What Is "Fortified Wine"?

[on:]

In some of the original shows, there is reference made to "fortified wine" in connection with religion.  What does "fortified wine" have to do with religion?  I was raised Catholic and if any religion would have something called "fortified wine", certainly that religion would.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortified_wine

In season one, "Hell is Other Robots" Fry tempts Bender with:

Fry: Come on, it'll be fun! Maybe we could even drink a little fortified wine.
Bender: What? Drinking wine is a sin. Even if it is deliciously fortified.

Is it just because it sounds religious or what?

[Reply #1 on:]

'Fortified Whine' is the sound a 5-year-old makes when his mother won't buy the box of cereal he has his eye on.

[Reply #2 on:]

Presumably, fortified in the context of the episode is meant to indicate a wine that is intended to be enjoyed as a beverage. The religious robots are only allowed to ingest liquids that are explicitly functional, such as delicious mineral oil.

The requirements for sacramental wine in the Catholic Church are very simply defined, and don't involve fortification at all.

§3 The wine must be natural, made from grapes of the vine, and not corrupt.

[Reply #3 on:]

EDIT: Nevermind.

[Reply #4 on:]

My understanding was that fortified wine was just a type of wine -one that, unlike normal wine, I quite like.

I believe port, one of my personal favourites, is a type of fortified wine.

[Reply #5 on:]

Fortified wine is regular wine that has additional alcohol added to, usually brandy.  Port, marsala & sherry are all fortified wines.  It's not (as far as I know) a religious thing. 

So basically, it's extra alcoholic wine.

My understanding was that fortified wine was just a type of wine -one that, unlike normal wine, I quite like.

I believe port, one of my personal favourites, is a type of fortified wine.

Maybe it's the extra alcohol that you like!