the style of wine
Producers can choose between aromatic and more neutral spirits
The strength of the fortifiying spirit and the amount will determine the final ABV of the wine
After fortification, what is a defining moment of fortified wine production?
Maturation. Four types:
1. Young wines (VDN, Ruby and Rosé Ports)
2. Short ageing, Improvement in Bottle (Vintage and LBV Ports
3. Long maturation periods, aged oxidatively (Tawny Ports, Madeiras, Rutherglen Muscats,
Sherries)
4. Biological ageing (Fino and Manzanilla Sherries): Aged under flor yeast veil
Which factors contribute to oxidative ageing?
2025/2026 – Complete Notes, Exam Questions, Key
Terms, and Detailed Explanations for Sherry, Port,
Madeira, VDN & More.
In which styles are fortified wines made?
Dry and sweet, red, white and rosé, youthful and aromatic or fully developed and oxidative.
What is the role of the grape variety in fortified wines?
It can provide aromas and flavors or be used as a neutral base for the flavors of maturation to
display.
Name a fortified wine where the grape variety gives most of the wine's aromas and flavors
VDN are an example of fortified wines where the grape variety (Muscat) provides the main
flavors and aromas of the wine.
What is an example of a fortified wine where the grape variety is mostly neutral and the main
aromas are coming from maturation?
Palomino is a mostly neutral grape variety and the flavors of Sherry come from the maturation
process.
Besides aromas and flavors, what are other components of fortified wines that play an
important role in style?
Acidity, color and tannin
Name examples of high and low acidity fortified wines
Madeira is made with Sercial and Verdelho, varieties with high levels of acidity. By contrast,
Palomino based Sherries are low in acidity
Name 2 contrasting fortified wines when it comes to the importance of color
Tawny Port needs to look aged quickly and so is made with lower levels of color wines as
opposed to Vintage Port which is intended to keep its deep color for a long time (Touriga
Nacional and Sousao)
How do tannins influence the style of fortified wines? Name 2 opposing examples
,Early drinking styles do not require high levels of tannins (such as Ruby Port and Maury Grenat).
Long aged wines require high levels of tannins to keep color and allow long periods of ageing
(Vintage Port)
Besides tannins, color and acidity, what else influences the style of fortified wines?
Vineyard site (location, aspect and altitude), Timing of Harvest, Skin Contact and Extraction,
Timing of Fortification, Fortifying Spirit, Maturation time and vessel and ouillage, Blending,
Fining and Filtration
Which wine region underlines the important of vineyard site for the style and quality of the
wine produced?
Douro, as vineyards are scored according to factors such as location, aspect and altitude, a score
that determines how much and which quality of Port wine can be produced.
How does vineyard site influence the style and quality of VDN?
Muscat de Frontignan produces fuller wines with riper flavors from low altitude vineyards than
the high altitude sites of Muscat de St Jean de Minervois
Why is the timing of harvest so important for fortified wines?
Botrytis has to be avoided at all cost, therefore harvest is usually done before autumn rains and
humidity. For Sherry, just-ripe flavors are desirable and low alcohol is. Other styles, such as
Rutherglen Muscat or PX requires concentrated sugar levels and will be left on the vine much
longer
Which wines require high levels of extraction (of tannins, color and flavors)?
Red fortified wines.
Why is extraction so key for red fortified wines?
The wines are often sweet and the fermentation will be interrupted by adding alcohol 2-3 days
after the start of fermentation, so the extraction needs to be as efficient as possible, especially
for wines made to age.
Which are fortified wines made from black grapes that require little extraction?
Basic Tawny and Rosé Ports to create wines with a paler appearance.
Why would white fortified wines leave the must in contact with skins for an extended period of
time?
To increase body, texture and to extract additional flavors, such as Madeira, Muscat based VDN
or White Ports.
, Which wines would avoid skin contact as much as possible and why?
Sherries such as Fino or Manzanilla as the phenolics extracted would interfere with the growth
of the flor yeast
When are dry fortified wines fortified?
After the fermentation is completed
When is the majority of sweet fortified wines fortified?
Midway through the fermentation process. The yeasts cannot operate at a certain alcohol level
and will leave the residual sugar unfermented. The Greater the amount of sugar - the earlier it
happened in the fermentation process.
Which styles of sweet fortified wines are not made by adding alcohol midway through
fermentation?
Pale Cream, Medium and Cream are fermented to dryness and the sweetness comes from a
sweetening component. Cream Sherry for example, is made by blending PX, combining aged,
dry Palomino with raisined PX.
What is the role of the fortifying spirit?
Vary in alcohol (most are 95-96% ABV) but Port uses a spirit of 77% ABV which contributes more
of its own flavors and aromas
The amount of spirit added also has an impact on the style of wine
Producers can choose between aromatic and more neutral spirits
The strength of the fortifiying spirit and the amount will determine the final ABV of the wine
After fortification, what is a defining moment of fortified wine production?
Maturation. Four types:
1. Young wines (VDN, Ruby and Rosé Ports)
2. Short ageing, Improvement in Bottle (Vintage and LBV Ports
3. Long maturation periods, aged oxidatively (Tawny Ports, Madeiras, Rutherglen Muscats,
Sherries)
4. Biological ageing (Fino and Manzanilla Sherries): Aged under flor yeast veil
Which factors contribute to oxidative ageing?
