Sherry
For many people my age and older, the word "sherry" looms around 20, 30 years ago; middle-aged housewives who dragged this drink from the supermarkets in jerrycans and drank it as if it were water. Sherry, however, is a very noble drink that, thanks to the above, did not have such a good name in the Netherlands and other countries.
The Spanish name of sherry is "Jerez" and comes mainly from the Jerez de la Frontera region. The grapes used for making sherry are the Palomino and the Pedro Ximenez, also known as PX. The name of the PX grape is incidentally due to a German soldier, named Peter Siemens, who when he had to fight in Spain, took the well-known Riesling grape and planted it in southern Spain. In honor of this soldier, this grape variety in Spain was given the name Pedro Ximenez, which is a corruption of Peter Siemens. The PX grapes are generally used to make sweet Sherries and are often first sun-dried. That´s making them a bit sweeter and darker in color. The Palomino grapes are used to make dry and not too sweet Sherries, whether or not mixed with the PX grapes.
We can divide sherry into three types;
- Fino, this is a dry and white colored version.
- Amontillado, this has an amber/honey color and can be typified in taste between dry and sweet.
- Oloroso, ranging from light to dark red and sweet in taste.
To make a good Fino, the sherry producer uses mother nature, which after an intensive natural process has taken place, forms a yeast layer on top of the wine called "Flor". This yeast layer prevents oxygen or other external influences from reaching the wine and can therefore mature in a biological way. Alcohol is then added afterwards until the alcohol percentage reaches 15%. With Amontillado and Oloroso Sherries, a little more alcohol is added, breaking the yeast layer and adding oxygen to the ripening process. This is called oxidizing ripening and this results in a somewhat stronger taste. The alcohol percentage of this type of sherry is usually somewhere between 17 and 19%.
Served at the right temperature (cool), a Fino is tasty to use as an aperitif but also tastes great with small pasta and/or fish dishes. Amontillado has a more spicy taste and often reminds of nuts. This makes it suitable for dishes with liver or cheese and for light salads. Sweet Sherries actually have a very wide range in terms of application. Personally I like it as an aperitif and also with a cheese board with, in particular, old cheeses or with coffee and chocolate bonbons. A nice glass of sweet PX always goes in as a nightcap. And not to forget that a sweet sherry is also extremely suitable as an ingredient for food; Lightly pour a little piece of Brie or Camembert with a little PX, bake Chorizo with PX, add a little PX to the baking mixture for cookies or a tasty cake, as a dressing in the salad, you name it…
You can also use sherry as part of a mixed drink. Especially in the summer when it is nice and warm, a dry sherry with 7-UP (for the "dry" drinker to be replaced by diet Tonic) and a slice of orange is a nice refreshing recommendation. Also interesting; half sherry, half cava.
¡Salud!
Roel Peters RP-Vinos USA
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