Andalucia Flashcards
How long has Andalucía been inhabited
25,000 yrs
Cave paintings
Where was Tartessus
Mythical trading port of Phoenicians
Could be Huelva
why did Malaga benefit from New World
Trading port
Royal decree gave residents land and mountains to plant vines
Who was Christopher Columbus where did he leave from
Explorer of New World
Left from Huelva 1492
Ferdinand Magellan - who was he and when did he leave Seville
Explorer
Left Sevilla 1519
Finding gold and western route to Indonesia
with Sherry
Criaderas y soleras
Solera system
18c
Managing surplus harvest
Fractional blending and aging
Fortified wine became stable for transport => SWEET WINES BECAME DRY
What was La Estacion de Jerez in 1854
First railway between Jerez and El Puorto
What is Tapa
Tapar = to cover or top
13c King Alfonso
covered plate from wind in Cadiz
or Seville covered to keep off flies
What is the Location of Andlalucia and its capital
N= Extremadura and La Mancha
E= Murcia
S= Med and Gibralter
W= Portugal and Atlantic
8 Provinces
Capital = Sevilla
Climate
Mediterranean with continental and maritime influences
Rainfall in winter
Azores high
Highest temp in mainland Spain
How does coastal climate differ from inland
Less extreme
What winds are there
Levante - hot dry wind from east (try to stop for sherry)
Poniente - cool humid winds from west (evening sea breeze)
Encourage flor
Rainfall
Can be driest and wettest areas
Topography - mountains
North= Sierra Morena
South=Sistema Betico - 3 Cordilleras (Prebetica, Subbetica, Penibetica)
Highest peak= Pico de Mulhacen 3,500m in Granada
Topography - rivers
5 to Atlantic
Odiel
Tinto
Guadalete
Guadalquiver
Barbate
5 to Med
Guadiro, Guadalhorche, Guadalfeo, Andrax, Alamazora
Soils
Diverse
Albaziria for Sherry
otherwise limestone and clay
Arenas= Sandy
Borros= Clay
Shallow on Morena Mtns, Deeper in Sistema Betico
Albariza
White
Rich in chalk and limestone
Reflects sunlight
Stores water
DO JXS and MSB 90%
DO MM = albero
Grape varieties - name the main grapes for Sherry, Other white and Red
For sherry and sweet wines
Palomino Fino
Pedro Ximenez
Moscatel
Other whites
PX
Vijiregio
Reds
Tempranillo
Garnacha Tinta
International
Chardonnay SB
Cab S and Merlot
Viti
1200m
En vaso
or Espaldera
Hand harvesting
Pruned Vara y Pulgar (shoot (Pulgar (thumb) supported along to Vara (stick)
When was Sherry first made
Planted in Jerez 1000BC
Moors labelled area Sherish - previously known as Ceret by the Romans
13c Exported and traded with English wool
1483 Regulations
Increased trade with UK
18c surplus => solera
Phylloxera => more careful replanting
Bota
Sherry barrel
What is sack
English word for sherry
sacar= to take out
Francis Drake stole 3,000 barrels from Cadiz 1587
Which grapes are used for Sherry and what do they add
Palomino Fino = main grape blank canvas
PX= Sweetness from full ripeining
Moscatel= sweetness
What is the main features of ‘Sherry architecture’?
