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WSET Level 4 D5: Fortified Wine > 2.1: Sherry - The Growing Environment and Grape Growing > Flashcards

2.1: Sherry - The Growing Environment and Grape Growing Flashcards

1
Q

Where is Jerez located?

A

Andalusía in southern Spain

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2
Q

What is the latitude of Jerez?

A

low latitude (36°)

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3
Q

What is the altitude of Jerez?

A

low altitude (0-90 metres above sea level)

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4
Q

What is the climate of Jerez?

A
  • hot Mediterranean climate
  • hot, dry summers
  • mild, relatively rainy winters
  • influences from the Atlantic Ocean
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5
Q

What does the Atlantic Ocean bring to Jerez?

A

poniente: cool, damp wind that provides a cooling, humid influence in the summer

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6
Q

Name the 2 influential winds in Jerez.

A
  1. poniente (cooling, humid influence in the summer)

2. levante (hot, drying wind)

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7
Q

What is the levante?

A

a hot, drying wind flowing from the south east from north Africa, can make the climate more arid

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8
Q

What is the effect of the Levante on grapes?

A
  • cause grapes to transpire more quickly, concentrating the sugars
  • too much sugar can be a negative because it may become difficult to ferment the wine to dryness, which is particularly problematic for the development of flor yeast
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9
Q

Why is the amount of sunlight in Jerez important? What does this mean for the grapes?

A
  • high number of cloud-free days therefore sunlight hours in the growing season are high
  • helping to give fully ripe grapes
  • without sufficient shading, grapes can easily become sunburnt
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10
Q

Where must the grapes for Sherry come from?

A

the delimited area of around 7,000 hectares known as the Zona de Producción or Marco de Jerez

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11
Q

Grapes from the Zona de Producción can be used for what?

A
  • DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

- DO Manzanilla - Sanlúcar de Barrameda (or the denomination of origin for Sherry vinegar)

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12
Q

What grape can be grown around Montilla but matured in the Zona de Crianza and still be labelled as DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry?

A

Pedro Ximénez (also called PX)

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13
Q

Where is Montilla?

A

within Andalusía, in the mountains above Malaga, but outside the Zona de Producción

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14
Q

What are the 2 parts of the Zona de Producción?

A
  1. Jerez Superior

2. Jerez Zona

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15
Q

What is the Jerez Superior known for?

A

thought to be made up of the better vineyard sites, all located on albariza soil

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16
Q

How much of the plantings does Jerez Superior account for?

A

over 90% of the plantings

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17
Q

How are the vineyards of Jerez divided?

A

smaller delimited areas called pagos

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18
Q

What is believed of the pagos?

A

each is thought to produce wines with different characteristics than the others, a function of factors such as aspect, location, small differences in soil etc.

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19
Q

What is the key soil?

A

albariza

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20
Q

What type of soil is albariza?

A

mixture of limestone, silica and clay

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21
Q

What does the clay mean for the soil?

A

albariza is very effective at retaining and gradually releasing water from winter rainfall, vital in a region that is very dry during the growing season

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22
Q

Why is albariza helpful in reducing evaporation from the soil surface?

A

forms a crust when dry

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23
Q

What effect does the soil have on planting density compared to other hot regions of Spain?

A
  • high ability to retain water
  • higher planting densities and yields are possible in Jerez than in other regions in Spain with hot, dry climates (where low-density bush vines are required if irrigation is not used)
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24
Q

Why are higher yields possible with Sherry?

A
  • grapes do not need to have the same concentration of flavours
  • most of the flavour comes through the maturation process
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25
Q

What effect does the color of the soil have?

A

light colour of the albariza soil also means that it reflects light back into the vine canopy aiding the ripening of the grapes

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26
Q

What are the other 2 types of soil in Jerez?

A
  1. barros - greater clay content

2. arenas - sandy

27
Q

What are the 3 main grape varieties grown in Jerez?

A
  1. Palomino
  2. Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
  3. Pedro Ximénez (PX)
28
Q

What are 2 other names for Palomino?

A
  • Palomino Fino

- Listán

29
Q

What is Palomino?

A

principal variety, used in all dry and sweetened styles of Sherry

30
Q

How much production by volume does Palomino account for?

A

almost 99%

31
Q

Describe the properties of Palomino.

A
  • mid to late ripening
  • well-suited to dry, sunny weather
  • capable of producing large yields
  • loses acidity quickly when it nears maturity
  • neutral: does not tend to add much of its own primary aromas to Sherry wines
32
Q

What is another name for Moscatel? Why?

