From the earliest days of wine making in Australia there has been a tradition of fortifying wine with distilled grape spirit to produce a typically richer, sweeter, more robust and firm textured wine with higher alcohol. This type of wine with its high alcohol is stable and less likely to spoil; they travel well and can be enjoyed commonly after meals, as a desert wine or with cheese. Over many years they become richer and more complex either when bottled as a vintage style or aged in oak.