Jerez Flashcards
Jerez location
- Andalucía
- atlantic coastline of the southern tip
- located within the coastal province of Cádiz, flanked by the Guadalquivir River to the northwest
Jerez Climate
- can have fiercely hot climate which is tempered only by ocean influences
- hottest climate in Spain
Sherry is the product of two DO zones
Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO
but the latter must be aged in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Three towns in Jerez form a “golden triangle” of production
- Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa Maria
- all sherry wines must be shipped from one of the three.
Jerez: The three authorized grapes
in descending order of importance,
Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel.
Palomino, or Listán
- produces characterless table wines but is the preferred variety for dry sherry
- It thrives in the white albariza soils of the region, which characterize the best pagos, or vineyards.
Jerez soils
albariza, barros, and arenas
Poniente and levante winds
- The hot, dry levante wind intensifies the region’s heat. Said to drive men mad, the howling levante blows from the east and essentially cooks the grapes on the vine during ripening.
- The humid Atlantic poniente wind alternates with the levante, and promotes the growth of flor, a film-forming yeast necessary in the maturation of Sherry.
Jerez: Albariza
- chalky, porous, limestone-rich soil of brilliant white color
- produces the best Sherry.
- moisture-retentive albariza retains water from autumn and winter rains, while the friable soil structure allows vine roots to penetrate deeply in a search for water trapped beneath its baked, impermeable surface during the arid growing season.
- concentrated on the gentle slopes of Jerez Superior
Jerez: Barros
- the more fertile, but more difficult to work
- higher proportion of clay and are prominent in low-lying valleys
Jerez: Arenas
- The sandy arenas soils are most common in coastal areas.
- are principally suitable for Moscatel grapes.
Jerez Superior
a sub-region between Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the Guadalete River, which flows into the Bay of Cádiz just to the south of Jerez de la Frontera.
-80% of the appellation’s vines are located in Jerez Superior, and most pagos (vineyards) are located within the area of Jerez de la Frontera, including Macharnudo, Añina, and Carrascal.
Macharnudo
-at over 2000 acres, is the largest pago in Jerez.
Jerez de la Frontera
central and furthest inland
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- Atlantic coastline in the northernmost area
- Guadalquivir river
El Puerto de Santa Maria
southernmost point along the port of Cádiz
what is Sherry
Fortified wine from Andalucía, Spain
At the conclusion of fermentation, the wine is classified:
- palo and marked with a vertical slash
- gordura, marked with a circle
Jerez classified as Palo
- fortified to 15-15.5% abv
- are destined to become the more delicate Fino or Manzanilla styles
Jerez classified as Gordura
- fortified to 17-18%, a high level of alcohol that will not permit the growth of flor
- will become Oloroso Sherries
Jerez: What is Palo and Gordura fortified with?
Neither wine is fortified directly with spirit, rather a gentler mixture of grape spirit and mature Sherry, mitad y mitad, is used to avoid shocking the young wine