Portugal may make the most famous fortified dessert wine, port, but my S.F. City College (Fort Mason Campus) students have tasted some California fortified wines that they like just as well. Here they are, with the best one listed last in each price range:

$15 MAXIMUM PRICE
  2nd – Woodbridge California Moscato 2008, $8
  1st – Shenandoah Vineyards California White Port “ReZerve” 2002, $12

$20 MAXIMUM PRICE
  2nd – Sunset Cellars Suisun Valley Late Harvest Barbera 2008, $19 (500 ml)
  1st – Quady Winery California Muscat “Red Electra” 2009, $13

$25 MAXIMUM PRICE
  2nd – Quady Winery Black Muscat “Elysium” 2009, $21
  1st – Quady Winery California Orange Muscat “Essensia” 2009, $21

NO PRICE LIMIT
  3rd – Deaver Vineyards Black Muscat Port NV, $26 (375 ml)
  2nd – Quady Winery “Deviation” (aromatized wine) NV $27 (375 ml)
  1st – Deaver Vineyards Zinfandel Port NV, $26 (375 ml)
 

SEATING IS LIMITED, LEARNING IS NOT
Take a S.F. City College wine class at Fort Mason Campus on the following Saturdays at 1 p.m. and taste 20 wines, $50 a class.
• June 18: Basics for Beginners – Learn the five basic types of wines and how they are made.
• June 25: Taste the Terms – Taste wines that illustrate the 100-plus terms used to describe them.
• July 9: California vs. the World – Golden State wines compared to others of the same vintage from France, Australia, Chile, Italy, and other wine-producing areas.
• July 23: California’s Five Wine Districts – Learn the state’s five wine districts and how they are different.
                 
To enroll or wait-list, phone San Francisco City College at 415-561-1840, or visit www.ccsf.edu/services/continuing_education. Register one week before classes begin to receive a $10 discount.

AND A FINAL WINE SMILE
(FOR GOLF FANS)
The best red wine improves for a long time. Which reminds me that Bob Hope once said that he had played golf for so long that his handicap was kept in Roman numerals.

Credits: Edgar Vogt (tastings); Ophie Mercado (statistics)

Fred McMillin has taught wine history for 30 years on three continents and was voted one of the 22 best wine writers in America by Academy of Wine Communications. E-mail: fred@northsidesf.com; fax: 415-567-4468