The class of fortified wines is never large but it takes you on a trip through the world to taste everything from Australian muscat to Spanish sherry to Italian pantelleria, and never forgetting Portugal for its iconic ports. It’s a fascinating, albeit all too short, tiki tour through the varied flavours and aromas that have shaped the wine world. As wonderful as those wines are, the old saying holds true: there’s no place like home, and it’s particularly gratifying to see three New Zealand fortified wines in the top eight. While New Zealand may have started its wine journey by making fortified wines, the style has fallen from favour in recent years. As we walk along the road of finding out who we are as a new-world region, it’s so wonderful to see winemakers devoted to a style of wine that they make not so much for profit but definitely with a lot of passion.