Wine at the restaurant, or better to say, the way wine is being served and sold at the restaurant, is a frequent subject and most of the times troublesome. The fact it is a frequent subject, it is very likely in restaurants - talking in general terms - the service of wine is often seen by clients as inadequate or unsatisfactory. It is a troublesome subject because whenever you talk about wine at the restaurant, it is almost impossible not to talk about its price and, in particular, the profit they make in order to bring a bottle to the table. Moreover, this subject is troublesome for producers as well: when you ask them about the price at which their wines are generally sold at the shelf, they show an evident annoyance in telling this information as this is sometimes out of their control. As they have to sell their wines, also in restaurants, in order not to wrong them - last but not the least, in order not to receive complains for having spread a certain price - they do all they can in order to avoid saying a reliable price.

 The marketing of wine is very particular. As opposed to what happens for many other products, for which it frequently is the producer to set the retail price, in wine exists a sort of “marketing anarchy” in which everyone, more or less, sets the price which is considered to be appropriate or convenient. Therefore we have, for example, profits which are sometimes higher than 400%, even though it is very common to sell a wine with at least a profit of 150% from its cost. This is, of course, a generalization, as there are many cases in which can be seen an evident exception. They are just cases, in fact. It is not my intention to blame restaurants for getting excessively high profits, as this also happens in other business categories, too. It is however undeniable the most frequent complain from consumers is about the price paid for a bottle of wine at the restaurant. I can say this also because of the many letters we receive from our readers: most of them are about the retail price of wines, in particular, at the restaurant.

 Complains are not about price only. Many complain about the little attention the wine receives at the restaurant, not only about the way it is being served, but also about the way it is being presented. Inadequate glasses, approximate temperature, confusing wine list which is sometimes a mere list of what should be available in the cellar. Moreover, many complain about the scarce “technical” knowledge of the staff in charge of serving wine, sometimes having evident difficulties even at the moment of uncorking a bottle. Not to mention when the bottle arrives at the table already uncorked: any suspect and any doubt about its content and the wine itself are legitimate. Sometimes, when you sit at the table of a restaurant, you get the impression wine is an obstacle instead of something allowing the best appreciation of what has been produced in the kitchen. For many, this is undeniable, wine is simply a way to increase profits, in other words, a product like any other else, provided it allows the increasing of the amount a client will pay at the end of the meal.

 It is not my intention to blame all the restaurants: there are in fact many and praiseworthy exceptions. There are restaurants which understood the role of wine, and in particular, what a client expects and sometimes it is not happy with the “house wine” or with the sad question “white or red?”. It is however undeniable they are exceptions, as in most of the cases the service and the attention wine gets at the restaurant is quite depressing. It is not a matter of price only: I am certainly willing to pay a price in case I get an adequate and professional service in return, something satisfying my expectations. I admit I am very pedantic when I sit at the table of a restaurant - after all, it is not always easy, in those cases, to get rid of your professional bias - however it is also true my pedantry is in function of what I spend and what I get in return. Just like everyone, after all.

 The difficult relationship of wine and the restaurant is not only affected by price, it is however disconcerting sometimes the price of a bottle is higher than what you pay for the meal. It could be said producers are the ones to be blamed for this and for the fact they sell their wines at high prices. It is known this is not always true, however the solution is very simple and was proposed for the first time by Luigi Veronelli - and then supported by others, including myself - when he suggested to state in the bottle the price at which it is usually sold at the winery. No one is questioning the fact everyone selling a wine should get a legitimate and understandable profit for their job, however this is different from speculation. Maybe this is the reason why most of restaurants do not allow their clients to bring their own wines from home, something which is accepted in many countries of the world, as this is considered as a cause of loss of profit, despite the fact it is right to pay for the service of bottle uncorking, the use and wash of glasses.

 Not only of prices and profits, but also, and in particular, of service. I am happy to pay something more, provided I get something adequate in return. Professionalism and work of others, not only are to be respected, but they also have been properly paid. By seeing those awkward operations during the uncorking of a bottle and the service of wine, inadequate glasses or wrong temperatures, it does not positively predispose the client. The same can be said for some confusing wine lists, with evident and embarrassing mistakes, lack of information which are not however satisfied even in case one asks the person assigned to the service. Professionalism is also this: being capable of answering questions of clients and to be culturally competent as well as knowing what it is “sold” in a restaurant. This is not something related to wine only, but to everything being served at the table of the client, including what has been made in the kitchen. In conclusion, I am asking restaurateurs this provocative question, wishing this can be useful for a reflection. You rightly expect a profit for your job and for what you sell, including wine: are you really sure what you give your clients is adequate for the money they pay?

