Sherry comes from a small area of Spain, made in one of three towns that make up the Sherry Triangle: Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria.
Facts about Spanish Sherry:
- Sherry winemakers only use Palomino, Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez grape varieties.
- Sir Francis Drake imported the first recorded Spanish sherry into the UK in 1587. Shakespeare was also a big fan of sherry. He referred to it in his play, Henry IV
- Winemakers only use white grapes for sherry. Most importantly, 90% of the white grapes are the Palomino variety which gives the sherry a sharp, bitter taste.
- All sherry is aged in barrels. As a result, the youngest drinkable sherry wine is 3 years old.
The different types of sherry
In total, there are seven different kinds of sherry.
Overall, Spanish sherry can be:
- Dry (Vinos Generosos)
- Naturally sweet (Vinos Dulces Naturales)
- Sweet through blending (Vinos Generosos de Licor)
Fino de Jerez – dry Spanish sherry
Spanish Fino is only made in Jerez and Puerto de Santa María. Winemakers use the Palomino grape to make Fino. The wine is left to age in a barrel for 3-7 years and is protected from contact with the air by a cap of yeast, known as Flor. Famous Fino producing sherry wine brands include Tío Pepe (González Byass), La Ina and Inocente.
Manzanilla Sherry
Just like Fino, Manzanilla sherry wine is a dry Spanish sherry that has been aged for 3-7 years in a barrel. With similar tasting notes, this wine encompasses the salty, seaside spirit of Sanlúcar, where it is made. Sanlúcar is the only place where Manzanilla wine is made.
Amontillado
Amontillado sherry starts life as a Fino or Manzanilla wine. After the initial ageing process, a second process begins involving oxygen. This sherry is slightly sweeter than the first two, despite still being classed as naturally dry.
Oloroso
After harvest, winemakers reserve young wines with the most robust structure for the Oloroso sherry production. The second pressing of grapes is the key ingredient for this tasty tipple. The young wine is fortified to 18% and then stored in barrels to oxidise for as long as 40+ years.
Palo Cortado
Palo Cortado Spanish sherry combines the richness of the complex structure of Oloroso with the freshness of Amontillado. It starts life as a Fino sherry, but the disappearance of the Flor (yeast layer) creates an ambiguous wine that to taste is a lighter version of the Oloroso.
Cream sherry
A favourite amongst the British, cream sherry sweet wine such as Croft Original is a sweet, pale coloured sherry. The colour can range from a dark straw to treacle and the darker the sherry, the more intense the flavour. Harveys Bristol Cream is an example of a dark cream sherry. It is created by blending a dry Spanish sherry with a sweeter variety such as Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel.
Pedro Ximenez
This is the sweetest of all Sherries. It is made using Spanish sherry Pedro Ximenez grapes that have been sun dried.
