Sherry

Question 1

True or False: Sherry is a fortified wine from Andalucía on the southern coast of Spain. It reached its apex as a British favorite by the 1870s, and it became one of the first protected Spanish appellations in ___ with the establishment of a Consejo Regulador

Answer 1

1933

Question 2

Jerez, the hottest wine region in Spain and the home of Sherry production, is located within the coastal province of ____, flanked by the____ to the northwest. The town of Chiclana de la Frontera marks the southeastern border of the roughly triangular region.

Answer 2

Cádiz; Guadalquivir River

Question 3

What three towns of are at the center of Sherry production, and DO regulations require Sherry to be matured in and shipped from one of these three municipalities.

Answer 3

Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Question 4

Sherry is the product of two DO zones: ___and ____ The two DOs share an identical production zone and similar production guidelines, but the latter must be aged in the seaside town of ______.

Answer 4

Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda

seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Question 5

Three principal soil types characterize the Jerez region:

Answer 5

albariza, barros, and arenas

Question 6

_____a chalky, porous, limestone-rich soil of brilliant white color, produces the best Sherry. The moisture-retentive soil 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.

Answer 6

Albariza: The snow-white albariza soils are concentrated on the gentle slopes of 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.

Question 7

80% of the appellation’s vines are located in ____, and most pagos (vineyards) are located within the area of Jerez de la Frontera, including Macharnudo, Añina, and Carrascal. ____, at over 2000 acres, is the largest pago in Jerez.

Answer 7

Jerez Superior; Macharnudo

Question 8

The more fertile—but more difficult to work—___ soils have a higher proportion of clay and are prominent in low-lying valleys. The sandy ____soils are most common in coastal areas.

Answer 8

barros; arenas

Moscatel is mainly cultivated in the arenas soils near Chipiona.

Question 9

Three white grapes are authorized for the production of Sherry:

Answer 9

Palomino (Listán)- 95% of the vineyard acreage in Jerez
Pedro Ximénez (PX)
Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)

Question 10

In Jerez, each vine is commonly trained in the traditional manner of ________, in which growers prune alternate spurs each year.

Answer 10

vara y pulgar: prune alternate spurs each year, one year’s vara (stick) will be pruned back after harvest to become the following year’s pulgar (thumb).

Question 11

Hot, dry _____ winds intensify the region’s heat. Said to drive men mad, the howling winds blows from the east and essentially cooks the grapes on the vine during ripening.

Answer 11

levante winds

Question 12

The humid Atlantic _____ wind alternates with the levante winds, and promotes the growth of flor, a film-forming yeast necessary in the maturation of Sherry.

Answer 12

poniente

Question 13

List two sub-varieties of the Palomino variety:

Answer 13

Both sub-varieties are encountered in the region:
Palomino Fino
Palomino de Jerez -is more prevalent, prized for its higher yields and disease resistance

Question 14

What two grapes are predominantly used for sweetening Sherry?Though, varietal bottlings of either grape are extremely rare in Jerez.

Answer 14

Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez

Question 15

Which grape is mainly cultivated in the arenas soils near Chipiona?

Answer 15

Moscatel grape

Question 16

Plantings of Pedro Ximénez in Jerez have diminished so greatly that the Consejo Regulador has granted special dispensation allowing producers to import Pedro Ximénez must from the nearby________DO.

Answer 16

Montilla-Moriles DO

Question 17

Growers submit Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez to the ____ process for a period of one to three weeks, name and describe this process.

Answer 17

soleo process: in which grape bunches are dried in the sun on esparto grass mats prior to pressing. (Palomino may also be sunned, but rarely for longer than 24 hours and often not at all.)

Question 18

True or False: Palomino Fino, the grape used for the majority of Sherry wines, must be pressed quickly after picking as it is prone to rapid oxidation.

Answer 18

True

Question 19

A maximum 72.5 liters of juice may be pressed from 100 kg of grapes; any additional amount is relegated to the production of non-classified wines or distillate. The must (mosto de yema) is divided into what three stages of quality:

Answer 19

Primera Yema(free-run juice, accts for 60-70% of total mosto de yema), Segunda Yema (press wine), 
Mosto Prensa (poorer quality press wine for distillation)
**(free-run)primera yema and (pressed)segunda yema are fermented separately.

