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Number of millions of bottles of wine that were sold last year from Thanksgiving week through Christmas week, according to DFWS internal data & Nielsen. We’ll see what this season brings, but typically wine sales during Thanksgiving week are 40% higher than an average week. (We assume you did your part yesterday. Bravo).

Which of these wines is fortified before primary fermentation is complete?

A. Sherry

B. Madeira

C. Port

D. Eiswein

Unlike Sherry or Madeira which can be fortified before or after primary fermentation is completed, Port is fortified with neutral grape spirits (clear brandy) before fermentation is complete. Once Port grapes are crushed, the soupy mass is poured into a tank so that fermentation can begin to turn the grapes’ sugars to alcohol. About thirty-six hours into the process, when about half the natural sugar has been converted into alcohol, fermentation must be stopped. To do so, clear brandy with an alcoholic strength of 77 percent (about 150 proof) is added to the Port. The alcohol in the brandy causes the yeasts in the wine to die, and fermentation subsides. The result is a sweet wine with about 7 percent residual sugar and fortified to about 20 percent alcohol.

“The great is the enemy of the good,’ the saying goes, and this is also true of wine. When we urgently chase the ‘stellar,’ we actually do collateral damage. Running after exalted wine experiences can numb us to the sensational pleasures that a thoroughly good wine can deliver.”

—Terry Theise, wine writer

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