Sherry Flashcards
Name the 5 towns at the centre of Sherry production
Jerez de la Frontera El Puerto de Santa Maria Sanlucar de Barrameda Chipiona Chiclana
Name the river flanking the Sherry production area
Guadalquivir River
Guadiana
guadalete
Name the 2 DO zones in Sherry
Jerez-Xeres-Sherry
Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda
Name the 2 winds that have an effect on sherry production
The Levante and the Poniente
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
Name the 3 principle soil types in Jerez
Albariza
Barros
Arenas
Name the grape varieties authorised for sherry production
Palomino (Listán)
Pedro Ximénez (PX)
Moscatel Gordo Blanco (Muscat of Alexandria)
There is a high concentration of Albariza soils in which sub region
Jerez Superior
What is the largest Pago in Jerez?
Macharnudo
Which soil type of sherry is common near the coastal areas?
Arena
Name the DO that the Consejo Regulador has granted special dispensation for allowing producers in Jerez to import Pedro Ximenez
Montilla-Moriles
What are the maximum yields in Jerez Superior?
80 hl/ha
What is the maximum amount of juice that can be extracted from 100kg of grapes in sherry production
72.5 litres
only 70 liters may be used for actualy sherry production
What are the 3 stages of quality that the mosto de yema is divided into in Sherry Production?
- Primera yema (free-run juice, accounting for 60-70% of the total mosto de yema)
- Segunda yema (press wine)
- Mosto prensa (poorer quality press wine for distillation).
Name the 2 stages of fermentation in Sherry production
- The tumultuous fermentation, a hot and vigorous initial phase lasting up to a week
- The lenta, or slow fermentation, in which high temperatures subside and any remaining sugar in the wine is converted to alcohol over a period of weeks
What are the 2 classifications for sherry tanks at the conclusion of fermentation?
- Palo. Tanks are marked with a slash
- Gordura. Tanks are marked with a circle
What abv are wines marked palo fortified to in sherry production? What style are they destined to become?
15-15.5% abv
Palo wines are destined to become the more delicate Fino or Manzanilla styles
What abv are wines marked gordura fortified to in sherry production? What style are they destined to become?
17-18% abv
Gordura wines are fortified to a high level of alcohol that will not permit the growth of flor—and will become Oloroso Sherries
What is used to fortify the wines of Sherry?What are arrope and Pantomima?
Mitad y mitad. a gentle mix of grape spirit and mature Sherry.
Fortifying directly with spirit would shock the young wine
Arrope: Concentrated grape must heated and reduced to one-third of its original volume.
Pantomima: Concentrated grape must heated and reduced to 50% of its original volume.
What type of oak is traditionally used in Sherry production?
Used 600 litre American butts
What is the name of the specialised set of yeast that metabolise glycerin, alcohol and volatile acid in Sherry production
Saccharomyces
What are the types of ageing and their resultant styles in sherry production
Biological - Manzanilla / fino styles
Oxidative - Oloroso styles
Sherry wines destined for biological (flor) ageing are produced from which quality stage of the mosto de yema?
Primera Yema
Sherry wines destined for oxidative ageing are produced from which quality stage of the mosto de yema?
Segunsa Yema
Sherry wines that are aged biologically (flor) are classified a second time after 6 - 12 months. Name the classifications
Palma: Fine, delicate Sherry in which the flor has flourished, protecting the wine from oxidation. Such wines will generally develop as Fino styles.
Palma Cortada: A more robust Fino, which may eventually 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 are either blended and sweetened for lower quality Sherry or removed from the Sherry-making process, often finding new life as Sherry vinegar.
What does the term Palma mean in in the second classification of Sherry?
Fine, delicate Sherry in which the flor has flourished, protecting the wine from oxidation. Such wines will generally develop as Fino styles.
What does the term Palma Cortada mean in in the second classification of Sherry?
A more robust Fino, which may eventually emerge as Amontillado.
What does the term Palo Cortado mean in in the second classification of Sherry?
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.
What does the term Raya mean in in the second classification of Sherry?
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.
What does the term Dos Rayas mean in in the second classification of Sherry?
The wine’s flor has disappeared, but its character is rough and coarse. Characterized by high levels of volatile acidity, these wines are either blended and sweetened for lower quality Sherry or removed from the Sherry-making process, often finding new life as Sherry vinegar.
What is the minimum solera ageing for Sherry wines?
In 2010 authorities decreased the minimum ageing from 3 years to 2
What is a tier of butts known as in Sherry?
