Sherry, a Unique Wine

A Wine Named After a Town

Sherry (or "Jerez" in Spanish) is produced in the Andalusian town of Jerez de la Frontera—from which it takes its name—located in the province of Cádiz, in southern Spain.

A Veil of Flor: The Magic Behind Sherry

Flor is a naturally occurring film of yeast that transforms year-old wine into sherry after an aging period of at least three years.

All sherries begin their aging with this natural biological process. This includes those that are later aged by oxidation; these are known as olorosos and amontillados.

The flor protects the wine from oxidation by preventing the liquid from coming into direct contact with the air inside the casks. This process is called "biological aging."

However, in the production of other sherries—amontillados, olorosos, and palo cortados—the layer of flor is broken to allow the wines to come into contact with the air, a process known as "oxidative aging."

Criaderas and Solera: A Unique Storage System

This is the traditional aging system that is used for sherry. The butts—the casks in which the wine is stored—are stacked up high in rows, one on top of another, and connected to each other.

Those on the top row (the first criadera) contain the youngest wine; those in the middle row (the second criadera), the oldest wine; and those on the bottom (the solera), the vintage wine, which is a mixture of other wines.

Wine ready for consumption is taken from the solera (bottom row). The casks are refilled with wine from the top row and the casks on the top row with new wine.

This makes the solera a complex mixture as a result of the number of vintages that it contains, since it is not possible to know which year the wine dates from, although it does have an average age of 20 or 30 years.

The Jerez Triangle

This is the name given to the geographical area formed by the places in which this type of wine is produced: Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Other places, however, are also involved in its production.

The Triangle's proximity to the mouth of the river Guadalquivir results in high humidity levels, and therefore a unique climatic environment for the aging of the sherry.

A Very Special Terroir

The hills in the Marco de Jerez region are covered in limestone which, during hot spells, turns into an even whiter, chalkier soil (known as "albariza"), making them uniquely spectacular.

The finest "albariza" soil, with its higher proportion of limestone and siliceous elements, is the best terroir to grow the grapes used to produce the best-quality sherries.

Denominations of Origin of the Marco de Jerez

Wines produced in the Jerez region following set traditional processes and complying with specific conditions are legally protected by these two denominations of origin: "Jerez-Xérès-Sherry" and "Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda."

"Generosos" or dry sherries

This category covers the vast majority of sherries produced. They are the oldest and best-known: manzanilla, fino, oloroso, amontillado, and palo cortado. They are all made using palomino grapes.

Manzanilla: This wine is associated with Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It is aged exclusively in wineries located in this very humid coastal town, resulting in a slightly salty taste. It is usually light yellow in color and, due to its slight acidity, it produces a pleasant sensation of freshness on the palate, as well as a persistent and slightly bitter aftertaste.

Fino: Straw yellow or pale gold in color, it is dry and delicate on the palate, with pungent aromas.

Oloroso: Dark in color—the darker the color, the longer the aging process—as its name (which means "fragrant") suggests, it has complex, potent aromas of dry nuts, balsamic notes, and fine woods.

Amontillado: Its color varies from topaz to amber. Its aroma is subtle and delicate, with notes of hazelnut, aromatic herbs, and black tobacco.

Palo Cortado: A very complex wine that combines the aromatic delicacy of amontillado with the full-bodied flavor of oloroso on the palate. Chestnut or mahogany in color, its aroma is hugely varied. Legend has it that these wines "just happened," rather than being produced deliberately, and that only the most experienced cellarmen knew how to spot them

Naturally Sweet Sherries: Pedro Ximénez and Muscatel

These are made from the must of overripe or sunned grapes, generally from the Pedro Ximénez or Muscat varieties. The musts are only partially fermented, so as to preserve the original sweetness, and wine alcohol is added to them.

Both Pedro Ximénez and Muscatel are consumed mainly as accompaniments to desserts. Pedro Ximénez is also used in cooking, for making reductions.

Muscatel has a fresh sweetness, with a slightly dry and bitter finish. Pedro Ximénez has an acidity that reduces the extreme sweetness and the warmth of the alcohol, and a long, flavorsome finish.

Special Categories

Wines that are over 20 years old bear the initials V.O.S, which stand for the Latin Vinum Optimum Signatum (Wine Selected as Optimal) and happen to match the English expression Very Old Sherry.

The initials V.O.R.S. are used for wines that are more than 30 years old, and stand for Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum (Wine Selected as Optimal and Exceptional) and which also happen to match the English phrase Very Old Rare Sherry.

Dry Liqueur Wines

These are obtained by combining "generoso" (dry) sherries with naturally sweet sherries or, in specific cases, with concentrated must. It is a recently created unique category.

They are divided into Pale Cream (made from wine that has been biologically aged—fino or manzanilla—to which concentrated rectified must has been added); medium (any sherry containing between 5 and 115 grams of sugar per liter) and cream (made from dry wines that have been aged by oxidation, generally sweetened with Pedro Ximénez).

Storing and Serving

To keep bottles of sherry at their best, they should be stored in a dark room where the temperature does not fluctuate, and kept upright. Once opened, it is best to store them with the cap tightly fastened and, in the case of finos and manzanillas, in the refrigerator.

Sherry, unlike other wines, does not improve once bottled. Once it has left the cask in which it was aged, it is ready to be consumed and will not continue to improve in the bottle.

The maximum period over which the sherry can be kept in the bottle without losing its original characteristics will depend on the type of sherry, with vintage wines—finos and manzanillas—being more delicate. Removing them from the cask involves a significant change in their environment, since they lose the flor that protects them from oxidation.

Olorosos and Pedro Ximénez are more stable.

The Importance of the Glass

Sherry is traditionally served in a "catavino" glass. Although this is a good option for appetizers and desserts, when drinking sherry throughout a meal it is better to choose a white-wine glass made from high-quality crystal with a bowl large enough to allow the wine to breathe.

At the Table

"From a gastronomic point of view, sherries can accompany a menu from start to finish: starting with finos and manzanillas, then moving on to an oloroso, amontillado, or palo cortado (which goes well with stews and other one-pot dishes), and finishing with a Pedro Ximénez," suggests David Robledo of Madrid's Santceloni restaurant, holder of Spain's National Award for Gastronomy for the Best Sommelier and a great sherry connoisseur.

Robledo recommends manzanilla as an accompaniment to prawns, anchovies in vinegar, salt-cured tuna, and fried fish; fino as an accompaniment to sausages and Iberian ham; amontillados with smoked products, cured cheeses, vegetables, and mushrooms; olorosos with stews, game dishes, and meat casseroles; palo cortado with either of these last two; and Pedro Ximénez, a dessert in itself because of its sweetness, with dessert.