High (15m)
Thick walls
Albero (absorbent sand) floor covering to regulate humidity
Large windows open at night
Rectangular on NE/SW axis for winds
Zapatos de Pisar
Hob nailed boots used in crushing
Base wine components
1 Primera yema- freerun - light, pale => Fino
2 Segunda yema - pneumatic press - more colour and tannin=> Oloroso
3 Mosto prensa - last press, coarse and inelegant +> distillation
Fermentation
Primera and Segunda separately in SS
Sometimes use old 600l wooden butts
Palomino ferments to dry (11-12%)
Sweet sherry - fermentation of must halted by addition of spirit
Indigenous yeast used
Classification of Sherry
Pale, fine => Fino or Manzanilla (/) => flor aging
Structure => Oloroso (o) => direct oxidisation
What is Mitad y mitad
Mitad = half
50:50 mixture distilled grape juice and sherry
Used to fortify sherry
Fino and Manzanilla = 15-15.5%
Oloroso = > 17% (so no flor)
What would be the characteristics for a classification of sherry must
Free-run juice
Grown in albariza
Old vines
Hygiene and care
Look at colour, intensity and aroma
Sobretabla
Intermediate stage from fortification to solera
3 months in barrel
May be reclassified after tasting
- if not developed properly
What yeast develops the flor
Saccharomyces beticus
What are the conditions for developing flor
Temp cool and stable
Bodega closed
Floor watered
What is the age of flor
12-18 months
What can kill flor
Age
Fortification to 17% (Oloroso)
How is oloroso aged
Direct contact with air in barrel
No flor as over 17%
Oxidisation
Colour and aromas develop
Evaporation increases abv (up to 22% max)
May be aged outside in sun
Raya
Butt with lighter Oloroso
Aged in sun
Often blended with sweetening agents => dessert sherry
What are the 4 definitions of solera
1 Vertical stacking of casks - same wine different vintages
2 word for floor from Latin ‘solum’ Sp suelo - bottom layer of casks
3 Dynamic ageing system which blends younger with older wines
4 Fractional blending and aging system for ‘house style’
How is a solera organised?
Top = Sobretablas
Then tiers of barrels =Criaderas (nurseries) (range from 3 to 20+)
Then Bottom layer = Solera
What size of barrel is generally used in a solera
600l
What is Rocio Saca
Flow of a solera tier to one below??
Sac meaning to draw out
What wood is generally used for Sherry Butts
American Oak
What is another name for a Sherry Barrel
Bodega Butt
How filled are barrels in a solera
5/6ths full
How are soleras tiered
This can vary
Age (youngest on top)
Type (Fino best on cooler bottom)
How are the barrels identified in solera
Elaborate system of barrel marking
Which are moved (worked) more often - fino or oloroso
Fino
To replenish the flor’s food supply. New acid and alcohol added with fresh sherry
What is the maximum of the final solera that is removed for bottling each year
1/3rd
(replaced by a similar amount from the 1st (oldest) cridera and similarly from the next oldest and so on…
What is ‘running the scales’
Amount run off for bottling is replaced by a similar amount from the 1st (oldest) cridera and similarly from the next oldest and so on…
What is lost during aging for an oloroso and a fino
Oloroso will lose water (through evaporation) and increase abv
Fino will lose water, acid and alcohol (consumed by flor) and needs re-fortifying to 15% abv
How are sherried ‘finished’
After aging and blending, they can be blended with sweetning agents, sweeter wines or colouring wines
What is Vinos Generosos
Dry sherries in Jerez
That have been biologically and/or oxidatvely aged
Fino => Oloroso
Palomino grape
Sherry area DO JXS
Aged in Sherry Triangle (Zona de Crianza)
What is Vino generosos de licor
Dry sherry blended to make sweet
What is Vinos de Color
Colour wine
Used to deepen the pigment of wines
What is arrope
Dark syrup obtained by heating grape must over a slow fire until 1/5th of volume
added to Palomino Fino must in 1:3 ratio
Sweetens and colours
creates vinos de colour
arrope — a syrup used for sweetening wine in Spain, especially sherry, made by boiling down and thus concentrating unfermented grape juice.