 Fortified wines have written memorable pages in history, not only for the history of wine making. These wines have in fact contributed to the commercial history and development of the 1800s, as well as associating their names with military successes, wines beloved for the celebration of significant moments of the society. In this sense, it can be mentioned, for example, the history of Marsala - one of the greatest wines of Italy - a wine for which was created a florid trading, protagonist of cut-throat commercial competitions. A wine of long and glorious history, Marsala was a wine very appreciated by admiral Horatio Nelson, who defined it as victory wine, also in occasion of the famous battle of Trafalgar in 1805, in which he obtained his last and most notable victory. A similar fate has been common to all the other glorious and precious fortified wines, still today representing an extraordinary wine making expression, such as Jerez - also known with the name “Sherry” - Port, Madeira and Malaga.

 The predilection of admiral Nelson for Marsala wine was such that, after having tasted this wine for the first time, he ordered 500 barrels to be taken on board. The success of Marsala - and of the other fortified wines of Spain and Portugal - was such that from the ports of the respective production cities were continuously sailing ships loaded with the precious barrels, of which most of them destined to England. Moreover, some famous English families of merchants moved to the places of production and started themselves wineries for the production of these wines, such as Woodhouse and Ingham families at Marsala, or Dow, Graham and Taylor at Port. The same happened for the famous fortified Spanish wine - Jerez - as many of the wineries devoted to the production of this wine have been established by families of English merchants. Jerez is the name with which the famous city of Andalusia and its wine are today known in the world, however in English speaking countries, the wine is still known with the historical name of “Sherry”, a term coming from “Sherish”, name with which the city was called at the times of Moorish dominion

 Fortified wines are characterized by a particular productive element, common to all wines belonging to this category. It is called fortified a wine to which, in a particular moment of its production, is added a certain quantity of wine distillate in order to increase alcohol volume. In Italy, this style of wine is also called liquoroso, a category which must not be confused with the liquoreux definition of the French, a term with which in France are identified sweet and dessert wines, such as Sauternes. In France, fortified wines are defined as Vin de Liqueur. The addition of alcohol also produces other effects according to the productive tradition of each wine, last but not the least, it effectively contributes to its keeping. Alcohol by volume in these wines can also reach 20%, in some cases it can also reach 22%, and, according to European laws, it cannot have an alcohol by volume lower than 12%.

 From a historical point of view, alcohol was added to wines in order to let them “survive” to the stress of the sea journey, kept in barrels loaded into ship's holds, so they could reach their destinations in a drinkable and sound condition. The hold of ships of two hundred years ago was certainly not the most aseptic and welcoming place a wine could have, a reason that forced wine - also because of the meteorological conditions and, in summertime, a high temperature - to undergo remarkable transformations, therefore turning it into something not so enjoyable. The most frequent destination of sea trade of wines was England - something happening since the times of ancient Rome - whereas the hold of ships were loaded at thousands of kilometers away, mainly in countries of the Mediterranean sea. Journeys lasting many weeks, a time during which the wine underwent substantial changes.

Color of mature fortified wines: to the left, Marsala Vergine, to the right, Port

 Merchants thought of adding to the barrels some wine distillate and, thanks to the antiseptic properties of alcohol, they were successful in strongly limiting the damages which unavoidably were caused by the journey. This practice also changed organoleptic qualities of the wine, by adding a new dimension which was soon appreciated by the English noble classes. But also the favor of admirals and sailors, as they could have a “corroborating” and inebriating beverage, without making use of the more alcoholic distillates. The custom of adding wine distillate to these wines is now strongly associated to their organoleptic quality and to their production, as today it is almost impossible to think of them without the typical fortification. As in case of Marsala, a wine of a oxidized and complex character and which before its “commercial” discovery by John Woodhouse, it was produced with the perpetuo method (literally, perpetual) and no fortification was added to the wine.

 It seems that for the production of Port wine, in the style we know it today, wine distillate has always been used, a technique probably used in some monasteries. The legend has it that two English merchants, while they were searching for new Portuguese wines to be shipped to their homeland, arrived to a monastery near Lamego, and here a monk offered them a sweet and strong alcoholic wine. To the amazement of the two merchants, the monk told them that wine was produced by adding wine distillate to the fermenting must in order to keep its natural sweetness. It was the end of the 1670s and the world and England discovered the glorious Port wine: not really a wine; indeed a fortified must to which the magic of time gives it elegance and absolutely unique qualities. The production of the other great fortified wine - Jerez, or Sherry - brought the intuition of the Solera y Criaderas system, a method today used also for the production of other wines and, last but not the least, of distillates, including the extraordinary brandy of Jerez.