A

Moscatel de Chipiona

- the coastal town of Chipiona

33
Q

On what soils is Moscatel grown?

A

sandy arenas soils

34
Q

Describe the properties of Moscatel.

A
  • late ripening
  • well adapted to heat and drought
  • aromatic grape (grape, blossom)
35
Q

For what types of wines is PX used?

A

used for some sweet fortified wines of the same name

36
Q

Describe the properties of PX.

A
  • small, thin-skinned grapes
  • accumulate high levels of sugar
  • traditionally dried in the sun to further concentrate that sugar
  • neutral variety
37
Q

From where to PX wines get their flavors?

A

mainly come from the drying and maturing processes

38
Q

Where does legislation permit PX to be grown?

A

grown in Montilla district in the province of Córdoba

39
Q

How is PX shipped into the Zona de Producción?

A
  • either as fresh or raisined grapes

- or more likely as young wine

40
Q

How are the Sherry vineyards in the process of being transformed?

A

to accommodate mechanisation of all the annual tasks including pruning, harvesting and soil management

41
Q

What was the old principal training system?

A

replacement cane pruning

- ‘vara y pulgar’

42
Q

What is the new principal training system? Why?

A
  • increasing number of vineyards are now cordon trained (single or double) and spur pruned
  • more suitable for mechanisation
43
Q

Why is VSP used?

A

ensures the canopy remains open and arranged for easy mechanisation

44
Q

What is the downside of VSP?

A

some shading of the bunches is needed to prevent sunburn

45
Q

Describe the within-row spacing.

A

can be quite tight (just over 1m)

46
Q

Describe the between-row spacing.

A

wide enough to allow tractors to pass

47
Q

What are the maximum yields permitted? What is more typical?

A
  • 80 hL/ha
  • rare that this maximum is reached
  • depending on the year, usually closer to 60-70 hL/ha
48
Q

Where are the vineyards generally planted?

A

on gentle (10-15 per cent) slopes where the albariza is mainly to be found

49
Q

What happens each year after harvest? What would happen without this?

A

aserpia

  • soil worked to create a series of troughs or gullies down each row of vines to catch the winter rains
  • most of the rainwater would flow down the sloped vineyards rather than permeating the soil
50
Q

How is aserpia typically done?

A
  • very labour intensive

- now mainly done mechanically

51
Q

What are the most widely used rootstocks?

A
  • 333EM
  • 41-B
  • 13-5 EVEX
    (all hybrids of V. vinifera and V. berlandieri)
52
Q

What is 13-5 EVEX?

A
  • rootstock developed by the local viticultural research station
  • most successful to date
  • tolerant of limestone soils (preventing the vine from suffering from chlorosis) and drought, while also producing good yields
53
Q

What diseases are problematic? Why?

A
  • dry growing season means that Jerez has relatively little problem with disease
  • mildew can be a problem in the spring due to warm humid weather after any rain
54
Q

Is frost an issue? Why or why not?

A

the hot climate and moderating influence from the Atlantic means that frost is not an issue

55
Q

What pests are an issue?

A

European grapevine moth is a problem and often managed using pheromone traps

56
Q

When does harvest begin? Finish?

A
  • first week of August

- second week in September

57
Q

Where does harvest start? Finish?

A
  • starting on the more inland vineyards

- finishing with the cooler coastal plots

58
Q

Why is harvest as early as possible?

A

to avoid the risk of autumn rain; any rot would be very undesirable, particularly for biologically aged wines

59
Q

With what potential alcohol are grapes usually picked?

A

~ 12% potential alcohol

60
Q

With what total acidity are grapes usually picked?

A

~ 5 g/L

61
Q

With what pH are grapes usually picked?

A

3.3-3.5

62
Q

If acidification necessary? Why or why not?

A
  • Palomino loses acidity quickly in the final stages of ripening
  • acidification sometimes required if levels fall much below 5 g/L
63
Q

When do the PX and Moscatel grapes for naturally sweet wines tend to be harvested? Why?

A
  • slightly later

- a higher concentration of sugar in the grapes when harvested makes the drying process that follows easier and quicker

64
Q

What percent of the total grape volume is harvested by machine? When? Why?

A

~60%

  • mostly at night or in the early hours of the morning when temperatures are coolest
  • to reduce chances of oxidation and microbial spoilage

WSET Level 4 D5: Fortified Wine (23 decks)

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