Andaloucía

Question 1

How many DOs are there in Andalucía? And what are them?

Answer 1

6 DOs:

1. Condado de Huelva
2. Granada
3. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
4. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda
5. Málaga & Sierras de Málaga
6. Montilla-Moriles

Question 2

What is Montilla-Moriles DO?

Answer 2

BLANCO, GENEROSO (not always fortified), DULCE NATURAL (fortified), LICOR

predominantly Pedro Ximénez (75%) with Layren (Airén), Baladí (Verdejo), Moscatel, Torrontés

can be added into Sherry if it’s DULCE NATURAL style

Question 3

What is Málaga DO?

Answer 3

BLANCO, NON-FORTIFIED SWEET / FORTIFIED / and more

made by Pedro Ximénez, Moscatel

very complicated DO that has a lot of wine styles

Question 4

What is Condado do Huelva DO?

Answer 4

BLANCO / TINTO, PÁLIDO / VIEJO / LICOR

Pálido: biological (pale and aged under Flor like Sherry)
Viejo: oxidative (oxidized like Oloroso, higher alcohol 17-22% abv)

fortified wines: Palomino, Moscatel de Alejandria, Pedro Ximénez
dry blanco: Zalema (local grape)
tinto: Syrah, Tempranillo, Cab Sauv, Cab Franc, Merlot

Question 5

What is Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO?

Answer 5

BLANCO, GENEROSO / LICOR / DULCE NATURAL

Generoso (4 styles, dry):
1. Fino
2. Amontillado
3. Palo Cortado
4. Oloroso

Generoso de Licor (blended with Dulce Natural or RCGM, 4 styles, sweet):
1. Pale Dry
2. Medium (Amontillado)
3. Pale Cream (Fino)
4. Cream (Oloroso)

Dulce Natural (natural sweet wine fortified after partial fermentation of “sunned” grapes, often bottled varietally, Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel, 3 styles):
1. Dulce (160g/L)
2. Moscatel (160 g/L)
3. Pedro Ximénez (212 g/L)

Question 6

What is Vino Joven / Jovenes Afrutados?

Answer 6

young and fruity white wines that for immediate drinking in Montilla-Moriles DO

Question 7

What are the 3 main towns in Jerez-Xérèz-Sherry DO?

Answer 7

1. Jerez de la Frontera
2. El Puerto de Santa Maria
3. Sanlucar de Barrameda

Question 8

What are the winds that encourage Flor to happens in Jerez?

Answer 8

Poniente from the West (cool and humid)

Levante from the East (hot and dry)

Question 9

What are the soils you can found in Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO?

Answer 9

3 types:

1. Albariza (chalk)
2. Barros (clay)
3. Arenas (sand)

Question 10

What are the grapes used in Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO?

Answer 10

1. Palomino
2. Pedro Ximénez
3. Moscatel de Alejandría

Question 11

What is the oak/cask used in Sherry production?

Answer 11

600L American oak (locally known as Butt)

Question 12

What is venencia, venenciador, copita?

Answer 12

Venencia: is a tool for serving sherry

Venenciador: person who serves sherry

copita: the glass that sherry is served in

Question 13

What are the DOs of Sherry?

Answer 13

2 DOs:

1. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO
2. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO

Question 14

What is En Rama Sherry?

Answer 14

A Fino Sherry that have not been fined or stabilised for tartare, but they can be filtered

Question 15

What are the stages of the Solera system?

Answer 15

First stage: Sobretabla

Last stage: Solera

in between: Criadera (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.)

typically there is 3-14 levels of Criadera in one bodega

Question 16

What is Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO?

Answer 16

BLANCO, LICOR (Fina, Pasada, Añada)

a Fino sherry that must be carried out in Sanlúcar de Barrameda

made by 100% Palomino

Question 17

Describe the process of Sherry production.

Answer 17

After fermentation, the classification process begins:

First Classification:

1. Palo Marking: destined for Biological aging (Fino & Manzanilla)
2. Gordura Marking: higher alcohol and destined for Oxidative aging (Oloroso)

then Fortification and Sobretabla:
•wines are fortified using a 95% abv neutral spirit, then wines are set aside for period of months before they are incorporated into Solera system, known as Sobretabla stage

Biological fortified to 15% abv, Oxidative fortified to 17% abv.

Second Classification:

Sherry wines go through the Solera system for a min 2 years, for every 1 litre of wine removed and moved to the next Criadera, 2 litres must remain (process called Trasiegos), helping to oxygenate and also add nutrients from older wines to newer wines

then the wine completes and is sold as:
•Fino
•Amontillado
•Palo Cortado
•Manzanilla (Fina, Pasada, Ananda)

Question 18

What is VOS and VORS in Sherry?

Answer 18

** Vinum Optimum Signatum / Very Old Sherry (VOS): indicate Sherry that has average age of 20 years

**Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum / Very Old Rare Sherry (VORS) : indicate sherry that has average age of 30 years

there are also 12 years old and 15 years old indications

Question 19

What so special about Palo Cortado Sherry?

Answer 19

it is a Sherry wine that “occurs by accident”, that it develops flor for a little while, the flor disappears by itself, and then the wine ages oxidatively