Sherry wines have a high importance in the gastronomic culture of Cádiz as well as of Spain. Would you like to know why? Do you want to enter the world of Sherry wine? Then keep reading!
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Contents
What is Sherry?
Sherry makes reference to all the wines that are produced within the framework of Jerez. Produced in the Andalusian cities of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The Jerez framework also encompasses Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Puerto Real, Trebujena and Lebrija since they are breeding and production areas.
Sherry wine is one of the most important elements in the history and culture of the area.
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TYPES OF WINE
The range of Sherry wines is very wide from its nuances and flavors to its colors. There’s 3 different categories: dry sherry wines, sweet sherry wines and natural sweet sherry wines.
Among the dry wines we can find the most popular ones: Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso and Palo Cortado. In the sweet ones we will differentiate Pale Cream, Medium and Cream. While in natural sweet wines we find Moscatel and Pedro Ximenez.
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PRODUCTION OF THE WINES
From the origin to its particular production process, everything is genuine in these wines. Sherry Wines are generally aged using a unique method: criaderas and solera. In this system, the wine that is bottled is extracted from a final aging scale, made up of a certain number of casks that is generally the one located closest to the ground, hence its name solera, in which the most wines are contained. The quantity extracted from these casks is replaced with the youngest wine contained in the top row of casks, the first criadera. This in turn for the wine of the second criadera, younger still, and so on.
The result: exceptional wines that maintain, year after year, the highest quality.
This system is totally unique and allows the quality of the wine to be very high and homogeneous. For this reason, the fact that a certain winery is older is of great importance: all the wine will age by a much older broth than others, thus constituting the most important asset of the winery.
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Land and types of grapes
Another of the very special characteristics of these wines is their farmland, the Albariza. This land has a whitish color, it is compacted forming boulders. It allows the water coming from the short but intense rains of the region to remain in the subsoil several meters deep throughout the year. Maintaining the necessary humidity for the vineyard despite the summer heat in addition to producing a high luminosity.
In addition we should’t forget about the wind since it has an impact in the wine industry. In this area there’s 2 types: Levante, a dry and hot wind. And Poniente which is the fresh and humid one. These two winds can help to the development of the grapes.
Poniente helps to maintain the damp of the water despite the temperatures of the summer. Whereas Levante makes the grape taste bitter, producing a dryer wine. Sometimes the harvest can be earlier than expected if there’s a lot of Levante, so the grapes don’t get too much bitter.
At the same time, the variety of type of grapes stands out. We can observe 3 different types: Moscatel, Palomino and Pedro Ximenez. All three coincide in being of the white variety. Each one has a different function when creating and producing wines. But the Palomino variety is the one that stands out the most since it is of great importance when it comes to obtaining the most unique wines. Pedro Ximenez variety is for sweet wines through the solera process. Whereas, the Moscatel is for the production of wines with the same name, which are sweet.
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DISCOVERING SHERRY
Knowing about Sherry wines also involves immersing ourselves in a world of sensations, aromas and tastes which help us to discover the culture and traditions of a wine-growing region.
Visit the famous cathedral-like wineries, learn first hand about the characteristic sherry production process, learn the art of wine tasting and discover the perfect gastronomic combination for each type of wine.
Are you interested on getting to know about the Sherry wines? Do you want to discover and learn about the wine world? Then, don’t hesitate and contact us here or write us at info@alsherry.com! We will be delighted to tailor an unique experience for you!