Question 20

Sherry is fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks of 50,000 liter capacity. In either case, the fermentation is divided into two stages:

Answer 20

Tumultuous fermentation:hot,vigorous initial phase lasting up to a week Lenta fermentation:slow in which high temps subside, any remaining sugar in the wine is converted to alcohol over a period of weeks.
The delicate base wine of 11-12.5% abv is then separated from its lees, and the process of transformation begins.

Question 21

After fermentation, wine is classified: each tank is either classified as palo-marked with a vertical slash, or as gordura, marked with a circle. What is the abv of each and the destined style?

Answer 21

PALO:fortified to 15-15.5% abv and are destined to become the more delicate Fino or Manzanilla styles
GORDURA:fortified to 17-18%—a high level of alcohol that will not permit the growth of flor—and will become (Oloroso Sherries)

Question 22

What is mitad y mitad?

Answer 22

mitad y mitad-a gentler mixture of grape spirit w/mature Sherry, used to avoid shocking young wine–neither wine is fortified directly with spirit.

Question 23

Both sets of wines are transferred to old Sherry butts American oak. Fino and Manzanilla styles undergo____aging, whereas Oloroso Sherry undergoes_____aging.

Answer 23

biological-Fino and Manzanilla

oxidative-Oloroso

Question 24

At the heart of the biological aging process in Sherry is the film-forming yeast known as the _____—the “flower.” While the normal yeasts responsible for alcoholic fermentation die as the wine’s sugar is consumed, a specialized set of yeast species (of the genus Saccharomyces) arrives to metabolize glycerin, alcohol, and volatile acids in the wine.

Answer 24

flor del vino-Humid air carried on the poniente wind, a moderate temperature between 60°-70° F, an absence of fermentable sugars, and a particular level of alcoholic strength (15-15.5% abv) are prerequisites for the development of flor. Flor requires contact with oxygen, it forms a film on the surface of the wine, protecting the liquid from oxidation.

Question 25

True or False: Wines destined to undergo biological aging are sourced from grapes grown in the finer albariza soils, and are produced from the primera yema, whereas those destined for the oxidative aging path of the Oloroso are produced from the pressed segunda yema must.

Answer 25

True

Question 26

Wines that develop under flor will enter an intermediary stage, called ______, for a period of six months to a year, during which the course of the wines’ evolution may be redirected.

Answer 26

Sobretablas

Question 27

The wines, kept in used 600 liter American oak butts, will be monitored and classified for a second time. List the (5) classifications:

Answer 27

Palma:Fine, delicate Sherry-flor flourished, protect wine from oxidation ***Such wines will generally develop as Fino styles
Palma Cortada:Robust Fino, which may emerge as Amontillado.
Palo Cortado: A rarity. Although flor is still present, the wine’s richness leads the cellar master to redirect the wine toward an oxidative aging path. The wine will be fortified after Sobretablas to at least 17% abv, destroying the veil of flor that protects it from oxygen.
Raya: Despite its initial promise, flor growth is anemic, or the protective yeast has died completely. The wine’s robust character is reinforced by further fortification to 17-18%, and the wine emerges from Sobretablas as an Oloroso.
Dos Rayas: The wine’s flor has disappeared, but its character is rough and coarse. Characterized by high levels of volatile acidity, these wines either blended and sweetened for lower quality Sherry or removed from the Sherry-making process, often finding new life as Sherry vinegar.

Question 28

True or False:After the second classification, the Sherry wines are ready to begin the long aging process. In 2010, authorities decreased the minimum solera aging required before bottling from 3yrs to 6months.

Answer 28

False: two years (correct answer)

Question 29

Rarely are Sherry wines marketed as vintage wines; most enter a system of fractional blending known as the_____, wherein new añada (vintage) wines enter an upper scale, or tier, of butts known as a _____.

Answer 29

solera; criadera
Several descending criadera scales separate the young wines from the solera—the tier of butts from which wine is drawn and bottled. There may be as few as three to four criaderas, or as many as fourteen.

Question 30

For every liter of wine drawn from the solera,____liters must remain; thus the solera butts are only partially emptied, and refreshed with wines from the first criadera in movements of wine known as trasiegos. The first criadera is then refreshed with wines from the second criadera, and so forth.

Answer 30

two liters must remain, it was (formerly three liters)

A solera—derived from Latin solum, or “floor”—will theoretically continue some small portion of its original wine, regardless of its age. Solera are often marked with the year the solera was started.

Question 31

The solera system is integral to____aging, as flor requires certain nutrients/oxygen to survive. The movement of wine from one butt to another provides oxygen; the addition of añada wines provides a constant influx of nutrients for flor to prosper. While not necessary for oxidative aging, Oloroso wines are aged in their own solera systems.

