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WSET Diploma D5 > 2 Sherry > Flashcards

2 Sherry Flashcards

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1
Q

Describe the climate of the sherry zone in Andalusia

A

Hot Mediterranean - dry summers, mild and rainy winters

  • Low latitude 36 degrees
  • Low altitude 0-90m ASL
  • Poniente winds - cool, humid wind from Atlantic in summer
  • Levante - hot, dry winds from north Africa
  • High number of sunshine hours
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2
Q

Describe the climatic challenges in the sherry production zone

A

Heat - causes high rate of transpiration which can concentrate sugar –> difficult for yeast to ferment to dryness and inhibits flor development
Sunshine - may cause sunburn

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3
Q

Describe the Sherry DOs

A

DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry

  • Main DO that applies to 7000ha Zona de Produccion
  • PX from Montilla may also carry this label if matured within Zona de Crianza for Sherry

DO Manzanilla – Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- Wines matured in a special coastal Zona de Crianza

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4
Q

How is the Zona de Produccion divided?

A

Jerez Superior - better sites on albariza soil, 90% of plantings
Jerez Zona

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5
Q

What is a pago?

A

A small delimited area within the main DO - aspect, location, soils are thought to produce wines of differing quality

Producers currently cannot name a pago on the label

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6
Q

Describe the soils in Jerez

A

Albariza - limestone, silica, clay

  • Water retention from the clay
  • Forms a crush when dry which further helps retention
  • Allows for higher density planting and yield (70hL/ha)

Barros - higher clay content

Arenas - sandy

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7
Q

Why are unusually high yields possible in Jerez?

A
  1. Albariza retains water well so planting high density is possible despite dry, hot climate
  2. Sherry doesn’t require the same flavour concentration as most flavour via maturation
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8
Q

Describe the characteristics of Palomino

A
  • Principal variety used in all styles of sherry - 99% of production
  • Mid-late ripening
  • Suited to dry, sunny weather and yields well
  • Loses acidity quickly
  • Neutral flavour
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9
Q

Describe the characteristics of Moscatel

A
  • Sweet wines - <1% production by vol
  • Grows best on sandy soil
  • Late ripening
  • Suited to heat, drought
  • Aromatic - grape, blossom
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10
Q

Describe the characteristics of Pedro Ximenez

A
  • Makes sweet wines or used as sweeting agent - <1% of production
  • Small, thin-skinned berries and accumulate sugar and are then sun-dried
  • Neutral
  • May be grown in Cordoba and shipped to Zona de Produccion as fresh/raisined grapes or as young wine
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11
Q

How are vineyards pruned trained and trellised? How and why is that changing?

A

Traditional
- Replacement cane pruning + VSP

Modern
- Cordon trained and spur pruned + VSP to allow for more mechanisation

VSP keeps canopy open + easy to mechanism but still allows some shading

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12
Q

How is high-density planting achieved in terms of vine spacing?

A

Intra-row spacing is tight - just over 1m

Inter-row spacing remains wide enough for a tractor

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13
Q

What is the yield generally achieved?

A

60-70 hL/ha (max is 80)

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14
Q

How is the soil worked to improve its water retention?

A

Aserpia - small troughs cut down each row to catch the rain even on the slopes, labour intensive and usually done mechanically

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15
Q

What is the benefit of the 13-5 EVEX rootstock?

A

Tolerant of limestone soils (prevents chlorosis) and drought and gives good yields

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16
Q

What diseases and pest pressures exist in Jerez? How do growers deal with them?

A

Mildew - after humid spring weather
–> VSP to keep canopy open, spray systemic fungicide

European grapevine moth
–> Pheromone traps

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17
Q

When does harvest take place for different areas / grapes and why?

A
  • Inland: first week of August
  • Coastal: 2nd week of September

Harvest as early as possible…

a) to avoid rot
b) avoid loss of acidity esp in Palomino

PX and Moscatel tend to be harvested later to allow sugars to accumulate - makes process of drying easier and faster too

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18
Q

Describe the state of the Palomino grapes when harvested?

A

12% potential ABV

TA 5 g/L / pH 3.3-3.5

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19
Q

What % of grapes are harvested at night / early morning and why?

A

60% by volume to reduce oxidation and spoilage

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20
Q

Describe how the wines are handled between reception and pressing at the winery.

A

Pressed on arrival, skin-contact not desirable due to phenolic inhibiting flor growth

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21
Q

How are the different press fractions used and why?

A

Free-run juice - biologically aged wine

First Pressing (Primera yema) - biologically aged wines 
--> Due to low phenolic content

Later Pressing - non-biologically aged wines e.g. Oloroso

Final Pressing - Other products e.g. wine to season barrels

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22
Q

Is Oloroso always made from later pressings?

