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  Quaffers® Feature - April 2003
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 Sherry |
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 Sherry is a fortified wine made in Andalucia, Spain. No other Sherry-style wine can be called Sherry as the name is protected and restricted to those wines from Jerez and its surroundings.
Sherry is not a new drink; it has a long history dating back to the Phoenicians. During the 16th century 'Sherris sack', as it was known then, was considered the finest wine in the world, not least because its fortification meant that it travelled well. Sir John Falstaff in Shakespeare's Henry IV part II is its most famous fictional fan, extolling its virtues most emphatically. Under the Victorians in the 18th and 19th centuries demand for Sherry rose further and those that drank it were considered sophisticates. In the late 20th century, however, Sherry's popularity began to wane and its international fan base dwindled, particularly since 1980. The decline in demand was such that vines were grubbed up and many bodegas had to close. A number of factors were to blame for this deterioration. The industry had for so long been used to a ready market that it had become complacent. Working practices had not moved on and the quality of the wines began to fall. One of the most significant problems was that the industry had not targeted the younger generations and as their stalwart pensioners began to die off, so did sales. Of course in Andalucia and other parts of Spain, Sherry is still a firm favourite with every generation.
Production
 Sherry is made predominantly from the Palomino grape, grown on chalky Albariza soil in the Mediterranean climate of the Andalucia region. The Consejo Regulador (Sherry regulator) will set the price of grapes each year depending on the success of the harvest and market forces. The harvest will usually begin in the first week of September and, as the grapes are mainly hand-picked, will last for four weeks. The grapes are quickly taken to the bodegas, destalked and sieved. Approximately 70% of juice will be collected without pressing. This juice is known as l'grima and will produce the finest wines. 15% of the juice must, by law, be sent for distillation, and the remaining 15% will be ordinary juice used for blending.
Fermentation of the grape juice will occur in stainless steel tanks at temperatures of around 28 degrees centigrade. The high temperature will create a base wine that is low in acid but has very concentrated extract which will be important for it to survive the very lengthy ageing process. The fermentation process will continue until the end of the year and in the following January, the new wine will be examined and classified and only the best wines will then be fortified to 14.5%.
Four months later in the April / May, the wines are examined again. Those destined to become Fino (i.e. the driest and finest) will be fortified to 15.5% using an equal mix of 95.5% alcohol and young wine at 12%. This mixture is known as mitad y mitad. Those wines destined to become Oloroso (heavier darker Sherry) will be fortified to 17.5% - a level at which the all important yeast, Flor (see below), cannot survive. Once fortified the wines are racked into clean casks and stored for at least a year. No action is taken until the following Spring when the wines are about 18 months old.
Flor
Flor is a type of yeast which forms on the surface of wines destined to become Fino or Fino-like Sherry. It is Flor which gives these wines its very unique flavour. Sherry butts are deliberately only filled to 80% capacity and this allows the Flor to feed on the air, glycerine and volatile acidity in the wine and form a thick crust on the surface of the wine. The thicker the crust of Flor, the more influence it has on the final Sherry. Manzanilla, produced at Sanlucar, is much paler and has a more salty, nutty flavour than Fino from Jerez. This is because Flor develops all year round in Sanlucar and forms a much thicker crust on the Manzanilla causing it to be paler in colour and to have a stronger taste. Oloroso, by contrast, which does not have a Flor crust is much darker and has a different character of flavour.
The Solera System
The solera system has been in existence for a very long time. It is a dynamic ageing process and one which ensures quality control for the production of Sherry and a ready supply of mature wine that is ready to be sold. The solera system can be pictured as essentially a pyramid of Sherry butts. Wine that is ready to drink is removed from the barrels at the bottom of the pyramid. The bottom row of a solera system is known as the Solera. The other rows of barrels are known as criadera or scales. At most, only a third of each barrel's wine is removed from the Solera. The wine that has been removed is then replaced by taking a third of the wine from each barrel on the next row (the 1st criadera) and mixing them together and then topping up the Solera barrels. The wine in the 1st criadera barrels is then replaced by taking a third of the wines from each barrel on the row above (the 2nd criadera) mixing them together and then topping up the barrels on the 1st criadera, and so on. New wine is added to the barrels in the top cridera to top them up. The time that a wine spends in a solera system varies. The minimum time for lesser quality wines is three years. The best wines will pass through the solera system over a period of at least eight to nine years. Due to the nature of the fractional blending, however, there may be wines in the system that are up to 30 years old imparting a minute contribution to the final wine drawn off.
A bodega will have several solera systems on the go and the Capataz, or master blender, is meant to know the particular character of each one. He should be able to make blends from memory and it is his expertise which will ensure consistency of the wines. Once a blend has been finalised, the wines will be re-fortified to 17% for shipping strength and then fined and bottled. By law, Sherry can only be shipped from one of the three main towns in the region: Jerez, Sanlucar and Puerto de Santa Maria.
Almacenistas, which means 'shopkeeper', are individual operations who buy young fermented wines from a single vintage from the bodegas. This provides some cash flow to the Sherry houses. The Almacenistas then either add these wines into their own solera systems and later sell the aged Sherry on the market or back to the bodegas at a premium, or sell them as single vintage Sherries. The Almacenistas often have some magnificent old wines and serve a particular niche market. Lustau is a famous Almacenista.
Main Sherry Styles
 Fino
Pale, dry and will be at least 6 years old.
Manzanilla
Similar to Fino, but matured entirely in Sanlucar. Will be paler and have a stronger yeasty / nutty smell.
Amontillado
An aged Fino. The finest are 50 - 60 years old and slightly stronger.
Oloroso
Likely to be at least as old as Amontillados, but often older. They age very well and the best can be 100 years old. Flor will not have developed on these wines and so the flavour will be quite different from the Finos.
Palo Cortado
Very rare and expensive. This is a wine that was destined to become a Fino, failed and became an Oloroso. It's length of time under a crust of Flor, however, imparts a very unique flavour to the wine.
Vino de Color
Sweetening and colouring wine of much poorer quality. Those wines made from Pedro Ximnez grapes are often used for Sherries known under 'cream', 'pale cream', Brown, 'East India' labels.
See our 'Wine of the Week' section and taste some of these Sherries with us!
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| Coming up next month: The Loire Valley - A panoply of wines to choose from! |
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