2. Sherry Flashcards
Where is Sherry made?
In the area around the city of Jerez in Andalusia.
Sherry - history
- Rule of the Phoenicians - growing grapes and producing wines;
- Period of Moorish rule from the 8th to the 13th centuries - wine consumption was
prohibited, but vineyards and wine production continued. - Christian rule in the 13th century - both domestic consumption and exports grew rapidly as English,
Irish and Flemish traders began to ship the wines. - After Christopher Columbus had discovered
America from his base in Andalusía - large volumes of Sherry were also shipped to America. - A number of events including the Peninsular Wars and then the plague of phylloxera
devastated the industry, yet in calmer periods, several successful shipping businesses were
established. - Late 19th and early 20th centuries - popularity of Sherry - other countries began to produce their own, often poor- quality, ‘Sherries’.
- In 1933 - Spain’s first wine-related Regulatory Council, the Consejo Regulador, was formed, setting regulations to control the production and trading of Sherry wines.
- During the Second World War - Sherry sales fell.
- The decades following - sales recovered and reached their peak in the 1970s, with shipments reaching 1.5 million hL in 1979.
- The following decade - this figure halvedas younger generations of consumers sought out different styles of wines. The fall in demand resulted in a surplus of
Sherry, largely formed of cheap and low quality wines.
Ruiz Mateos S.A., also known as Rumasa, was one business that played a key part in
these fluctuations of Sherry production and sells.
Explain how he contributed to the negative impact in the Sherry Industry.
What´s the solution?
Ruiz Mateos S.A. (Rumasa) started as an almacenista
before starting to ship its own Sherry in 1950.
It soon began to supply Harveys of Bristol with
wine for their brands and became a major supplier for their Bristol Cream, through which it
accumulated considerable wealth (built a business empire, taking over not only a number of Sherry bodegas but also other businesses such as hotels
and banks).
Late 1970s - it dominated the Sherry industry, and through consolidation of production facilities, drove down prices; a tactic that would negatively impact the Sherry industry for decades to come. In 1983, the government nationalised Rumasa claiming that
it owed millions in unpaid taxes. Its Sherry bodegas were sold causing a substantial rise in unemployment and social unrest. In addition, a large number of other bodegas closed or were sold and merged as they were unable to sustain themselves in a marked burdened with large quantities of low-quality wines and a market that was based on inexpensive brands. In these difficult times, brands changed ownership multiple times.
Since this time, the Consejo Regulador has been working hard in the following years to
bring vineyard plantings, stock levels and sales back into balance, and to promote the quality
of Sherry
The Growing Environment and Grape Growing
LOCATION AND CLIMAT
Where is Jerez located?
In Andalusía in southern Spain at low latitude (36°) and with low altitude (0–90 metres
above sea level).
The Growing Environment and Grape Growing
LOCATION AND CLIMAT
How is Jerez climate? How does it influence on the grape maturation and wine?
With influences from the Atlantic Ocean, Jerez has a hot Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, relatively rainy winters. The Atlantic also brings a cool, damp wind called the poniente that provides a cooling, humid influence in the summer. However, the levante, a hot, drying wind from north Africa, can
make the climate more arid. This can cause grapes to transpire more quickly, concentrating the sugars. Too much sugar can be a negative because it may become difficult to ferment the wine to dryness, which is particularly problematic for the development of the flor yeast that is integral to the style of some Sherry wines.
A high number of cloud-free days therefore sunlight hours in the growing season are high, helping to give fully ripe grapes but also meaning that without
sufficient shading, grapes can easily become sunburnt.
The Growing Environment and Grape Growing
LOCATION AND CLIMAT
Where the grapes for Sherry must come from?
What´s the exception?
From the delimited area of around 7,000 hectares known as the Zona de Producción or Marco de Jerez.
Grapes grown in this zone can either be used
for DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or DO Manzanilla – Sanlúcar de Barrameda (or the denomination of
origin for Sherry vinegar).
