Jerez de la Frontera is the Atlantic, its people, its gastronomy, its sun… a dry, windy, and often very sandy place. The sun shines with incredible intensity almost year-round, and the area often doesn’t receive rain for considerable periods. It is believed that the Phoenicians were the first to cultivate grapes here.
Sherry wine takes its name from an Anglicization of the word “Jerez,” although Jerez is thought to come from its Arabic name, Sherish, thought to have been brought to Spain by the Arabs in the 7th century. These hordes from the southern and eastern Maghreb occupied large swathes of Spain and are believed to have introduced the practice of distillation, one of the storage-friendly practices that defines the local style of this region.
Jerez de la Frontera
It was during this seemingly unfortunate occupation of the Moores that Sherry began to have distilled grape spirit added to the must to stop fermentation and further highlight the wine’s natural light flavors of almond, vanilla and spices. Today, all Sherry is fortified, but there are many different variations ranging in sweetness. Due to Islam’s prejudice towards drinking, the
Caliph of Córdoba, occupying ruler of the Iberian peninsula at the time, ordered that the vineyards of Andalusia be torn up to prevent debauchery.
The people of Andalusia appealed to the Caliph on behalf of their vines, extolling the virtues of their wonderful tasting grapes and raisins, of which the Caliph himself did enjoy. Their appeals were heard and the majority of vineyards ended up spared. It was nearly four hundred years before the Caliphate would be deposed, and the harvest would once again fall into the hands of the Christians. Under the new ruler, Alfonso de Castille, the amount of wine and grapes produces in Andalusia would nearly quadruple.
It was during this time that trade and expeditions were quite popular, and the ready conquistadors, colonists, and crusaders alike were apt to take transportable wines with them on their journeys, and the fortified wines made in the Port of Jerez were a natal choice, considering the convenient production location to overseas and Mediterranean travel alike. This, coupled with the wines fortified and often permissible oxidation, meant that these wines were sea-bound. They were notably the style of wine loaded aboard the Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria when the ships left for the New World.
Wineyard
It was the English who eventually would take nearly total control of the seas through military prowess and intelligent diplomatic relations. As in the case of Bordeaux, the English of course had their favorite wines for nearly every situation. The trick seemed to be finding a storable, conveniently located, inexpensive wine from a region of high production suitable for cargo rations aboard her majesty’s vessels was a challenging task. It wasn’t until the British takeover of the Port of Gibraltar that access between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic was solely in British custody, and the conveniently located wines nearby were ripe for the purchase.
Sherry grabbed a large foothold over the English wine market from that point on and was exported to England in vast quantities. Fraternal bodies were organized to govern its production and British entrepreneurs swooped in excitedly to buy up vineyards and own production houses. To this day lining the Sherry shelves you will see a very impressive bastion of English wine culture notable in an array of bottles clad with names like Harvey’s, Hartley and Gibson, Fairbanks and so on.
Sherry is made necessarily from the Palomino grape, a white grape that displays characteristics of dry tea and white apricot. It is a neutral grape relatively speaking, which presents incredible opportunities in fortification process, for intricate and unexpected complexities associated with the finished wine. There are three types of Palomino, with Palomino Fino being the most esteemed, and the other two versions, Palomino Basto, and Palomino de Jerez. All three are used in Sherry wine, but the Fino version is the most well-planted and tends to represent the finest and most elegant of the selections. It also is the lightest mouthfeel wise, which is important for a fortified wine where alcohol can often add pounds garish metaphorical weight.
Jose Luis, winegrower
Some Sherry is also made from Moscatel, which can act to add nuttiness and some more sweet-raisin complexities to the final sweet wine, but is generally usable only in small quantities. It is also the least planted. The second most planted grape is actually bottled generally with very little addition of Palomino Fino, and it is known as Pedro Ximenez. This grape is extremely sweet and is allowed to overripen in the sun for weeks at the end of the season to get the best pronouncement of complexities possible. After fortification, this grape leaves loads of sugar in the final product, and its nutty, creamy character is incredibly desirable when paired with deserts.
Jerez de la Frontera (Sherry at the Boarder) is recognized as the first DO (Demarcated Origin) in all of Spain, and that’s important because Spain has a long, rich history of wine culture. The DO today glides loosely around what’s known colloquially as the Sherry Triangle. This spoken region flows around the sand-stricken vineyards surrounding the towns of Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria.
This area is of course a permanent desert, but is readily exposed to the eastbound winds of the Atlantic Ocean, adding highly desirable seaward saltiness and saline to the wines made here as well as allowing some retention of acidity via their cooling effects. Vines are trained high and often spread very well distantly in their Guyot amidst the sand in order to allow these breezes to blow out in between the canopies and prevent disease. It is also not uncommon for a producer to choose to be a bit more timid with canopy management to prevent sunburn.
Winery in Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sherry is made in the winery. It is one of the few fine wines around that’s flavor is decidedly based on the technique of its manufacturers, and not the more favorable vineyard conditions so much. This is partially because of the fortification of the Sherry, and partially because DO law requires the use of the Solera system, and wines are labeled and sold based on stylistic preference, not necessarily by vintage or terroir, or varietal as is common on other world wine labels.
First, let me tackle the Solera system itself. This is the medieval process by which these wines have traditionally been made, and accounts for a grandiose amount of a wines final flavor profile. Solera itself means, “on the ground.” The process begins with a three-rung string of barrels stacked on top of each other. The latest vintage is aged on the top rung of barrels, and begins to develop a protective layer of special yeast known as Flor. This flor adds creaminess to the wines and an intense nuttiness the longer it remains in contact, yet it still allows the wines to remain vibrant and fresh, good for pairing with seafood.
The lower sherry barrels are never topped off as to allow the wines to oxidize, however, overtime these barrels will lose more and more wine due to alcohol’s evaporation. This effect is sometimes referred to as the Angel’s Share. As more wine is aged and lost to this effect, so the top barrels become are drained off into the lower rung of barrels to be blended with past vintages. This blending has the effect of adding youthful zest to some of the older wines, while still allowing the aging product to show the full force of its tertiary characteristics. The top rung of barrels is contunuously replenished with the latest vintage, and so the lower barrels are continuously refilled with new wine. Thus, Sherry is never labeled with a vintage, though most Oloroso bottles will be an average of four years old at the least.
The alcohol fortification of the wines aged on this top rung of barrels must bender fifteen point five percent, to retain its Flor. The Flor also only allows for minor oxidation of the wine during the fermentation process. Neutral grape spirit is added as the wine continues to age. Wines labeled Fino and Manzanilla will be allowed to develop this flor. These wines are incredibly dry and satiating.
The symbols themselves are known as Rayas, and they are stick-like indicators of quality in early stages of development.
I – Fino/Amontillado, not to exceed 15.5% alcohol.
I. – Oloroso 17.5%.
II – Needs to develop further before being used. Aged to 15%.
III – Development issues to be distilled into grape spirit.
Wine tasting
Text: Miguel Gómez & Keegan N.
Photos: Miguel Gómez