Sherry
is a fortified white wine grown and produced exclusively in a very small region of Spain called Jerez, just outside Cadiz in Southern Andalusia. Unfortunately, because
the name was not legally protected until 1996, “Sherry” has become synonymous
with sickly, sweet wines from South Africa, California, and Cyprus. Sherry is
now defined by law as the English name for the wines of Jerez, and, far from
being sweet, most Sherry is among the driest of all wines.
Sherry is made primarily from the Palomino
grape and sometimes, for sweet versions, with Pedro Ximenez. The wine is
fermented to about 11 percent alcohol, and then blended with brandy to bring it
to 15 percent or higher. The four most common styles of Sherry are:
- Fino: This is the
palest and driest. Alcohol 15-17. Sugar grams per liter: 0 – 5
- Amontillado: Slightly
darker than Fino. Alcohol 16-17%. Sugar g/l: 0 – 5
- Oloroso: Darker,
fuller bodied slightly oxidized. Alcohol 17-22%. Sugar g/l: 0 – 5
- Pedro Ximénez: Dark, full-bodied and very sweet. Alcohol 15-22%. Sugar g/l: 212+
After fermentation and the fortification with brandy,
the Sherry is aged using the solera system in which the barrels of aging wine
are stored in a pyramid style with the oldest on the bottom and newest barrels
on top. Wine to be bottled is drawn from one third of the oldest, bottom
barrels, which are then topped-up with wine from the layer above and so on,
until there is space in the top layer of barrels for the new wine to be added.
Consequently, over the years and decades, the wines of various vintages are
blended together, which is why a bottle of Sherry never has a vintage year on
the label. In some cases, some of the content of the bottle could be more than
a hundred years old. Dry Sherry is a popular drink all over Spain, not just in
Andalusia, and has been extremely popular in England since long before
Shakespeare celebrated it in his plays.
Sherry is the 'Shakespeare' of wines. Both offer the
widest variety of styles, from the driest Fino to the sweetest Pedro Ximenez,
or the broadest comedy of Bottom to the most sublime tragedy of Lear. They are
both unique and have no peers; the solera system is unique to Sherry, and the
sheer volume and range of the written word is unique to Shakespeare. Not only
does Shakespeare make more than thirty-five direct references to Sherry in his
plays, but during his lifetime, Sir Francis Drake “liberated” 2,900 butts of
Sherry (2.25 million bottles) from the King of Spain, and brought them home to
England. The richness, the range, the historic parallels, will forever unite
the Bard of Avon with the sack of Jerez.
Shakespeare’s most famous Sherry drinker, of course,
was Sir John Falstaff, who called it “sac” and attributes the bravery and
military success of Prince Hal to his consumption of Sherry. He also adds that
Sherry produces “excellent wit,” while it “warms the blood.” In conclusion, Sir
John avows that if he had a thousand sons, the first thing he would teach them is
to reject all small thin wines and to devote themselves to Sherry.
Part of the payment to England’s Poet Laureate, since
the time of Shakespeare’s drinking companion, Ben Johnson, has traditionally
been a barrel of Sherry. England’s current Poet Laureate, Carol Anne Duffy, was
presented with 720 bottles of Sherry in 2012. Sherry is typically drunk as an
aperitif before meals.