What are the 5 main Dry SherryTypes
1 Fino
2 Manzanilla
3 Amontillado
4 Pale Cortado
5 Oloroso
What are the characteristics of Fino
Vinos Gernerosos
Fortified
Dry
Bioloical aging under flor
Pale
Fresh dough, almonds
Light and elegant = Fine
What are the characteristics of Manzanilla
Vinos Generosos
Dry
Fortified
Palomino grape
Biological aging
Produced in Sanlucar de Barrameda
Aromatic and light
Chamomile= (manzanilla), almonds, salty
What are the characteristics of Amontillado
Vinos Generosos
Dry
Fortified
Palomino grape
Starts as biologically aged Fino but if flor dies then is re-fortified and ages in direct contact with air
Dark, nutty, cashews, hazelnut, tobacco
What are the characteristics of Palo Cortado
Vinos Generosos
Rare
Dry
Palomino grape
Fortified after Sobretabla stage to over 17%
Oxidative aging
Note= removed from flor before Amontillado
Aroma and elegance of Amontillado
Flavour, colour and body of Oloroso
Traditionally only naturually made - now can be ‘created’
What are the characteristics of an Oloroso
Vinos Generosos
Dry
Palomino grape
Fortified to min 17%
Oxidative aging
Dark, full flavour
Walnuts, toast, balsamic
What is a En Ramas Sherry
Natural
Only lightly filtered
No clarification
Natural yeasts
Biologically aged
“On the Branch”
What is a Vinos Dulces Naturales
Naturally Sweet Sherry
Moscatel of Alexandria or PX
Fermentation halted by additionof grape spirit
Then aged oxidatively
What is a Vinos Generosos de Licor
Blend of Dry and Naturally sweet sherries
Also known as Cream
What are the characteristics of Moscatel (de Alexandria)
Vinos Dulces Naturales
Naturally sweet wine
>85% overripe grapes
Fermentation halted by addition of grape spirit
Amber to mahogany
Orange blossom and honey
Sometimes blended with PX or arope to darken
What are the characteristics of Pedro Ximenez PX
Vinos Dulces Naturales
Naturally sweet wine
>85% overripe or sun dried PX
Fermentation halted by addition of grape spirit
Vinified in DO MM then taken to Jerez to mature (therfore Sherry)
Lucious, sweet, very dark,
Intense figs, raisins, dried fruits,
Sweetest wines of world resid sugar 40%
What is Cabeceo
Blend of Dry and Naturally sweet sherries
Also known as Cream
Vinos Generosos de Licor
What is RCGM
Rectified Concentrated Grape Must
Clear
Odourless
Sugar solution
Derived from grape must
Used in shery to add sweetness without altering colour, flavour, aroma
What is a ‘Dry’ Sherry
Vinos Generosos de Licor
Fino or Manzanilla blended with RCGM
Sweetness adjusted to <4.5%
Pale yellow, almonds
‘Pale’ or ‘Pale Dry’
What is a Pale Cream Sherry
Vinos Generosos de Licor
Blended Fino and Manzanilla
Sweetness 4.5-11.5%
Pale gold
Bread and hazelnuts
What is a Medium Sherry
Vinos Generosos de licor
Amontillado blended with Moscatel, PX or RCGM
Sweetness 0.5-11.5%
Golden
Can be Med Dry or Med Sweet
Also Golden, Abocado, Amoroso, Brown, Milk and/or Rich
What is Abocado
=destined
Spanish for medium sweet. According to European Union labelling regulations, semiseco is the official Spanish term.
What is Amaroso
Sherry Term
Medium Sweet
What is Cream Sherry
Vinos Generosos de Licor
Blended oxidatevely aged wine (Oloroso) with PX
Sweetness 11.5-14%
Dark mahogany
Intense walnut and dried fruits
What are Vinos de Vejez Calificada
Sherry wines of a certified age
Only Amontillado, Oloroso, Pale Cortado and PX
Age applies to wine in the bottle (rather than solera age)
Eg 20 year solera with no new wine for 15 years => 35 yrs old
What are Vinos con Indicacion de Edad
Sherry wines with Indication of Age
Can apply to Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado and PX
Age applies to entire system inc solera
12 years or 15 years
Does not apply to Fino or Manzanilla
What does the term VOS mean
Vinum Optimum Signatum
Very Old Sherry
Average age more than 20 years
Orange label
What does the term VORS mean
Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum
Very Old Rare Sherry
Average age more than 30 years
Pink label
What is Anada
Vintage Sherry
Only Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado may qualify
From specific years harvestt
Not part of solera system
Stoppered barrels sealed and monitored by Consejo
What are the characteristics of East India Sherry
Produced by Lustau
Style of cream sherries travelling to Indies in 17c
Rocking in hot humid condiitions
Oloroso and PX separate soleras for 12 years
Blended and retrned to 45 cask solera for 3 years aging
DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry and DO Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda
Awarded 1933/1964 - share same Consejo
100% Generoso
Albariza soil; barros and arenas
620mm
100m
6,989 ha combined
Palomino Fino, Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel
3,000 yr history
9 towns
What is Vino Naranja
Aromatised sweet wine
Huelva
Neutral grape spirit plus bitter orange rinds for 6/12
Clarified, filtered and added to sun dried grape must
Aged for 2 years in solera
What is the main area of DO JXS and into which 3 sections can it be subdivided
Marco de Jerez
1 Zona de Produccion - albarizia, arenas, barros
- Jerez Superior (part of 1) only albarizia
3 Zona de crianza - only area where sherry may be aged and labelled
What are the characteristics of DO Malaga
1933
100% Dulce
Limestone
Med climate
1000m
996ha
PX and Moscatel +
Long history of sweet wines
overripe grapes plus neutral grape spirit
Almost all PX but some indiginous grapes max 30%
5 subzones -
Axarquia - Moscatel, steep terraces most important
Montes de Malaga - national park, PX and moscatel
Norte - extreme temps PX
Manilva - humid, Moscatel
Ronda - still wines
What is Pajarete
DO Malaga
Also Pxarette
Fortified sweet wine
dried/overripe PX or Moscatel
Fermented and aged in oak barrels for min 2yrs
4.5- 14% sweetness
Brown, dried figs
What are the characteristics of DO Montilla-Moriles
Sweet PX
1945
Blanco 54%, Other 46% (Generoso, dolce)
Best Albero soil = albariza Mont and Mor
Other - Ruedos=sandy/clay
600m
Med climate
5025 ha
Near Cordoba
Mostly PX
2 rivers - Guadajoz and Genil
17 towns
Made in similar way to sherry
Air dried - solera or asoldea
Fermented in tinaja
Criaderas y soleras for min 2 yrs
v sweet
What is a Tinaja
Large earthenware vessel
6,000-10,000 litres
DO MM
used now for aging
Soleo or Asoleado
Process where grapes are dried on straw mats in DO Montillo-Morilles
Concentrates sugars
Doubles potential alcohol
The ‘Vinos con indicacion de Edad’ category applies to which 4 sherry types
Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, PX
NOT Manzanilla or Fino
Which are the 2 primary grapes for vono dolce production in DO Malaga
PX and Moscatel
What is the minimum average age of a ‘Vinum Optimum Signatum (VOS) sherry
20 yrs
What is the name of the sandy top soil atop clay subsoil in DO Montilla-Morilles
Ruedos
What is the term for a Fino/Manzanilla with RCGM added creating sweetness between 4.5-11.5%
Pale cream
Is alcohollic fermentation of base sherry wines typically carried out b indigenous or cultured yeasts
Indiginous
What is albariza soil called in DO Montilla-Moriles
Albero
What is the Spanish word for ‘chamomile’
Manzanilla
Sherry base wines with distinct paleness and finesse are destined to be Olorosos TorF
False
Name the unique Andalusian soil found largely in DO JXS and DO MSdB
Albazira
What is the highest peak in mainland Spain
Picos de Mulhacen
Why must Oloroso sherries be fortified to at least 17%
Flor cannot survive over 17%
What is the name of the grae drying process for sweet PX in DO MM
soleros/asoleado
Name the traditional VTS used throughout sherry region
thumb and stick
vara y pulgar
What alcohol level are wines destined to be Fino fortified to
15-15.5%
what is the climate of Andalucia
Med with Atlantic influences
Which 3 towns form the Sherry triangle
Jerez, Sanlucar and El Puerto de St Maria
Moscatel produces the only sweet wines in Andalucia T or F
False -
What type of oak is a bodega butt and how big is it
American Oak 600l
In the ‘Vinos con Indicacion de Edad’ category the age for Palo Cortado sherry refers to the age of the wine in the bottle not the solera. Tru or Falso
False - this applies only to the Vinos de Vejez Calificada
What is the term for the ‘first press’ juice which is typically used for Oloroso
Segunda yema
What is the name for a sherry that is naturally made with little or no filter
En Rama
What is the term for a tier of a solera
Criadera
What are the 3 authorised grapes in the sherry region
Palomino Fino, PX and Moscatel dA
Why is Palomino Fino the perfect blank canvas for sherry aging
Low acid, low sugar => low alcohol
Which type of sherry goes through largely the sam eprocess as an Amontillado
Palo Cortado
Sherry producers can legally purchase finished PX from DO MM for blending T or F
True
Which 2 winds impact Andalucia
Poniente and Levante
How long does it take for the flor’s food supply to be depleted
12-18 months
Why did sherry producers develop the criaderas y soleras system in 18c
Over abundant harvest
How long is the strait of Gibraltar
7 miles
Where did the final battle of the Reconquista take place
Andalucia