Answer 31

biological

Question 32

In 2000, the Consejo Regulador for Jerez created two new categories for Sherry Wines of Certified Age: VOS and VORS, which stands for?

Answer 32

VOS—Vinum Optimum Signatum, or “Very Old Sherry”—applied to solera wines w/an average age of over 20yrs
VORS—Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum, or “Very Old Rare Sherry”—applied to solera wines w/an average age of over 30yrs

Question 33

For every liter of VOS Sherry drawn from the solera, at least ____ liters must remain.

Answer 33

20 liters must remain

Question 34

VORS—Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum, or “Very Old Rare Sherry”—may be applied to solera wines with an average age of over 30 years. ____ liters must remain in the solera for every liter withdrawn.

Answer 34

-30 liters must remain in the solera for every liter withdrawn

Question 35

True or False: A tasting panel certifies all VOS and VORS wines, and only Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, and Pedro Ximénez wines are authorized for consideration.

Answer 35

True:Approval to use either label only applies to an individual lot of drawn wine, not entire solera.Consejo Regulador may certify an indication of age of either 12 or 15 yrs for use on label; the certification applies to the entire solera, not just a particular lot of wine.

Question 36

What is the preferred soil type for Sherry?
• 	Barros
• 	Arenas
• 	Albariza
• 	Basalt
• 	Schist

Answer 36

Albariza

Question 37

What is the name of the system of fractional blending used in Sherry production?
• 	Cabeceo
• 	Añada
• 	Sobretablas
• 	Canteiro
• 	Solera

Answer 37

Solera (correct answer)

Question 38

Which of the following grapes is used in Sherry production?
• 	Tinta Roriz
• 	Sercial
• 	Verdelho
• 	Palomino 
• 	Touriga Nacional

Answer 38

Palomino (correct answer)

Question 39

Which of the following styles of Sherry does not undergo any biological aging?
• 	Fino
• 	Amontillado
• 	Oloroso 
• 	Palo Cortado
• 	Manzanilla

Answer 39

Oloroso -Oxidative

Question 40

Which of the following styles of generoso Sherry has the lowest alcohol content?
• 	Amontillado
• 	Manzanilla Fina
• 	Oloroso
• 	Fino
• 	Manzanilla Pasada

Answer 40

Manzanilla Fina-Sanlúcar de Barrameda has its own classifications for generoso wines: Manzanilla Fina, Manzanilla Pasada, and Manzanilla Olorosa. Manzanilla Fina is similar in style to Fino, although the harvest occurs about a week earlier, and the resulting wines are lower in alcohol and fortified to a lower degree.

Question 41

What is the traditional vine pruning method in Jerez?
• Desfangado
• Zapatos de pisar
• Mitad y Mitad
• Vara y pulgar (correct answer, your response)
• Sobretablas

Answer 41

Vara y pulgar (correct answer)
• Desfangado-(racking) to clarify the must
• Zapatos de pisa-cowhide boots angled nails on sole
• Mitad y Mitad(half half) gentler mixture of grape spirit and mature Sherry
• Sobretablas-develop under flor will enter an intermediary stage

Question 42

What is the southernmost commune of the Jerez/Xérès/Sherry DO?
• 	Sanlúcar de Barrameda
• 	El Puerto de Santa María
• 	Puerto Real
• 	Jerez de la Frontera
• 	Chiclana de Frontera

Answer 42

Chiclana de Frontera

Question 43

The mild wind carries humid air and aids the development of flor in Jerez.

Answer 43

Poniente

Question 44

What Sherry coloring agent is produced by boiling fresh must down to one-third of its original volume? 
• 	Arrope
• 	Sancocho
• 	Dulce Pasa
• 	Vino de Color
• 	Dulce de Almíbar

Answer 44

Sancocho (correct answer, your response)
Dulce pasa—mistela from sunned Palomino—most common sweetening agent inJerez. Dulce de almíbar—a blend of invert sugar+Fino, Sherry house may adjust color of final wine w/vino de color—non-alcoholic concoction produced by combo boiled, reduced syrup+fresh must. Reduced to one-third of volume= sancocho;
Reduced to one-fifth, the syrup=arrope.

Question 45

For every liter of VOS sherry withdrawn from a solera, how many liters must remain?
• 	3
• 	10
• 	12
• 	20 
• 	30

Answer 45

20 liters