Sherry Flashcards
What year was Jerez demarcated as a DO?
1933
From what 3 towns must Sherry be shipped from and matured in?
Sanlucar de Barrameda
El Puerto de Santa Maria
Jerez de La Frontera
What 2 DO zones exist for Sherry?
Manzanilla San Lucar De Barrameda
Jerez Xeres Sherry
What 2 winds influence the Jerez area?
Levante, intensifies the heat inland
Poniente, brings humidity for flor
What are the 3 soil types of Sherry?
Albariza-chalky porous limestone
Barros-clay
Arenas-sandy coastal areas
What Sherry sub region sits between Sanlucar de Barrameda and the Guadelete river?
What percent of Sherry vines are from there?
Jerez Superior
80%
What 3 grapes are allowed for Sherry?
Palomino (Listan Blanco)
Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
Pedro Ximenez
What percentage of plantings does Palomino account for in Jerez?
95%
How are Moscatel and PX used in Sherry production?
As sweetener typically. Dried for 1-3 weeks.
What is the Soleo process?
drying of grapes, particularly PX and Moscatel in Sherry.
What is the traditional vine training technique in Sherry?
Vara y Pulgar, (stick and thumb) where a grower will alternate which spur gets pruned each year.
What are the two sub types of Palomino in Sherry?
Fino and de Jerez
What is the must called in Sherry production?
What are the three portions of it?
Mosto de Yema
Primera Yema-free run juice
Segunda Yema-first press
Mosto Prensa-poorer quality press wine
How much juice may you extract for Sherry production per 100kg of grapes?
70L per 100kg
What are the barrels called in Sherry production? How big are they? 😉
Butts. 475-500L
How does the fermentation process go for Sherry?
Typically, a week of hot and vigorous, then a cooler period to finish it off.
How is the base wine classified after initial fermentation for Sherry?
‘Palo’ for Fino and Manzanilla styles
‘Gordura’ for Oloroso
What is the liquid used for fortifying Sherry?
Mitad y Mitad - a mixture of mature Sherry and grape spirit
To what ABV will Palo and Gordura wines be fortified?
15ish for Palo
17.5ish for Gordura
What type of ageing occurs under flor in Sherry production?
Biological. Flor eats glycerin, alcohol, and VA, while protecting against oxidation
What is the name of the intermediate period where the newly fortified Palo wines are monitored? How long does this last?
Sobretablas
6 months to a year
How are Sherries classified at the end of the first year following Sobretablas?
Palma - Flor is abundant, becomes Fino
Palma Cortada - a robust Fino perhaps becoming Amontillado
Palo Cortado - rare, but if its rich enough, fortified further and now ages oxidatively
Raya - No flor, becomes Oloroso
Dos Rayas - low quality, sweetened, blended, or made into Sherry vinegar
As of 2010, how many years must a Sherry age for before being bottled?
2 years minimum
How does a Sherry Solera work?
What is this process called?
A new wine enters the top level of a Solera, called ‘Criadera’. After a time, some of that wine is moved down to the next Criadera, which replenishes what was taken to replenish the Criadera below it.
Fractional Blending
