Wine aging is largely due to chemical changes in the tannins. True or False Ethanol is the ideal universal solvent because we can neither taste nor smell nor feel its presence in or on our bodies. Most states and nations tax the alcohol content of a beverage, adding to its price. Fortified wines are made by fermenting grapes the normal way, and after the fermentation, the alcohol content is increased by the addition of brandy or some other distilled spirit. Fortified wines can be dry or sweet.
Port wine is always sweet.
Very few are white wines. They are made with a blend of as many as 20 or 30 different grape varieties. Ruby Port is the sweetest and richest and a blend of vintages, usually ready to drink after 5 or 6 years. Tawny Ports are brownish red from having spent 7 - 10 or more years in oak barrels, very smooth and elegant wines, not as sweet as the Rubies. Also invented by the English after some other war in Europe.