A ''vin de liqueur'' is a

sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketone ...

fortified A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

style of

French wine French wine is produced all throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France is one of the largest wine producers in the world, along with Italian, Spanish, and Amer ...

that is fortified with brandy to unfermented

grape must Must (from the Latin ''vinum mustum'', "young wine") is freshly crushed fruit juice (usually grape juice) that contains the skins, seeds, and stems of the fruit. The solid portion of the must is called pomace and typically makes up 7–23% of t ...

. The term ''vin de liqueur'' is also used by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

to refer to all fortified wines. These wines are similar to '' vins doux naturels'' but are sweeter and have more flavor influence from the added brandy.Robinson, Jancis (editor). ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', third edition, (Oxford University Press: 2006), p. 736, . A ''vin de liqueur'' is usually served as an apéritif.

Production

The unfermented

is fortified with brandy until the solution reaches an

alcohol level Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...

of 16%–22%. The resulting wine is left with a high level of

residual sugar The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness, wh ...

because most strains of

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

cannot

reproduce Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual org ...

at such a high alcohol level. ''Vins de liqueur'' are available in many regional styles and varieties of grape. Grapes from the

Champagne Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, ...

region are used for the production of ratafia. The Rhône region makes a wine known as '' rinquinquin'', and the Languedoc region produces a local ''vin de liqueur'' that is called ''cartagène''. The Jura wine region produces a ''vin de liqueur'' called Macvin du Jura. Most regions that have characteristic brandies also produce related fortified wines: the Pineau des Charentes is fortified with

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

, and the

Floc de Gascogne The Floc de Gascogne is a regional apéritif from the Côtes de Gascogne and Armagnac regions of Sud-Ouest wine region of France. It is a ''vin de liqueur'' fortified with armagnac, the local brandy. It has had '' Appellation d'origine contr� ...

with

armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

References

{{reflist Fortified wine French wine *