There is one exception to this rule: the grape variety, Pedro Ximénez (PX), can be grown around Montilla (within Andalusía, in the mountains above
Malaga, but outside the Zona de Producción) but matured in the Zona de Crianza (see Wine
Law and Wine Business) and still be labelled as DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry.
The Growing Environment and Grape Growing
LOCATION AND CLIMAT
What are the 2 parts of the Zona de Producción of Jerez?
What’s the other area that Jerez is also divided?
The Zona de Producción is split into two parts: Jerez Superior and Jerez Zona. Jerez
Superior is thought to be made up of the better vineyard sites, all located on albariza soil, and
makes up over 90 per cent of the plantings.
The vineyards of Jerez are also divided into smaller delimited areas called pagos. Each is
thought to produce wines with different characteristics than the others, a function of factors
such as aspect, location, small differences in soil etc. Legislation to allow producers to name a
pago on their wine labels is currently under discussion.
SOILS
What is Albariza? How does it contribute for the planting density, yields and grape maturation in Jerez?
Albariza is the key soil in Jerez. It’s a mixture of limestone, silica and clay.
The clay means that albariza is very effective at retaining and gradually releasing water from winter rainfall, vital in a region that is very dry during the growing season. The albariza also forms a crust when dry which is helpful in reducing evaporation from the soil surface.
The ability of the albariza to retain water
means that higher planting densities and yields are possible in Jerez (average 70 hL/ha) than in other regions in Spain with hot, dry climates (where low-density bush vines are required if irrigation is not used). High yields are also possible as grapes for Sherry do not need to have the same concentration of flavours as grapes for unfortified wines; most of the flavour comes
through the maturation process.
The light colour of the albariza soil also means that it reflects light back into the vine canopy aiding the ripening of the grapes.
SOILS
What are the other soils of Jerez region?
Barros - greater clay content.
Arenas - sandy.
In practice the vast majority of vines are planted on the albariza.
GRAPE VARIETIES
What are the grape varieties in Jerez region?
Palomino
Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
Pedro Ximénez (PX)
GRAPE VARIETIES
Palomino
Palomino (also called Palomino Fino and Listán) is the principal variety, used in all dry and sweetened styles of Sherry. It accounts for almost 99 per cent of production by volume. It is mid to late ripening, well-suited to dry, sunny weather, and capable of producing large yields.
However, it loses acidity quickly when it nears maturity. It is also a neutral variety and therefore
does not tend to add much of its own primary aromas to Sherry wines.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
Moscatel accounts for less than one per cent of production by volume. It is sometimes called
Moscatel de Chipiona after the coastal town of Chipiona, around which it is mainly grown,
generally on sandy arenas soils. It is late ripening and well adapted to heat and drought.
In contrast to Palomino, it is an aromatic grape (grape, blossom). It is generally used to produce
sweet fortified wines of the same name.
GRAPE VARIETIES
Pedro Ximenez (PX)
PX is also used for the production of sweet fortified wines called PX or Pedro Ximénez, and
as a sweetening agent. Its small, thin-skinned grapes accumulate high levels of sugar and are
then traditionally dried in the sun to further concentrate that sugar. It is a neutral variety and
therefore its flavours mainly come from the drying and maturing processes. Legislation permits
for it to be grown in the Montilla district in the province of Córdoba and shipped into the Zona
de Producción either as fresh or raisined grapes or more likely as young wine. As for Moscatel,
PX represents less than one per cent of production by volume.
VINEYARD MANAGEMENT
Why the Sherry vineyards are in the process of being transformed?
Mainly to accommodate mechanisation of all the annual tasks including pruning, harvesting and soil management.
VINEYARD MANAGEMENT
What was the principal training system? What are the new ones?
The principal training system used to be replacement cane pruning, here called ‘vara y pulgar’.
However, an increasing number of vineyards are now cordon trained (single or double) and spur pruned which is more suitable for mechanisation. VSP trellising ensures the canopy remains open and arranged for easy mechanisation, although some shading of the bunches is needed to prevent sunburn. While within-row spacing can be quite tight (just over 1m),
between-row spacing is wide enough to allow tractors to pass.