Andalucia is one of the warmest places in Europe T or F
True
Which of these is Anadlucia not famous for - tapas, sherry, flamenco, oranges
Oranges
When did the Phoneicans arrive on the Iberian Peninsular
1100BC
Which is thought to be the oldest city still standing in Western Europe
Cadiz
Who inhabited Andalucia between the Phoenicians and the Romans - looking for 3 tribes
Celtiberians
Greeks
Cathagenians
What were the old names of Cadiz given by the Phonicians and Romans
Gadir and Gades
What were the main Roman exports from Cadiz
Olive oil and wine
What was the name given to the land in Andalucia granted to the Vandals
Vandalucia
`What was the name of the Arabs who arrived in 711
Umayyads
Who inhabited Andalucia between the Vandals and the Moors
Visigoths
What % of Andalucian vineyards were left by the Moors for raisin crops
1/3rd
Which city held a trading monopoly on trade with the New World colonies until 18c
Seville
Who was the Bourbon King who assumed ower in 1700 and what did he do to Andalucian trade
Philip V
Stopped Monolpoly of Seville
Agricultural land given to nobles (livestock rather than grapes)
Which conflict included
Bombing of Cordoba, Granada Seville, Huelva and Malaga
Mass murder - White Terror
30,000 people executed
emigration to Cataluna or France
Civil War
Sherry basics - OCW
herry, seriously undervalued but slowly reawakening fortified wine from the region around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in andalucía, south west Spain. ‘Sherry’ was used as a generic term for a wide range of fortified wines made from white grapes, but in the mid 1990s the sherry trade successfully campaigned to have the name restricted—at least within the eu—to the produce of the Jerez do. (For details of other once-prominent producers of similar wine styles, see cyprus, south africa, and british made wine.)
Despite renewed interest in high-quality sherry, overall production has dropped continuously for a quarter-century and was down to 450,000 hl/12 million gal a year by 2012. Apart from Spain, the two most important markets for sherry have been the Netherlands and Great Britain.
Sherry is the English corruption of the word Jerez, while Xérès is its French counterpart and is also the French name for sherry. The words Jerez-Xérès-Sherry appear on all bottles of sherry, on paper seals granted by the consejo regulador to guarantee the origin of the wine. Within the Jerez DO, there are three centres for sherry maturation: jerez de la frontera, sanlúcar de barrameda, and puerto de santa maría, each of which imparts subtle differences to the wines. Throughout this article, the types of wine made naturally in sherry bodegas are referred to in lower case italics, as in oloroso, while the sherry styles created for commercial use on the label are referred to with a capital letter, as in Oloroso.
Sherry is initially made to conform to two principal types: pale, dry fino (or, in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, manzanilla), which ages under the influence of the film-forming yeast flor, and dark, full, but dry oloroso. All sherry styles found on labels (Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Pale Cream, Cream, etc., in generally ascending order of body) are derived from these two main types. The only exception is Palo Cortado, which is a naturally resulting intermediate type and style between Amontillado and Oloroso. pedro ximénez is an intensely sweet wine, usually for blending, made from the grape variety of the same name often grown outside the sherry region.
Pre 16c history OCW
erez is one of the oldest wine-producing towns in Spain. It may well have been established by the phoenicians who founded the nearby port of Cádiz in 1110 bc. The Phoenicians were followed by the carthaginians, who were in turn succeeded by the romans. Iberian viticulture advanced rapidly under Roman rule and Jerez has been identified as the Roman city of Ceritium. After the Romans were expelled around ad 400, southern Iberia was overrun by successive tribes of Vandals and Visigoths, who were in turn defeated by the Moors after the battle of Guadalete in 711 (see islam). The Moors held sway over Andalucía for seven centuries and their influence is still evident, not least in the architecture of Seville, Cordoba, and Granada. Under Moorish domination, Jerez grew in size and stature. The town was named ‘Seris’ and this later evolved into Jerez de la Frontera, when it stood on the frontier of the two warring kingdoms during Christian reconquest in the 13th century.
