The Enduring Charm of Sherry

Spain’s long-lived fortified sherries are back in vogue as fresh food wines, says Carol Wright

Sherry, the fortified wine produced from white grapes around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia in southern Spain, is noted for its longevity. Wine has been made in the area since 1100 BC. The recent archeological excavations in the area have unearthed a white wine in a burial urn dating back 2,000 years, making it the world’s oldest surviving wine. The previous record holder was a 1,700-year-old wine discovered in Germany.

Columbus and Magellan on their voyages of discovery stocked their ships with sherry. In 1587 Francis Drake boosted exports by looting 3,000 barrels of sherry (the equivalent of 1,740,000 bottles) after sacking Cádiz. By 1771 the top sherry vineyards had been documented long before Bordeaux charted theirs. In the 19th century, sherry was one of the world’s most important wines. But in the
1970s over production of a cheaper “cooking sherry” led to a decline in its fortunes. Vineyards were ripped out and their area diminished from 22,000 hectares in 1978 to around 7,000 ha today.

The sherry vineyards around Jerez de la Frontera lie on chalky soil or albariza baked under summer temperatures exceeding 40°C. However, the area is close to the cooling influence of the sea, producing an effect summed up beautifully in a poem by British poet laureate, Carol Ann Dufy, who said that sherry “puts the mouth in mind of the sea”. British poet laureates, by royal decree, receive part of their payment in sherry, and Dufy’s stock of sherry carries this phrase on her bottle labels. In the past, sherry vineyards were never rated, spoken about or visited. There were no
vineyard vistas on labels just company names.

Although sherry’s popularity is declining and sommeliers often find it difficult to interest clients in it before, after, or even with a meal, it remains at the heart of production in Jerez. One producer even considered putting sherry in wine bottles and serving it in wine glasses, as opposed to the traditional small, slender flute called copita. The young in Spain drink rebujito or sherry mixed with lemonade. In Britain, Croft Twist is popular, a canned sparkling fino sherry of elderflower, lemon and mint cordials.

Amid efforts to preserve traditional sherry, local wine producers are making still white wines from sherry grapes and extending the varieties grown. Though still without a DO classification, and known by the old term of vinos de pasto, or food-friendly wines, they are becoming more widely recognised and are helping to secure sherry’s future. Meanwhile, sherry continues to hold the affection of Jerez locals. It is a comforting wine for them, drunk mid-morning with biscuits in the bodegas housed on streets narrowed against the heat. The bodegas are like little villages that once housed workers. Gonzalez Byass recently converted several workers’ houses into a boutique hotel called the Tio Pepe. The bodegas, although centres of wine production, are hospitable, offering tours and tastings. Highlights are the Tio Pepe Cellars’ and the horse show. into a boutique hotel called the Tio Pepe. González Byass commemorates Tio Pepe (Uncle Jo) who in 1841 created what is now the world’s best-selling fino sherry, named in his honour.

A bachelor, Uncle Jo hosted friends in his private cellar and trained mice to climb little rope ladders for a drop of sherry. These days a glass of sherry and a piece of cheese are put out each night for the cellar mice. At Williams and Humbert, the massive bodega now owned by the Medina family, of which Paola Medina is winemaker and master blender, includes a fully equipped equestrian centre, dressage arena and exhibition ring seating 500 people, where weekly shows are held.

Dating from around the second half of the 19th century, the bodegas rise to a height of 15 metres. Their height provides a cushion of protective air over the barrels which helps counter the effects of global warming while creating a cool microclimate that needs no intensive cooling systems. Within these dark caverns, the sherry ages in 600 litre oak barrels under a covering of flor, a natural yeast. Many barrels are signed by celebrity visitors, from the Beatles to Martin Luther King, while others once sold on to Scottish whisky distillers, have now become an important financial asset.