A

Not always - free run and first pressings make up 60-75% of yield so producers may also use free-run if they make a lot of Oloroso

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23
Q

Why does the must need to be clarified before ferment?

A

Dusty albariza soil can get into the must - clarification by cold settling, centrifugation or flotation

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24
Q

Describe the fermentation process for sherries (4)

A
  1. Must from different vineyards fermented separately to give winemakers blending options
  2. Cultured yeast around 22-26c to ferment quickly to dryness - most flavour from maturation so loss of volatile aroma compounds not a concern
  3. Ferment in two phases a) quick and vigorous ~7 days b) slow ~2 weeks
  4. Mainly fermented in stainless steel but old oak may be used for body
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25
Q

Is malo allowed / disallowed? Why / why not? (2)

A
  1. Acidity already low

2. Buttery flavours are undesirable

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26
Q

How is malo blocked and why?

A

Chilling the must - adding SO2 whould impact flor development of bio aged wines

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27
Q

What is the First Classification?

A

After 1st ferment, batches are analysed and sent for either bio or oxidative ageing

Bio aged based wines will be lighter-bodied and less intensely flavoured –> fortified to 15.15.5%

Oxidatively aged wines will be fuller-bodied and more intensely flavoured –> fortified to 17%

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28
Q

What is used to fortify sherry?

A

95% grape spirit without aroma or flavour

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29
Q

Describe the sobretabla and second classification system

A

Wines stored in stainless steel or wooden barrels for a few months

Second Classification –> only for bio aged wines

  • Wines that have developed a flor will be made in Fino/Manz
  • Less delicate wines marked as potential Amontillado
  • Full-bodied and intensely flavour marked as potential Palo Cortado
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30
Q

Where can sherry be matured? (4)

A

Three designated areas called Zona de Crianza

  1. Jerez de la Frontera
  2. El Puerto de Santa Maria
  3. Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barrameda (Manzanilla must be matured here)
  4. Moscatel may be matured in Chipiona and Chiclana de Frontera
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31
Q

What vessels is sherry typically matured in?

A

Old wooden vessels

  • Commonly 600L American oak barrels
  • American oak cheaper than French, brought back on ships from Americas
  • No oak flavours contributed
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32
Q

How is a traditional bodega built to provide optimal conditions for maturing sherry?

A
  1. Thick walls - insulation
  2. High ceilings - allows warm air to rise
  3. Butts piled no more than 4 high - keeps away from warm air
  4. Open windows facing west - allow cool damp SW winds to entire - cools and increases humidity
  5. Earth floor - wetted to reduce temp and increase humidity
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33
Q

Is flor able to grow at all times of year?

A

No - temperature fluctuations still occur

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34
Q

What is a solera and what is its purpose?

A

A fractional blending system to maintain consistency and quality every year

35
Q

What is a criadera?

A

A group of barrels with wine from the same age in each

The oldest level is called a “solera”, the 2nd oldest is the “1st criadera” and the next oldest the “2nd criadera” and so on

36
Q

Briefly explained the key rules of how a solera is operated (4)

A
  1. Remove no more than 40% of the wine from a solera each year
  2. Wine must be at least two years old before being bottled
  3. Empty each barrel equally and blend the wines together before refilling the next levels
  4. Wine moves from sobretabla through to solera over time
37
Q

Must wines be taken from the solera to be bottled?

A

No - wine may be taken from earlier tiers e.g. inexpensive wine may come from 4/5th criadera with a bit of 1st criadera blended for complexity

38
Q

What other ways can you blend using the solera system?

A
  • Wines from two different solera systems may be blended before bottling
  • Wine from one solera may be fed into another for further maturation e.g. biological wine fed into a oxidative solera to make Amontillado
39
Q

What is flor?

A

Four strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae found on the grape skins and in the bodegas

40
Q

What conditions does flor need to survive and grow?

A
  1. Max ABV 15.5% - although it feeds on alcohol
  2. Low levels of SO2
  3. Oxygen - sherry buts left 85/90% full with loose bungs
  4. Temperature 16-20c
  5. Humidity >65%
41
Q

How does flor impact the wine?

A
  1. Protects from oxidation - wine remains pale lemon
  2. Consumes alcohol and produces acetaldehyde (apple skin, bruised apple, hay, chamomile, bitter)
  3. Consumes glycerol - lighter body, dry sensation
  4. Reduce acetic acid levels
42
Q

How does the nature of the flor differ and what impact does that have on the wine?

A

The prevalence of each of the four strains differs by region, bodega and stage of solera

Influences amount of alcohol consumed and acetaldehyde produced

43
Q

How does dead yeast impact the style of the wine?