Viticulture, which continued despite Moorish occupation, was revitalized by the Christians, although the region around Jerez continued to be plagued by war until the 15th century. Exports began and, in spite of periodic setbacks, trade with England and France was well established by the 1490s, when it was declared that wines shipped abroad would be free from local tax. In 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain, their vineyards were confiscated, and foreigners, many of them English, took their place as merchants. Certain basic quality controls were established, including the capacity of the sherry cask or butt, which has not changed to this day.
At the end of the 15th century, after Christopher Columbus had discovered America from his base in Andalucía, the sherry town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda became an important port for the new transatlantic trade and in the 16th century large quantities of wine were shipped to the Americas from Jerez. In his book Sherry, Julian Jeffs speculates that Vino de Jerez (sherry) was almost certainly the first wine to enter North America.
Post 15c history - OCW
Relations between England and Spain began to deteriorate in the 16th century and, although trade continued, the colony of English merchants trading from Sanlúcar began to suffer privations. In 1585, after a number of raids by Sir Francis Drake and his fleet, English merchants were arrested and their possessions seized. Exports ceased. Two years later, in an attack on Cádiz, Drake both ‘singed the King of Spain’s beard’ and captured ‘2,900 pipes’ of wine. This plunder helped to establish sherry as a popular drink in Elizabethan England.
After the death of Elizabeth I, trade became easier and ‘sacke’, or sack, returned to royal circles. The English colony re-established itself and prospered, often by shipping poor-quality wines.
By the 17th century, ‘sherris-sack’ was well established in England and was drunk by Samuel Pepys, who in 1662 records that he mixed sherry and málaga. Pepys visited the English colony in Sanlúcar de Barrameda in 1683. At that time, until the construction of a railway in the mid 19th century, most of the sherry bodegas were located on the coast at Sanlúcar and Puerto de Santa María for easy export.
The sherry industry suffered many setbacks at the beginning of the 18th century, when England and Spain became embroiled in a series of conflicts beginning in 1702 with the War of the Spanish Succession. The methuen treaty (1703) diverted trade to Portugal and a series of restrictive measures imposed by the Gremio or Wine Growers Guild of Jerez sent merchants to Málaga in search of wine. However, the latter half of the century was an era of increasing prosperity stimulated by the arrival of a number of French and British merchants. The firms of Osborne, Duff Gordon, and Garvey date from this period.
The Peninsular Wars (1808–14) devastated Jerez. Andalucía became a battleground, occupied for a time by the French, who pillaged the sherry bodegas and forced a number of families to flee to the relative safety of the Cádiz garrison. With the defeat of the French, merchants set about rebuilding their businesses with spectacular success. Pedro Domecq took over the firm of Juan Haurie in 1822 and Manuel María González Angel, founder of gonzález byass, began trading in 1835. Sherry exports rose steadily from about 8,000 butts in the early years of the century to over 70,000 butts in 1873, a figure not exceeded again until the 1950s. In the 1850s, the sherry industry was greatly helped by the construction of a railway linking Jerez and Puerto de Santa María, and a number of merchants left their quayside bodegas. Many new producers took advantage of the sherry boom only to be wiped out by phylloxera and economic depression a few years later.
By the end of the 19th century, the sherry industry was on the brink of collapse. The boom gave rise to numerous spurious ‘sherries’ from South Africa, Australia, France—and from Germany, where a sherry-style potion was made from potato spirit. A spiral of price-cutting began and sherry was stretched with poor-quality wine imported from other parts of Spain. Demand fell as Victorian society refused sherry, alarmed by scare stories that the wine was detrimental to health. The predations of the phylloxera louse from 1894 helped to stabilize the market and the shippers who survived the depression held large stocks of unsold wine to tide them through the lean years when all the vineyards were replanted.