Criadera
What is the alcoholic range for fino sherry?
15 - 17% abv
What is the alcoholic range for amontillado sherry?
16 - 22% abv
What is the alcoholic range for Oloroso sherry?
17-22% abv
What is the term for dry style in Sherry?
Generoso 4 g/L max
Name the classifications for vino de licor wines in Sanlucar de Barrameda
Manzanilla Fina
Manzanilla Pasada
Manzanilla anada
Define Vino Generoso de Licor
Vino Generoso blended with Vino Dulce Natural or concentrated must
Dry: 5-45 g/l residual sugar
Medium: 5-115 g/l residual sugar, usually produced from Amontillado
Pale Cream: 45-115 g/l residual sugar, usually produced from Fino
Cream: 115-140 g/l residual sugar, usually produced from Oloroso
what are tresbolillo, marco real, marco rectangular?
.
tresbolillo = pattern of equilateral triangles with vines planted 2 meters apart
marco real = vines spaced in a grid of 1.5 meters apart
marco rectangular = rows are spaced 2.3 meters apart to allow for machine harvesting
what is aserpia or alumbra? When would this happen? What is alomado?
building up albariza soils into a series of ridges around the base of the trunk to trap humidity and moisture
october
the opposite - done in years where there might be too much rain as to avoid soil erosion
what are two primary viticulture threats in sherry?
DOWNY MILDEW (Plasmopara Viticola)
POWDEREY MILDEW (oidium / known here as cenizo)
Define TRasiegos and Desfangado
trasiegos = moving wine from one criadera to another
Desfangado= racking wine off of tartaric acid and must
what are Bota punta and bota no?
Bota No is a special cask that is aging in a way that makes it superior to te other barrels in the solera and is usually put off to the side for the capitaz and bodega owner
Bota punta barrel at the end of a solera where the most has been pulled from to sample often meaning it is the least filled and most concentrated
what caused palomino to become the preferred grape of Sherry?
Phylloxera
Three synonyms for palomino
listan blanco. jerez, ojo de liebre
what is horgazuela?
Palonimo in el puerto santa maria
difference between palomino fino and palomino de jerez?
Fino is from Sanlúcar de Barrameda and is viewed as the best clone making more delicate and aromatic wines
Humidity level of Jerez/Sherry/Xeres DO?
low in the growing season
what is the preferred muscat variety in chipiona?
Alexandria
What is an almacenista?
A middleman who may age their own wine or buy wine from a another grower who later sells a finished or partially finished wine to a larger sherry house.
What is the term for the juice obtained from the first foot crushing or in sherry?
de yema
Define the following terms:
Pie
tiradores
aguapie
prensa
Pie = the pileing up of the must after the pisador have foot crushed into the center of the lagares to be gently presses
tiradores = the men who would work the press
aguapie = the second pressing often not used in wine but for distillation
prensa the final press used for distillation or vinegar
what is the press yield in sherry?
72.7L/100 kg
what is a pied de cuba? what are the benefits of using this method?
pied de cuve ferment starter in spain / creates a quick to start and quick to finish strong fermentation that makes sure any bacteria won’t have a chance to settle in
why do sanlucar solera’s have the most criaderas?
amount of flor activity
What types of vino generoso would you expect to be on the lowest level of criadera?
fino/manzanilla - need to be in the coolest part. thusly amontillado and olorosso are usually stored at the highest parts
define these terms:
saca
rocio
correr escalas
sifon/bomba
saca - drawing off a solera (25/30% per year)
rocio - replenshing each scale
correr escalas - running the scales
sifon/bomba - siphon used to draw wine out of a barrel in a solera (rociador - sprinkler)
why do soleras need to be refreshed - even if they were theoretically not drawn off recently?
to maintain a supply of nutrients and oxygen for thr flor to stay alive
where would you find the estates Barbadillo, Pedro Romero, Hidalgo, La Cigarerra?
Manzanilla Sanlucar de Barremeda
what is the difference between manzanilla pasada and manzanilla fina?
older flor that ahs started to fade leading to a mix between amontillado and fino in flavor
fresh young standard manzanilla
who makes the wines Toneles, inocente, and tio diego?
valdespino
what is merma?
the term for evaporation in sherry
an olorosso marked “pata de gallina” indicates what?
an olorosso with much more glycerol than normal leading to a rich and luscious style of olorosso
what is gordura?
term for richness in sherry
why would a producer add pX toan olorosso at bottling?
to round out the oxidation or because the naturally high glycerol and abv lend themselves tobe being balanced with some sugar
how long will most wine spend in sobretables
6-12mo
does px raise or lower in abv as it ages and why?
lower- excess sugar means less of the wine soaks into the staves so the ethnol evaporation is sped up over the water evap
Difference in PX production between Jerez and Montilla-Morilles
jerez - fortified higher (around 18%) and barrels are filled 5/6 of the way and not as sweet
MM - fortified to 15-ish and barrels are filled all the way up and sweeter
what abv does moscatel fermenet to before being fortified in Sherry?