Sherry consistency is achieved using the solera system; a pyramid arrangement of barrels with the oldest in the bottom row. Successive years of younger vintages are placed in rows above with the youngest at the top. The wine is taken from the bottom row for bottling and the barrels are topped up from the row above, a process continuing up the rows.

Julian Jeffs, one of the world’s leading authorities on sherry, says in his classic book, “Sherry”, published in the 1960s, “Sherry is a very perverse wine; until it is fully mature, no one can tell quite how it will develop… no two butts will turn out exactly alike.” For this reason, the wines in barrel are constantly watched and regularly sampled.

Sampling sherry in cask is no easy task. Balancing on the top solera rows needs the agility of acrobats. To get the wine out of the barrels, a venencia is used. This is a metre long flexible stem (originally made of whalebone, now plastic) with a hook at one end to prevent it slipping into the barrel, and a slim 50cc cup at the other (once silver now stainless steel). Pushed through the cask’s bung hole, it is dipped down through the flor layer to scoop up a flor free sample. Once out, the sherry is poured in an arm high stream into a narrow topped copita glass without spilling a single
drop. This extremely skilled operation aerates the sherry, releasing its aromas before it hits the glass so that clarity and smell can be judged and marked on the cask.

The different styles of sherry developed in the soleras derive mainly from the Palomino grape that flourishes in the chalky albariza soil. Pedro Ximénez and Muscatel grapes are also used. Of the many shades of sherry, fino is the palest, light and varying in dryness. Fino can develop into nutty flavoured Amontillado, deeper in colour and aged in cask for eight years. Palo Cortado is darker still, crisp and costly. Oloroso is the darkest, often blended with sweet wine to create sherries known as Creams. Pedro Ximénez is mahogany shaded and sweet white Manzanilla, made in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is dry, aromatic with a salty tang. Vintage sherries are those harvested separately and aged in sealed, tamper-proof casks. Prized is the 30-year or older, VORS (Very Old Rare Sherry). En Rama sherries, meanwhile, are unclassified and unfiltered, drawn fresh from the cask each year.

A basic pairing guide is fino with soups, salads, ham and vinegary foods; amontillado with spicier dishes; oloroso with richly sauced meats; and Pedro Ximénez with puddings and strong cheeses. Sherry can be drunk through the meal. As Williams and Humbert state, “We work to promote the consumption of these wines as table wines, not only as aperitif wines. Sherry has proved to be a wine of enormous versatility. There is a sherry for each dish.”

At the same time, change is coming to sherry: new grape varieties can be grown, and vineyard areas extended. Grape varieties of the early 20th century such as Perruno and Uva Rey are being revived. A group of nine producers; Territorio Albarizo (named for the area’s white chalky soil) is behind the restoration of early 20th century viticultural ideas. Emphasis is back on the vineyards
among which the most noted are Macharnudo, Miraflores and Carrascal. Interestingly, before the mid 20th century, Jerez wines were not always fortified.

Territorio Albarizo believes unfortified wine is the way to express terroir. Attention is now given to vineyards, with names now appearing on labels of hand crafted unfortified wines. These can have a lower alcohol content compared to the mandatory 15% for sherry, and the “new” wines have drawn comparison with white burgundies, although these new wines represent a very small portion of the area’s wine production. The chalky nature of the soil makes itself felt in the freshness and “chalky mouthfeel”.

Some producers leave a portion of the grapes to dry in the sun, adding greater complexity and layered texture on the palate. Along with stainless steel tanks, old sherry casks are also used for ageing, imparting a faint hint of sherry into the wines. The Palomino grape remains the leading source of juice for both sherry and the newer wines. As Tim Holt, export manager at Barbadillo put it “Palomino is a very malleable grape. It’s like tofu. You can do what you like with it.”

Its flexibility and ability to cope with the area’s fierce summers and chalky terroir means producers can craft both long-lived fortified sherries as well as “food wines” that are fresh without being acidic, and they may well provide the commercial clout to keep sherry in business.