In 1910, the leading traders united to form the Sherry Shippers Association, which campaigned vigorously to restore the fortunes of the beleaguered industry. After the First World War exports returned to their late-19th-century levels. In 1933, a consejo regulador was formed to protect and control the sherry industry and in 1935, a year before the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Jerez established its own DO region. The Civil War (1936–9) had little effect on sherry exports, but trade collapsed during the Second World War.
Sherry history - last 100 years - OCW
DO Malaga - OCW
Málaga, city and Mediterranean port in andalucía, southern Spain (see map under spain), which lends its name to a denominated wine zone producing rich, raisiny fortified wines. Since the 1960s, Málaga has become more famous as the tourist gateway to the Costa del Sol, but its wine industry has a long and distinguished history dating back to around 600 bc, when the Greeks first planted vines in the area. The Moors continued to make wine, calling it xarab al Malaqui, or Málaga syrup, probably to remove any reference to alcohol but also evoking the extraordinary sweetness of the grapes growing in the hills above the city. In the 17th and 18th centuries, Málaga, often spelt Malaga, was exported worldwide and by the mid 19th century there were over 100,000 ha/247,000 acres of vineyard, making Málaga Spain’s second largest wine region. (See, for example, the part it played in the history of argentine wine.) Exports of Mountain, as the wine became known in Great Britain and North America, totalled between 30,000 and 40,000 butts (as much as 220,000 hl/5.8 million gal) a year.
In the mid 19th century, Málaga was dealt a double blow, first by powdery mildew, then, in 1876, by the arrival of phylloxera. Málaga was the first wine region in Spain to be affected by the louse and its effect on the local economy was devastating. The terraced vineyards, then covered with Muscat grapes, to the north and east of the city were abandoned and many families emigrated to South America. Málaga never really recovered until the 1960s, when tourism became Málaga’s major industry. From a peak immediately prior to the arrival of phylloxera of 113,000 ha/279,000 acres, the region’s vineyard area was only 1,200 ha in the early 21st century, making Málaga one of Spain’s smallest dos. Where there were once over 100 bodegas near the port in the centre of the city, the number of producers had risen from two in the late 1990s to 14 by 2003.
Málaga’s vineyards are still split into four zones, the most important of which is the Antequera plateau 50 km/30 miles north of the city of Málaga itself. The principal grape variety nowadays is pedro ximénez, which gives high sugar levels in the hot, dry climate (although considerable amounts of the more productive airén vine were also planted in the 1980s). In the cooler mountain zone immediately north of the city, Moscatel de Alejandría (muscat of alexandria) is the dominant vine, and is grown mainly for the production of raisins in the two coastal zones to the east and west of Málaga. In order to compensate for the lack of grapes in the region, Pedro Ximénez may also be imported from montilla-moriles, which abuts Málaga to the north, although according to regulations it may not exceed 10% of the volume.
Traditionally, Malága was a dried-grape wine made by leaving the grapes in the sun on grass mats for between seven and 20 days to concentrate the natural sugars. Today the wines are made using a number of different methods. The sweetness is normally obtained by arresting the fermentation with grape spirit (as for mistela), although some grapes are still dried and can be fermented to 18% alcohol leaving considerable residual sugar. A third way of adjusting the sweetness is with arrope, unfermented grape must that has been boiled down to 30% of its normal volume. This may be added either before or after fermentation.
The wines mature in different sizes of oak cooperage arranged into soleras. The Consejo Regulador recognizes 16 different types of wine ranging from sweet to dry with an alcoholic strength between 15 and 23%. Most wines are deep brown, intensely sweet, and raisiny, some tasting slightly burnt through the addition of too much arrope. Dry wines are paler with a rather undistinguished nutty character. The most common styles are as follows:
Lágrima:
intensely sweet wine made from free-run juice without any mechanical pressing.
Moscatel:
sweet, aromatic wine made exclusively from Moscatel de Alejandría grapes.
Pedro Ximénez (occasionally labelled Pedro Ximen):
sweet wine made exclusively from Pedro Ximénez grapes.
Solera:
sweet wine from a dated solera.
