Sherry is a fortified wine from Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia in Spain. It is produced in a range of styles from bone dry to treacle like sweetness. It’s quite possibly the most divisive drink in the world.
Gone are the days where a dusty bottle of Cream Sherry lurked at the back of the sideboard to fortify the sherry trifle - or to fortify granny at Christmas!
Sherry is once again gaining popularity, especially with young Spanish drinkers who have embraced the drier styles and know what great food partners they are. They can also be the perfect ingredient for cocktails.
For a wine to be called Sherry, or Jerez in Spanish, it can only come from either Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María or Sanlúcar de Barrameda. These three towns are known as The Sherry Triangle and are all located around twenty minutes by car away from each other, each producing wines sherry in different styles. For example, Manzanilla can only be made in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Sherry is bottled by extracting a maximum 30% from the solera system.
The solera system is rather complicated, but in simple terms it consists of several distinct collections of casks (known as butts), each known as a “criadera”.
When a portion of wine is removed from the criadera containing the oldest blend, termed the solera, it is replaced with an equivalent amount of wine from the next oldest criadera.
Incidentally, those Sherry butt, once they’ve come to the end of their usefulness are repurposed by distilleries to age whiskies, adding colour and flavour to the neutral spirit.
The Palomino grape is used for most styles as it is quite neutral in flavour which can be enhanced by the sherry making techniques. Pedro Ximenez, and sometimes Moscatel are used for sweet styles.
Manzanilla
The lightest style is Manzanilla. You may have heard of Fino (delicate in Spanish), which is very similar to Manzanilla, but Manzanilla is saltier as it’s aged in cellars close to the Atlantic Ocean. The newly pressed wine is fortified with a grape spirit to 15%ABV. A layer of protective yeast called “flor” forms within the three quarter filled barrels. This yeast protects the wine from oxygen (oxidation), but it also eats all the sugar in the wine, creating the characteristic dryness. Alongside those saline notes you’ll find zestiness, chamomile and even a touch of iodine. Incidentally, Manzanilla is Spanish for chamomile! Ideal served very well chilled with salted almonds, Spanish olives, jamón ibérico, fish dishes or even salted popcorn. Serve chilled 6-9°C.
Try Manzanilla in Sharon cocktail, a less boozy riff on a Negroni:
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/10505/sharon
Amontillado
Our next style is Amontillado. This starts life as Fino or Manzanilla, aged for 3 to 5 years and then is fortified up to 18%ABV. Some further oxidative ageing takes place in barrel before bottling. Whereas Fino and Manzanilla are very light and pale in colour, Amontillado takes on a brown colour because of the oxidative ageing. A delicate Sherry with notes of dried fruits, nuts, caramel and a little florality. An extremely food friendly wine, try with jamón ibérico, paella, smoked salmon and it hold up to spicier dishes too. Serve around 12-14°C.
Try Amon in The Neutral Gound, a sweet riff on a Manhattan:
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2518/the-neutral-ground
Oloroso
Oloroso is the result of wine from the second pressing of the Palomino grapes. It is fortified to 18%ABV and oxidatively aged, sometimes for more than 40 years. As it’s higher in alcohol it’s warming with notes of dried fruits and nuts hazelnut. Serve lightly chilled with red meat, game and mature cheeses. Try it with seared tuna too. Serve around12-14°C.
Palo Cortado
Palo Cortado happens quite by accident! It starts life as a Fino or Manzanilla which for some reason has lost its flor creating more exposure to oxygen. It’s then fortified to around 18%ABV and allowed to oxidise in barrel. The result is a Sherry with the richness of Oloroso but the crispness and aromatics of an Amontillado. Serve at a slightly higher temperature than Amontillado. Great with nuts, cured meats like Bresaola, asparagus, foie gras and blue cheese. Serve around 12-14°C.
Pedro Ximenez
Pedro Ximenez (or the easier to pronounce PX) is a deliciously sweet, thick Sherry. Made from over ripe, sun-dried Pedro Ximenez grapes which are gently pressed then oxidative aged in oak to give the wine intense concentration in flavour. Treacly in appearance with notes of raisins, dates, coffee and liquorice. Fabulous poured over vanilla ice cream topped with freshly toasted almonds, or keeping things Spanish, churros and hot chocolate sauce. A perfect match for blue cheese too. Great not just at Christmas but all year round. For an instant and wonderful dessert suggestion we recommend simply pouring some PX sherry over some good quality vanilla ice cream. Serve lightly chilled 10-12°C.
Why not combine Palo Cortado and Pedro Ximenez in one of the world’s oldest cocktails, The Sherry Cobbler:
https://www.diffordsguide.com/cocktails/recipe/2895/sherry-cobbler
