Fortified Wine: Sherry

Question 1

Fortified wines have a:

• lower alcohol content
• higher alcohol content

than still table wines.

Answer 1

Higher alcohol content

Question 2

How do fortified wines get to have such high alcohol content?

Answer 2

High proof, neutral grape spirit / brandy is added to the base wine either before, during, or after fermentation

Question 3

What are the reasons to fortify a wine?

Answer 3

1. Add body
2. Increase the wine’s ageability

Question 4

What is the alcoholic range of fortified wines?

Answer 4

15% - 22% abv

Question 5

When is Sherry fortified?:

• before fermentation
• during fermentation
• after fermentation

Answer 5

AFTER fermentation

Question 6

What is the typical result of fortifying a wine AFTER fermentation?

Answer 6

Dry wine that has higher levels of alcohol, anywhere from 15% - 18%.

Question 7

What are the other 2 names Sherry is known as?

Answer 7

1. Jerez
2. Xérès

Sometimes you’ll see it spelled with all three: Jerez -Xérès - Sherry

Question 8

Sherry comes from which country?

Answer 8

Spain

Question 9

Where in Spain is the Sherry region?

Answer 9

Spain’s most southern tip, in Andalusía, which is across the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa.

Question 10

What are the 2 bodies of water cradling Sherry?

Answer 10

• Atlantic Ocean on the west
• Strait of Gibraltar to the south

Question 11

Sherry was one of the first recognized DOs in Spain in this year.

Answer 11

1933

Question 12

What is the climate of Sherry?

What influences the climate?

Answer 12

• HOT, windy, can get humid
• Atlantic Ocean influences climate by cooling down Sherry with breezes

Question 13

What are the 3 soils of Sherry?

Answer 13

1. Albariza (most important!)
2. Barros
3. Arenas

Question 14

What kind of soil is Albariza?

Answer 14

A chalky clay, brilliantly white, that reflects the sun onto the vines.

It has excellent water retention which is important during the hot and dry summer months.

Question 15

What kind of soil is Barros?

Answer 15

Brown clay

• not as important as Albariza

Question 16

What kind of soil is Arenas?

Answer 16

Sandy soils

• not as important as Albariza

Question 17

What are the 3 grapes of Sherry?

Answer 17

1. Palomino
2. Pedro Ximénez (PX)
3. Moscatel

Question 18

Which grape in Sherry is the most planted?

Answer 18

Palomino

• it’s also the principal grape for all Sherry styles

Question 19

PX and Moscatel are grapes mostly used for what in Sherry?

But they can also be used for this.

Answer 19

Mostly used for blending, sweetening, and adding color to other Sherries.

Can be used as sweet wines themselves, bottled as single varietals. Only top producers - which is really just a handful - will bottle PX or Moscatel by itself.

Question 20

Most Sherry styles are made from which grape?

Answer 20

Palomino

Question 21

After the Palomino grape goes through primary fermentation, what is its flavor profile before it’s fortified?

Answer 21

Neutral, dry, still white wine (at this point it’s a base wine)

Question 22

For Sherry, how much the wine is fortified depends on what _____ is being made.

Answer 22

Style

Question 23

What are Sherries fortified with?

Why?

Answer 23

A mixture of neutral grape spirit + mature Sherry.

It’s fortified with this mixture and not straight spirit so the base wine isn’t shocked.

Question 24

What are the 2 ways to age, or develop, Sherry?

Answer 24

1. Biological aging
2. Oxidative aging

Question 25

What are the 4 styles of Sherry made with biological aging?

Answer 25

1. **M**anzanilla 2. **F**ino 3. **A**montillado 4. **P**alo Cortado

Question 26

What are the 2 styles of Sherry made with oxidative aging?

Answer 26

1. **O**loroso 2. **C**ream

Question 27

What is flor? What does it do?

Answer 27

**A thin layer of yeast, Saccharomyces, that develops on the surface of a maturing wine in barrel**. It develops here because Sherry barrels aren't filled up all the way, and that headspace allows for oxygen which in turn encourages the flor to form. It **protects the wine from heavy oxidation and spoilage**.

Question 28

What is a solera system?

Answer 28

A fractional blending system which has levels, or 'scales,' that hold wines at varying stages of development (some of which are decades old). The younger wines at the top of the solera are progressivley blended with the older, lower scales of the solera. The bottom row of the solera system is called solera.

Question 29

When making Fino-style Sherries, it's important to keep adding new wine to barrels so that the \_\_\_\_ remains intact.

Answer 29

**Flor** ## Footnote *The newly added wine has nutrients which the flor metabolizes and needs to stay alive.*

Question 30

What is "running the scales"? Describe the process.

Answer 30

'Running the scales' is **the gradual yet consistent replenishment of wine from younger barrels within a solera**. When Sherry is removed for bottling from the solera (bottom) scale, the solera scale is refilled with an equal amount of wine that has been pulled from the 1st Criadera. To refill the 1st Criadera, another equal amount is removed from the 2nd Criadera to top up the barrels in the 1st Criadera, and so on until the youngest Criadera is topped up with wine from the añada. The youngest wines provide nutrients for the flor to keep it alive and active. ## Footnote *Fractional blending is done both horizontally and vertically to maintain continuity.*

Question 31

Why isn't Sherry vintage dated?

Answer 31

Sherry is rarely vintaged dated because it is a fractional blending system. However, many Sherries have their solera's inception date printed on their labels.

Question 32

What is Manzanilla and how is it different from Fino?

Answer 32

Manzanilla IS a Fino sherry, but **Manzanillas can only come from the seaside village of Sanlúcar de Barrameda**. Manzanillas are lighter, brighter, more saline, and more delicate than Finos due to the cooler climate of Sanlúcar. ## Footnote *So, all Manzanillas are Finos but not all Finos are Manzanillas.*

Question 33

What's the purpose of a solera?

Answer 33

A solera **creates a unique, distinct flavor profile** for wine, making Sherry -- when you smell and taste it -- unmistakable. The solera **allows the winemaker, or Sherry house, to produce a consistent style of wine**.

Question 34

In a solera system, the barrels on the floor or closest to the floor are called \_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 34

Solera

Question 35

In a solera system, the barrels that have the youngest wines in them are called \_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 35

Añada

Question 36

In a solera system, the barrels between the Añada and Solera are called \_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 36

**Criaderas** ## Footnote There are First Criaderas and Second Criaderas.

Question 37

What is the difference between the First Criadera and the Second Criadera?

Answer 37

First Criadera is the level of barrels that have wine in them that is next oldest to the solera. Second Criadera is the level of barrels between the Añada and the First Criadera; older than the Añada but younger than the First Criadera.

Question 38

What is the maximum amount of Sherry that can be removed yearly from the bottom solera to be bottled?

Answer 38

**No more than a third** may be withdrawn 3x in one year.

Question 39

Unfortified Sherry production is on the rise. What will you see it called on the label, and why?

Answer 39

* Vino de Pasto * Literally it means pasture wines (or loosely: a wine to drink with food)