What is special about DO Malaga subzone Axarquia
Vino Dolce
Steep terraces
Pack animals
What is special about DO Malaga subzone Montes de Malaga
By coast
In National Park
High vineyards
PX and Moscatel
What is special about DO Malaga subzone Norte
Extreme temps
PX grown for over maturation
What is special about DO Malaga subzone Manilva
Med Sea
Fertile
Moscatel
Raisin prodiction
What is special about DO Malaga subzone Sierras de Ronda
Still wines
Westernmost zone
Manzanilla - OCW
anzanilla — a specially refreshing style of sherry that is made quite naturally in the seaside sherry town of sanlúcar de barrameda. Like fino, it is a very pale, light, dry style of wine that is heavily influenced by flor yeast, but manzanilla is made in the particularly humid, maritime air of Sanlúcar, which tends to result in a thicker layer of flor, a slower maturation process, lower alcohol content, and slightly higher acidity—especially since grapes are often picked slightly less ripe than for fino. As the wine matures, and the flor dies, a manzanilla may develop into a Manzanilla Olorosa and then a Manzanilla Pasada, which is a Sanlúcar equivalent of a fino amontillado. Most manzanilla is now lightly fortified to 15% alcohol. For more details, see sherry.
Puerto - OCW
Puerto de Santa María — one of the three towns making and maturing sherry. Puerto Fino is the name given to a fino matured in Puerto de Santa María
Where are Finos and Amontillado and Olorosos made but are not sherries
DO Montilla Moriles
DO Montilla Moriles OCW
Montilla-Moriles, southern Spanish denominated wine zone in andalucía, 40 km/25 miles south of Cordoba (see map under spain), producing both fortified and unfortified wines in the style of sherry, usually known simply as Montilla. For many years wine from the country around the towns of Montilla and Moriles found its way into sherry soleras. The practice largely ceased in 1945 when the area was awarded a separate do, although wines made from the pedro ximénez grape, some of them very fine, are still legally exported to jerez and neighbouring málaga for blending. Since it became a region in its own right, Montilla has had to contend with a popular image as an inferior, cheap alternative to sherry.
The soils in the centre of the region associated with lower yields and better wines resemble the chalky albariza of Jerez, although most of Montilla-Moriles is sandy and parched. The climate is relatively harsh with summer temperatures rising to 45 °C/113 °F and short, cold winters. The Pedro Ximénez vine, which accounts for over 70% of production, seems to thrive in the hot conditions, yielding extremely sweet grapes. The wines therefore achieve alcoholic strengths between 14 and 16% without fortification. Other grape varieties include lairén and muscat of alexandria, which tend to produce lighter wines for blending. The palomino vine, which is the basis for most sherry, has not been successful in Montilla.
Wine making practices in Montilla parallel those for sherry. Pale, dry fino and amontillado style wines are made from free-run juice, while heavier styles similar to oloroso are made from the subsequent pressings.
Pale Dry Montilla matures under a film of flor, initially in cement or earthenware tinajas, then in a solera similar to those in Jerez. However, in the hot climate of Montilla-Moriles, far removed from the cooling winds of the Atlantic, the flor is usually less thick than in Jerez and the wines tend to have less finesse as a result (see sherry). Heavier oloroso styles are fortified and aged for longer in soleras, where they become dark and pungent. Around half the region’s wines are not fortified, which puts them at an advantage in certain markets where duties are levied on alcoholic strength. The region is now most celebrated for its very sweet but not that strong PX wines, of which some producers are now making young, vintage-dated examples.
What does flor mean in Spanish
Flour
Veil of flour
What grapes were replanted after phylloxera in Andalucia
Palomino Fino
What is the minimum aging for a sherry
2 years
Which wines are aged biologically
Fino and Manzanilla
Amontillado and Palo Cortado partly
Which sherries are aged oxidatively
Oloroso
Amontillado and Palo Cortado partly
What is the maximum amount of the butt drawn out in any year
1/3rd
How many towns of sherry production
9
How many towns of sherry aging
3
What is DO Jerez Superior
Subdivision of the Zona de Production consisting of only those vineyards planting in albariza
92% of vineyards fall inot this category
What are the 3 primary grapes of Andalucia
Palomino Fino
PX
Moscatel of Alejandria
Which red grapes are authorised in DO Sherry and DO MM
None