A

Dead yeast gives savoury, nutty flavours from autolysis

44
Q

How does the solera system help keep the flor alive?

A

Young wine is rich in alcohol, glycerol and acetic acid which the flor feeds on to survive

45
Q

Why are smaller proportions of wine removed from the solera more frequently for finos / manzas cf other types of sherry?

A
  1. To avoid reducing the nutrients levels for the flor too much
  2. To keep the wine fresher when it reaches the point of sale
46
Q

How does oxidative ageing impact a wine? (8)

A
  1. Colour - lemon –> gold –> amber –> brown
  2. ABV increases - water evaporates faster from barrel
  3. Volume decreases - rate of 3-5% per year
  4. Glycerol levels rises –> fuller body - due to evap of water
  5. Aroma/flavour concentration increases - due to evap of water
  6. Tertiary aromas develop e.g. caramel and nuts
  7. Acetaldehyde decreases slightly
  8. Acetic and ethyl acetate (VA) increase slightly
47
Q

How are sherries generally finished?

A
  1. Most tartrate stabilised (often via contact process)
  2. Fined and filtered - esp important to remove flor where present or it will develop once bottle is opened
  3. Cork, cork stopper or screw cap
48
Q

Where must sherries be bottled?

A

Within the three sherry towns

49
Q

How much RS can a dry style of sherry have?

A

Max 5 g/L

50
Q

Describe the style of wine labelled Fino or Manzanilla

A
  • Pale lemon
  • Dry
  • Light - med body
  • Low acid
  • Low alcohol (15-15.5%)
  • Acetaldehyde (bruised apple, apple skin), bread dough, almonds
  • Good - outstanding
  • Inexpensive - super-premium
51
Q

How must F/M be aged?

A

Entire time under flor

52
Q

What is Manzanilla? Where does it need to be matured? Why is it different from Fino?

A
  • Matured exclusively in Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda
  • Maritime climate means temp more stable and supports thicker layer of flor throughout the year (doesn’t thin in summer and winter)
  • More protection from oxygen
  • Unique stain of flor - produces less acetaldehyde
  • -> Fresher and lighter
53
Q

Why are only small volumes of Manzanilla bottled and released but on a frequent basis?

A

Thick layer of flor needs good supply of nutrients to survive

Winemakers do not want to remove large amounts of young wines from their soleras so will do so in incremental amounts

54
Q

What is Manzanilla Pasada?

A

Manz with short period of oxidative ageing

Flor allowed to die by not refreshing barrels with new wine for a year

Wines on average a couple of years older

If ageing continues, they come more like Amon

55
Q

What is Amontillado?

A
  • Bio and oxidative ageing
  • Fino solera, refortified to 17% to kill flor, matured oxidatively in Amon solera
  • Cheap Amon uses more wine from young bio criadera, expensive Amon uses older wines from bio with greater complexity
  • Good to outstanding
  • Prices range from mid-priced to super-premium
56
Q

What is Palo Cortado?

A
  • “aromas like an Amontillado, but a palate more similar to Oloroso, due to oxidative ageing once the initial film of flor has disappeared”
  • Dry <5g/L
  • ABV 17-22%
  • Fuller bodied and less acetaldehyde aromas - less time spend bio ageing and more glycerol
  • But no stipulations on winemaking and maturation
  • Very good - outstanding
  • Mid-priced - premium
57
Q

What is the most common way for PC to be made?

A
  • Fino which has undergone years in solera
  • 2nd classification: wines that are more complex, less delicate, mild oxidation due to thinner flor
  • Added to PC solera where they age oxidatively
  • Generally less time bio ageing than Amon
58
Q

What is Oloroso?

A
  • Fortified to 17% ABV and aged oxidatively
  • Brown
  • Aromas of toffee, walnut
  • Younger Oloroso - inexpensive & acceptable - good
  • Older Oloroso - premium & very good - premium
59
Q

What does ‘En Rama’ mean?

A

Generally - no fining or filtration
Wines for export - some fining with large pore size to catch flor may be used
No legal definition
Wines are generally more intense and complex with higher prices

60
Q

How are naturally sweet sherries produced?

A
  • Grapes dried in sun for 2-3 days - raisin aromas
  • Fermentation stops at 4-6% due to high sugar content
  • Fortified to 15-16%
  • Matured oxidatively - evap concentrates sugar and flavours further
61
Q

Describe sherry made with PX

A
  • Minimum RS of 212 g/L, may have 450-500 g/L
  • Low acidity, full body, syrupy
  • Raisins, molasses, liquorice
  • Inexpensive - premium
  • Good - outstanding
62
Q

Describe sherry made with Moscatel

A
  • Minimum RS of 160 g/L, tend to have 325-375 g/L
  • Either oxidatively or non-oxidatively aged
  • Inexpensive - premium
  • Good - outstanding
63
Q

Outline the difference between cheap and premium sherries sweetened sherry.

