D5: Sherry Flashcards
Sherry history before the 19th century
Wine production dating back to the rule of the Phoenicians
During the Moorish rule from the 8th to the 13th century wine consumption was prohibited, but wine production continued
After Jerez came under Christian rule in the 13th century both domestic and exports grew fast ash English, Irish and Flemish traders began to ship the wines
After Columbus discovered America large volumes of sherry were also shipped to America
The Peninsular Wars and phylloxera devastated the industry, yet in calmer periods, some several successful shipping businesses were established
Sherry history form the 19th century
The popularity of sherry in the late 19th and early 20th centuries meant that other countries began to produce their own, often poor quality sherries
In 1933 Spain’s fits wine related Regulatory Council, the Consejo Regulator was formed, setting regulations to control the production and trading of sherry wines
Although sales declined during the WII, they recovered in the decades following and sales reached their peak in the 1970s with shipments reaching 1.5 million hl in 1979. However, this figured halved in the following decades as younger generation of consumers sought out for different styles of wine, resulting in a surplus of sherry, largely formed of cheap and low quality wines
Talk about Ruiz Mateos
Also known as Rumasa, started as an almacenista, before starting to ship its own Sherry 1950s
Soon they supplied Harveys of Bristol with wine for their brands and became a major supplier for their Bristol Cream, through which they accumulated considerable wealth
Rumasa began to build a business empire, taking over a lot of sherry bodegas but also other businesses such as bank and hotels
By the late 1970s they dominated the sherry industry and through consolidation of production facilities, drove down prices
In 1983 the government nationalized Rumasa claiming that it owed millions of unpaid taxes. Its sherry bodegas were sold causing rise in unemployment and social unrest
In addition, a large number of other bodegas were sold and merged as they were unable to sustain themselves in a marked burdened with lager quantities of low-quality wines
Since then the Consejo Regulator has been working hard to bring vineyard plantings, stock levels and sales back. As well as to promote the quality of sherry
Explain the location and climate of Jerez:
Talk about the exact location
Describe the climate
Talk about the effects of the climate (hazards)
Jerez is located in Andalusia in the south of Spain at low latitude (36) and with low altitude (0-90 meters above sea level)
Jerez has a hot Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, relatively warm winters with influences from the Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic bring a cool, damp wind called the poniente that provides a cooling, humid influence in summer. The Levante, a hot, drying wind from the south east from north Africa can make the climate more arid, causing grapes to transpire more quickly, concentrating the sugars
To much sugar can make it difficult to ferment the wine to dryness, particularly problematic for the development of flor yeast
Jerez has a high number of cloud-free days and therefor sunlight hours during the growing season ar high, helpen de grapes to fully ripen, but also means grapes can easily get sunburnt
Zona de Producción
Sherry grapes must come from this delimited area of around 7000 ha, also known as Marco de Jerez
The Zona de Producción is split into Jerez Superior and Jerez Zona. Jerez Superior is made up of the better vineyard sites, all located on Albariza soils and makes up over 90% of the plantings
Grapes grown in this zone can either be used for DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry or DO Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda
There is one exception to this rule; PX (Pedro Ximenez) can be grown around Montilla but matured in the Zona de Crianza and still be labeled DO Jerez-Xeres-Sherry
Explain Pagos
The vineyards of Jerez are also divided into smaller areas called pagos. Each is thought to produce wines with different characteristics, a function of factors such as aspect, location, soil differences.
Legalisation to allow producers to name a Pago on their wine labels is currently under discussion
Explain the albariza soil type
A mixture of limestone, silica and clay
The light colour of the albariza soil means that it reflects light back into the vine canopy aiding the ripening of the grapes
The clay means that the 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 ability to retain water means that higher planting densities and yields are possible in Jerez (average 70hl/ha) than in other hot, dry regions in Spain
High yields are also possible as grapes for sherry do not need to have the same concentration of flavours as for unfortified wines; most of the flavour comes through the maturation process
Discuss other soil types in Jerez besides albariza
Barros, which has a greater clay content and arenas which is more sandy
Palomino
Also called Palomino Fino and Listan and is the principal variety
Used in all dry and sweet styles
Accounts for 99% of production by volume
Mid to late ripening, well suited to dry, sunny weather and capable of producing large yields
Loses acidity quickly when its near maturity
Neutral variety and therefor does not tend to add much of its own primary aromas to sherry wines
Moscatel
Or Muscat of Alexandria accounts for less then 1% of production by volume
Sometimes calles Moscatel of 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 its an aromatic grape, with grapes and floral aromas
Pedro Ximenez (PX)
Also used for some sweet fortified wines of the same name and represents less than 1% of production by volume
Small, thin-skinned grapes that accumulate high levels of sugar and are traditionally dried in the sun to further concentrate the sugar
Neutral variety, therefor its flavour mainly comes form the drying and maturation processes
Its permitted to grow grapes in the Montilla district in the province of Cordoba and shipped to the Zona de Production either as fresh or raising grapes or more likely as young wine
Vineyard lay-out and management
Sherry vineyards are in the process of being transformed, mainly to accommodate mechanisation of pruning, harvesting and soil management
Vineyards are generally planted on gentle slopes (10-15%) where the albariza is mainly found
Each year after harvest the soil is worked to create series of gullies down each row of vines to catch the winter rains. Without this most of the rainwater would flow down the slopes. This system, called aserpia, was very labour intensive and now mainly done by machine
Vine training
The principal training system use to be replacement cane pruning, here called ‘vara y pulgar’. However, an increasing number of vineyards are now cordon trained and spur pruned which is more suitable to mechanisation
VSP trellising makes sure the canopy remains open and arranged for easy mechanisation, although some shading is needed to protect the grapes from sunburn
Within row spacing can be quite tight (just over 1m) between row spacing is wide enough to allow tractors in the vineyard
Maximum yields
Max yields permitted are 80 hl/ha but its rare that this max is reached and usually closer to 60-70 hl/ha depending on the year
Explain the use of rootstocks
Most used rootstocks are 333EM, 41-B and 13-5EVEX. All hybrids of V. vinifera and V. berlandieri
The later developed by the local viticultural research station and found to be the most successful to date. This rootstock is tolerant of limestone soils and drought, while producing good yields