 Also Madeira wine, produced in the homonymous Portuguese islands of the Atlantic ocean, has a special story to tell, a characteristic making it absolutely unique in regard to all the other fortified wines. The factor characterizing Madeira is in fact the particular production process, or - better said - a particular phase of the production process. Madeira in fact undergoes a “heating” process called estufagem consisting in keeping the cask in which the wine is aging at a temperature sometimes reaching 55°C (130°F). This process tries to “simulate” what happened in ship's hold in past centuries, during its journey, when casks were subjected to the warm tropical climate. They in fact understood the tropical “torture” to which Madeira was forced, was the main factor giving the wine its particular personality. As Madeira does not travels in ship's holds anymore - however knowing how that journey was beneficial to the quality of that wine - today they try to “simulate” the tropical climate in the winery, by leaving wine casks at a temperature and humidity similar to those of ship's holds which transported it to the ports of the world.

 A common characteristic to many fortified wines is the evident aroma produced by the remarkable oxidation which develops during aging. This characteristic is always considered as a serious fault in every wine; in fortified wines this is considered a quality. It is not by chance in table wines, when it is being perceived an evident oxidation, it is said the wine is maderized, as it directly recalls the aroma of Madeira wine. This “fault” is also called in Italy as marsalato, as it directly recalls Marsala wine. This particular aroma, recalling in part the aroma of hazelnut, both to the nose and to the mouth, is defined by producers and connoisseur of Jerez with the Spanish term rancho. It should be said rancho does not refer to the effect of oxidation only, but also - and in particular - to the effects of the particular production technique used for Jerez.

 Casks in which this wine is aging are left partially empty on purpose, a procedure favoring not only oxidation, but also the development on the surface of the wine of a particular yeast culture called flor. The development of flor is not however an exclusive characteristic of Jerez wine. This particular yeast culture is in fact fundamental for the production of one of the greatest wines of Sardinia, Vernaccia di Oristano, which - it should be said - it is a white wine and no fortification process is used for its production. The container used for the aging of fortified wines is, in all the cases, the cask. Fortified wines are always allowed to age in wood, not for getting the typical organoleptic qualities commonly associated to these containers, indeed for favoring oxidation, more or less strong, an absolutely typical quality for these wines. Moreover, it should be said, as opposed to what happens for the production of table wines, for which casks are usually replaced every three or four years in order to restore the organoleptic influence of wood, in fortified wines casks are rarely replaced.

 A used cask in fact represents a high value for fortified wines, not only for the fact wood pores are more “open” - therefore favoring oxidation - but also for the fact it is strongly impregnated with the wine produced in past vintages and its organoleptic qualities. The typical character given by wood is however present in fortified wines, however, as opposed to other wines, in this case to the tertiary impact of wood, is added the remarkable complexity given by time and oxidation. It must however be said that, in order to keep their typical personality, in fortified wines the wood character rarely plays the role of the protagonist. Defining the aromatic profile of fortified wines is among the most difficult tasks for the sense of tasters. Their aromatic qualities are in fact so distant from what we usually find in table wines, sometimes expressed with descriptors that, apparently, have nothing in common with wine.

 This complexity strongly increases with time, as - it should be noted - fortified wines can age in bottle for tens of years thanks to the high alcohol content, an element keeping the wine and avoiding their decay and bacterial contamination. Talking about mature fortified wines requires a radical change on the terms and factors used for other mature wines. In many cases, producers themselves release mature fortified wines, aged in their cellars for many years, even for more than 10 years, a time making most of table wines decrepit. In some cases, the aging time is impossible to determine because of the production method, which can also provide for the adding of very old vintages, such as in the case of Jerez - produced with the Solera y Criaderas method - and which for this reason is never written the year of vintage on the label. Thanks to these long aging times, fortified wines offer a remarkable complexity since the moment of commercialization. Aromas of dried and toasted fruits, dried flowers and candied fruits, are just some of the aromas which can be perceived in fortified wines. To them are also added aromas of strong complexity, mainly produced by the effects of oxygen and oxidation.

 A wine aged for many years, as well as oxidized, can be thought as a wine having a completely unbalanced gustatory profile, probably flat. Indeed, fortified wines, in particular dry wines, offer to the palate an impeccable balance, in which roundness and the high content of alcohol have a perfect balance with acidity, in case of white wines, and a smooth astringency, in case of red wines. The world of fortified wines is extremely vast, offering to the taster a wide range of styles: from the extremely dry, such as Jerez Fino or Marsala Vergine, to extremely sweet styles, such as Jerez Pedro Ximénez and some styles of Port. Another characteristic of fortified wines is the appreciable taste-olfactory persistence, which generally is very good and long, as well as the explosion of flavors, always of remarkable intensity. With time, and this means tens of years, fortified wines get a “softer” and more “austere” character, in which roundness plays one of the main roles, sometimes velvety, without losing their impeccable elegance and balance.

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