Jerez [Sherry]

Sherry country exists between Cadiz and Sevilla in the south of Spain, where the sun scorches the earth, and warms the grapes to temperatures not normally suited to making fine wines.

Jerez de la Frontera is the centre of Sherry country - where the 200,000 locals cherish their wines as much as their Flamenco dancing, Bullfighting and Andalucian horses. In this region, they have not just made the best of their resources and surroundings, they have excelled.

Incidentally, Jerez is not the official capital of the region of Andalucia - Cadiz is. Jerez translated into english is Sherry.

The MJT at Jerez gets to around 25.5 deg C, and annual rainfall usually less than 480mm.

Under these conditions, one might expect that the shut-down of the transpiration process in the vines inhibits sugar levels, or simply stews the grapes in their own skins. And if they survive the heat, the drought brings added challenge.

This is where suitability of grape to environmental conditions has proved that against all odds, fine wines can come from rough areas. The combination of Palomino and Pedro Ximénes grapes with the calcerous, white, chalky soils of the hills in this region produce Sherry as fine as Champagne. In fact, these two wines have much in common - they're both white wines, from white chalky soil, requiring long, traditional techniques to bring out their unique characters.

The best soils can be found in the premium sherry-producing regions between Jerez and Sanlúcar de Barrameda - a seaport to the north-west.

Solera System

Unlike most wines, Sherry matures in the barrel with head-space - sometimes enabling oxidation which gives rise to the rancio characters identified only in Sherry. The barrels hold 600 litres, and only 560 litres of wine is placed inside. Fino sherry is protected from the oxygen in the headspace by a layer of yeast (explained below).

A Solera system is a tower of barrels placed on top of each other in rows - usually four or five layers high. The latest vintage wine is placed in the top row of barrels, and wine for bottling is taken from the bottom layer.

Over time, as the wine is removed from the bottom barrels, it is replaced by wine from the next layer above, which is then replaced by the wine in the layer above that ... and so on. This practice assures consistency of the product from year to year.

Occasionally a superb vintage may bring about a distinctive wine, and this may be bottled as single vintage. Most times, though, variation among batches of wine dictates that it be seperated into different classes, and is placed in the criadera [nursery] in its appropriate section to develop with similar wine.

Sherry Styles

Most westerners and new world wine markets are aware of the basics - dry, medium, sweet and cream sherries. However, true sherries come in a much wider range of styles, and although many are fortified with spirits, the best are light, crisp, delicate offerrings which mature with naturally high alcohol levels, without the addition of spirit.

The lighter, dryer and more delicate style of sherry is known as Fino - the best of which come from the Palomino grape. As mentioned above, Fino matures in the barrel under a layer of special yeast - referred to as the 'flor'. This layer remains intact throughout the maturation process, protecting the wine from the oxygen above it. If the flor cracks, the wine is no longer Fino, but it can go on to become Amontillado or Oloroso. The photo's on this page show Fino maturing in a specially made see-through barrel. You can see the flor floating on top of the wine.

Manzanilla is a drier, finer style of sherry than Fino. Although it is made in similar fashion, Manzanilla comes specifically from Sanlúcar de Barrameda. There is a salty edge to Manzanilla said to be due to the influence of the nearby ocean.

Amontillado is a smooth, darker sherry which matures in contact with oxygen. This is done by accident (the Fino flor cracks) or intentionally by adding fortifying spirit to kill off the flor.

Oloroso is fortified to kill off the flor and creates a fuller-bodied, dry, dark sherry made usually from dried Pedro Ximénes grapes with concentrated sugars.

Visiting Cellar Door

Compared to other regions in Spain, it was surprisingly difficult to get to the doors of Jerez.

From Sevilla, the tourist offices can give you the name of a company that does day tours of the region, visiting a criadera and tasting the fare - however it also includes a performance by Andalucian horses at a Jerez equestrian training school, and a visit to Puerto de Santa Maria, where (weather permitting) you are placed on board a ferry across to the port of Cadiz. This will cost you around €80.

My first reaction was not to go. That's a lot of money for a traveller - and only a portion of the trip involves wine.

However, after a few days in Sevilla, I began to appreciate the connection between the passions of the southern Spanish people, and realised that the wine, the bulls, the horses, flamenco guitars and dancing are all interrelated, and form the essence of this culture. So going on the trip will give you the opportunity to understand where Sherry fits in, to experience and taste the wines in context.

It's not easy to track down the operator of the bus. The tourist office doesn't book the trip for you, just gives you a number - which only ever resulted in a spanish-only message on voicemail.

Eventually, I booked the trip through the reception of one of the larger hotels in Sevilla, and was picked up at another hotel's entrance at 8am the next morning.

It was a fantastic day - the guides were brilliant, and understanding when I got lost after the horse show, swept away by throngs of tourists and locals who pack the arena for the spectacle. They waited patiently - unfortunately I was waiting with all the tour buses, how stupid of me not to know that my bus would park somewhere else ... then went looking for me.

If that happens, though (and it's easy to do!) you just make your way to the Jerez train station to return to Sevilla! ... I wasn't worried ... really ....

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Last Modified: Sunday, February 07, 2010