A

Inexpensive - young wines, sweetened just before bottling

Premium - sweetened wine matured further in its own solera system

64
Q

How are sweetened sherries made?

A

Palomino fermented until dry, fortified, aged and then sweetened using sweet sherry or RCGM

65
Q

What is Pale Cream sherry?

A
  • Biologically aged and sweetened with RCGM - adds no colour or flavour
  • Subtle flor character which has been diluted by RCGM
  • Med sweet - sweet
  • Inexpensive
  • Acceptable - good quality
66
Q

What is Medium sherry?

A
  • Both bio and oxidative characteristics
  • Sweetened with PX
  • Off-dry - sweet
  • Cheap - premium
  • Acceptable - outstanding
67
Q

What is Cream sherry?

A
  • Oxidative characteristics
  • Sweetened with PX
  • Sweet
  • Cheap - premium
  • Acceptable - outstanding
68
Q

What often differentiates cheap and premium medium and cream sherries?

A

Use of younger wines vs high % of well-matured Amon, Oloroso, PX

69
Q

Outline the age categories for sherry

A

Age Statements - 12/15 years - average age
VOS - Vinum Optimum Sigantum - >20 years average age
VORS - Vinum Optimum Rare Sigantum - >30years average age

70
Q

How are age statement sherries assessed?

A

Tasting panel for typicity and lab analysis for evidence of age

For VOS and VORS every batch is tested

For 12/15 yr testing is once per year

71
Q

Which types of sherry are eligible for age statements?

A

Amontillado
Palo Cortado
Oloroso
PX

72
Q

Why may some sweet wine be blended into age-statement sherries?

A

Old, dry sherries can taste astringent so blending for balance

Cannot mask original dry wine as judged by a tasting panel

73
Q

Describe the structure of the sherry industry

A

~7000ha with average vineyard of <3ha

Shippers own 30%, growers own 30%, co-ops own 40%

Even shippers with largest holdings buy from growers too

74
Q

Sherry production companies are registered under which three categories?

A

Bodegas de la Zona de Producción (Production Bodega)

Bodegas de Crianza y Almacenado (Ageing and Storage Bodega)

Bodegas de Crianza y Expedición (Ageing and Shipping Bodega)

75
Q

What is a Bodegas de la Zona de Producción?

A
  • Press grapes and ferment must in base wine
  • Must be in the sherry production zone
  • Company often owned by one of the other company types
  • May produce own wine independently but cannot use the sherry DOs
76
Q

What is a Bodegas de Crianza y Almacenado?

A
  • Almacenistas mature wine
  • Must be located in the Zona de Crianza
  • Relatively small volumes
  • Wine must be sold to a shipper
77
Q

What is a Bodegas de Crianza y Expedición?

A
  • Only register allowed to sell and export sherry DOs
  • Must be located in Zona de Crianza
  • May age wine either from Production or ageing register
  • Wine may be sold under its own brand or labelled with the name of the almancenistas
78
Q

Why have almacenistas fallen into decline and how was the Conseho Regulador acted to help them?

A

Decline in sherry sales meant shipper used own stocks and stopped buying from almacenistas

1996 CR reduced minimum stock for shippers from 12,500hL to 500hL so that the surviving almacenistas could become shippers

79
Q

What is the role of the Consejo Regulador?

A
  • Registers vineyard and sets max yield
  • Sets min ABV for base wines
  • Oversees rotation of stock in bodegas
  • Verifies authenticity of age statement sherry
  • Marketing of region e.g. International Sherry Week and courses for wine pros
80
Q

What did the Consejo Regulador successfully campaign for in the 1990s?

A

For the term sherry to apply exclusively to fortified wine from the sherry triangle rather than being used as a generic term for fortified wine made with white grapes

81
Q

What has happened to sales volumes of sherry in recent decades?

A

Decline from peak of 150m litres in late 1970s to 34m litres in 2016

  • Sales of sweetened sherry has declined particularly quickly
  • Fino sales have also decreased but Manzanilla has remained stable (most consumed domestically)
82
Q

What are the major markets for sherry and which style are most popular?

A

Spain - largest market, Fino/Manz are most popular
UK - largest export market, sweet sherry, 97% of Pale Cream sold to UK
Holland
Germany
US

83
Q

What positive trends have occurred in the last decade?

A
  • Increased in sales of premium-priced sherries driven by hospo (sherry used in cocktails) and young drinkers
  • Unfortified wines in range of style from youthful to bio aged, to oxidative

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