sherry

The term “sherry” comes from the wines being produced from grapes in Jerez de la Frontera in the Andalucía region of Spain.  You can find American Sherries but they are much cheaper and not made in the same process as a sherry in Spain.  The sherry producers from the states must label where they came from and also are not able to export their products into Europe.  Europe has protected the region in Spain and won’t import from other countries. 

Grapes are pressed in order to extract the “must” which is basically the grape juice with all the excess skins and stems.  There are many different pressings but the first 2 are the most important when making sherry.  The first press of the grapes is usually reserved for either Fino or Manzanilla and the second is used more for the Oloroso sherry.  There are two to three main grapes used in the production of sherry.  Palomino is used for the dryer Sherries where as Pedro Ximenez and to a lesser extent Moscatel are used to sweeten the sherry up a bit.  After the fermentation process the wine is fortified similar to the process used for ports.  The barrels used for aging are North American Oak and they are filled almost to the top but not quite.  A little room is left in order for the development of “flor”. Flor is a layer of yeast that is created naturally which protects the sherry from air as it ages.  Producers use a process called “solera” where they are constantly mixing and changing barrels.  By the time the final product is bottled it has many different vintage blended together which creates lots of depth throughout.   

Fino- Driest of all the Sherries and pale in color.  Usually around 15% alcohol and served chilled. Once opened should be drank within a week or so

Amontillado- Medium Dry Sherry with a little more richness as well as some nuttiness. 

Oloroso- Still dry but much more complex because of the additional aging and lack of flor.  Higher in Alcohol compared to a Fino

Cream/ Pedro Ximenez- both are sweeter style Sherries because of the addition of the muscatel and Pedro Ximenez grapes.   Pedro Ximenez specifically is made from raisened grapes.  Both will last open much longer than the other styles.