The average brandy drinker knows little about how it’s made.  But one does not have to know much about that in order to enjoy it.  And a lot of people enjoy the more than 450 million bottles corked every year. 

Brandy, and its best known derivative Cognac, belong to a class of wines called fortified because they get their taste punch by receiving extra alcohol from the vintner.  The average wine can ferment to about 12 % alcohol before the fermentation process stops.  But fortified wines are usually twice or more than that percentage. 

The basic wine is distilled until only the alcohol is left, then some extra is mixed with the original wine to create the basic drink which is then stored in oak casks for periods of time to create the color and overall flavor of the final drink.  Factors in the taste of the brandy depend upon how long the mixture was stored in the oak cask, what kind of oak it was stored in, how much alcohol the drink contains and which grapes the basic wine was made from. 

Most labels do not tell you which wines the drink comes from because the final drink is usually made from a number of wines in a blend and who cares anyway because the consumer wants that alcohol blast more than the knowledge of what sissy little grape it came from.  Most brands will blend different amounts of different wines in different years because they want to produce a consistent taste so the consumer can depend upon getting it each time she buys the same brand. 

Once a fortified wine is taken out of the cask and put in the bottle the drink can only evaporate or decline in taste.  It is not worth the price to buy a 50 year old fortified wine over a five year old wine because it is likely to be of worse quality.  What does make a difference is how long it stayed in the cask.  Longer cask times can create  different flavors and a smoother palate but you will have to experiment to determine which particular brands give you the taste and smoothness you like and can afford.  Remember too that there is no reason to keep the bottle in your cellar for a long time before you drink it because it will not get better and instead can become more insipid over time. 

The number of fortified wines available is practically unknowable because almost every soso wine is distilled to make a fortified wine where the basic wine taste is obliterated by the fortification process.  Most brandy drinkers have heard of peach and other fruit flavors, and coffee and orange flavors with branded names.  Almost any kind of alcohol can be made into a brandy; rum, scotch and coffee are only a few of the possible fortified brandies one can find.  Producers start with a basic type of drink and pour in more alcohol but they usually stop short of 30% alcohol. 

Then too come sherry, port, and Madeira which are required by law of their originating countries to designate fortified wine from a particular growing region.  But be careful if you find a bottle named port that comes from the USA.  Our laws are so loose that the designation may go on the label of a wine from any area, made in practically any manner and therefore guaranteeing nothing but promising a pretty dismal drink.  Whatever they may be, the ports made in South Africa, Australia, California, and North and South America are not Port.

Most fortified wines are served after dinner as their strong alcohol content tends to deaden taste buds and so flatten the pleasure of food and other wines.