Fortified wine Madeira Islands. The wine is produced in a variety of styles ranging from dry wines which can be consumed on their own as an aperitif, to sweet wines more usually consumed with dessert. Madeira is deliberately heated and oxidised as part of its maturation process, resulting in distinctive flavours and an unusually long lifespan once a bottle is opened. Marsala wine is a wine from Sicily that is available in both fortified and unfortified versions. It was first produced in 1772 by an English merchant, John Woodhouse, as an inexpensive substitute for sherry and port, and gets its name from
Aromatised wine Aromatised wine An aromatised wine (also spelled aromatized) is a fortified wine or mistelle that has been flavoured with herbs, spices, fruit or other natural flavourings. An aromatised wine must have a minimum alcohol content of 14.5% by volume and a maximum alcohol content of 22% by volume according to EU law Council Regulation (EEC) No 1601/91. The majority of older brands come from France and Italy but there are now a range of small 'craft' producers around the world. Other similar beverages described in this legislation are 'aromatised wine-based drinks' (non-fortified) and 'aromatised wine-product cocktail' (blended, lower alcohol drink