Sherry (Spain)
Sherry is a fortified wine from Jerez the southwestern part of Spain.
Types are many, with a distinction between wines aged with (or without) Flor.
Most sherry styles are produced from the local Palomino grape.
Sherry Types
| Name | Aged | Sugar g/l | Grape |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fino | with Flor | 0-5 | Palomino |
| Pale Cream | with Flor | 100-150 | Palomino |
| Amontillado | with/without | 0-5 | Palomino |
| Medium | with/without | 100-150 | Palomino |
| Oroloso | without Flor | 0-5 | Palomino |
| Cream | without Flor | 100-150 | Palomino |
| PX | without Flor | 100-400 | Pedro Ximénez |
Sherry Production
- Sherry production starts with a dry white Palomino wine
- The base is fortified with alcohol from 15% to 17% ABV
- The fortified wine enters a SOLERA system to age
- The fortified wine ages in solera with (or without) FLOR
- Wines aged with flor are biologically aged.
- Wines aged without flor are oxidatevly aged.
| Biologically Aged |
Biologically and Oxidatively |
Oxidatively Aged |
||
| Palomino 13.5% |
Palomino 13.5% |
Palomino 13.5% |
||
| ⇩ | ⇩ | ⇩ | ||
| Fortified to 15% |
Fortified to 15% |
Fortified to 18-20% |
||
| ⇩ | ⇩ | ⇩ | ||
| Aged under FLOR in Solera |
Aged under FLOR in Solera |
Aged without FLOR in Solera |
||
| Refortified to 17-20% |
||||
| Aged without FLOR in Solera |
||||
| ⇩ | ⇩ | ⇩ | ||
|
FINO SHERRY |
AMONTILLADO SHERRY |
OLOROSO SHERRY |
||
| ⇩ | ⇩ | ⇩ | ||
| Sweetened | Sweetened | Sweetened | ||
| ⇩ | ⇩ | ⇩ | ||
| PALE CREAM SHERRY |
MEDIUM SHERRY |
CREAM SHERRY |
Solera System
A solera system is a system of old oak barrels containing wines of different ages, where wines are blended together as they age.
The purpose is to create a mature wine of a consistent and coplex style.
Image Source: WineDecoded.
Flor
Flor (Spanish: flower) is a film of yeast floating on the surface of wine.
The flor is naturally formed under certain winemaking conditions from local yeasts found in the region of Andalucía in southern Spain.
The flor and is an important factor in the production process of Fino Sherry and Pale Cream Sherry.
Transparent Sherry barrel to demonstrate the development of flor.
Fino
Fino is a dry white wine made from Palomino grapes.
The special structure is a result of biological aging.
It is aged under a layer of flor (yeasts), and aged in American oak butts in a the traditional solera system in the bodegas (cellar).
Oloroso
Oloroso is a dry wine made from Palomino grapes.
The special structure is a result of oxidative aging.
Alcohol is added to 17%, preventing the development of flor and allowing the wine to age exposed to oxygen. The result is a structured and complex wine.
Amontillado
Amontillado is a dry wine made from Palomino grapes.
Amontillado is unique due to its dual aging process: first under the flor, typical of Fino and Manzanilla, followed by a period exposed to oxidation, like Oroloso.
The fusion of aging processes makes Amontillado wines extraordinarily complex and intriguing.
PX (Pedro Ximénez)
Pedro Ximénez is an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry.
PX Sherry is made from consentrated sun-dried local (Andalucia) Pedro Ximénez grapes and is usually very sweet (400g sugar per liter) and have a strong aroma of raisins.
Manzanilla
Manzanilla is a dry Sherry, aged for at least two years under flor.
It is almost identical to Fino sherry but a little lighter. The main difference is that Manzanilla is produced in Sanlúcar de Barrameda (not Jerez). and controlled by its own D.O. Manzanilla de Sanlúcar.