1% then fortofoed to 15-17
what does viejos de jerez con indicacion de edad indicate
step below VOR and VORS for wines whose whole solera avergaes either 12 or 15 years
what is the age indication applied to in VOR and VORS bottlings?
the saca for that specific release
what year was VOR and VORS established
2000
what styles qualify for VOR and VORS
amontillado / palo cortado / px / olorosso
what do abocado and amarosa indicate
lightly sweetend sherry
what could you infer about a moscatel pasas style wine
made from sun dried moscatel grapes
name three pagos from sanlucar
miraflores, torre breva, hornillo
name three pagos from jerezde la frontera
carrascal, macharnudo, anina, balbina
what is miteado
synonym for mitad y mitad
how much abv will flor consume
1% per year hence why regualr refreshings are needed
what is a fainting barrel?
a barrel of low abv fino that hasn’t been topped up or has aggressive flor eating too much abv too fast. Bota desmayoda
temp needed for flor? three other things needed for the devolpment
59-70 F but 62-64 best
high humidity
barrels with no tannin left (old barrels)
oxygen
glycerol
alcohol
RS requirements for Vin Dulce Natural in jerez do
Dulce: min 160 g/l residual sugar
Moscatel: min 160 g/l residual sugar
Pedro Ximénez: min 212 g/l residual sugar
name four grapes authorized for production in Jerez
Palomino Fino, Palomino de Jerez, Perruno, Beba, VIgiriega, Pedro Ximénez, Moscatell de Alejandriá
Sherry ABV’s
Fino: 15-17% (the process of biological aging may reduce alcohol content below 15%)
Amontillado: 16-22%
Oloroso and Palo Cortado: 17-22%
Medium/Dry: 15-22%
Pale Cream/Cream: 15-22%
term for unfiltered in sherry
en rama
what are tosca cerrada, tosca Barajuelas and tosca Lentejuelas
albariza sub-types
rainfall average in jerez?
20-25in
what styles may be made in manzanilla sanlucar de barrameda
fina / pasada / anada
aging for manzanilla pasada? rendement de base for jerez superior?
7 years 80 hl/ha
Min RS for PX and moscatel in Montilla-Moriles
PX 272
Moscatel 160
what styles may be made in Montilla Moriles? Name three grapes approved for production and include any elevage requirements.
Vino Generoso (2 years in oak)
Vin Dulce Natural (2 years in oak)
Blanco (1 year in oak - moscatel/PX/Torrontes)
How long must a fino viejo be aged?
7 years - new term for Fino-Amontillado
What is vino de color? Dulce Pasa?
a mix of boiled syrup and grape must
Sunned palomino
define cabeza in regards to winemaking in sherry
dead flor falls to the bottom of a barrel and breaks down causing wines to go through autolysis
How did sherry butts come to be the standard size they are now
english merchant class taking control of the shipping and selling of sherry
what did the methuan treaty do?
caused the start of the solera system as producers had leftover stocks they could not sell due to portugal’s new preferred tax rate with the english.
What did Jose Maria Ruiz-Mateos do for the spanish wine industry
in addition to securing the contract to supply sherry for Harvey’s he controlled almost 1/3 of all sherry production and much of central spain and rioja. He also helped greatly in the modernization of the wine industry in general in spain along with miguel Torres.
what body of water allows for coastal seabreezes to cool off cadiz? How much cooler are sanlucar and el puerto than jerez?
Gulf of cadiz / 15-20 degrees cooler on average
WhY are the Tajon unsatisfactory to plant on? What makes an alabariza ideal for planting?
Tajon are a type of albariza that is too high in lime content which causes Chlorosis if planted on.
a lime content in the rooting zone of 60% is ideal
At what abv does flor die?
16%
Name three things used to sweeten or color sherry
mistela
arrope/vino de color
dulce pasa/RCGM
Difference between:
Bodegas de Crianza y Espedicion
Bodegas de Crianza y almacenados
Bodega de Elaboracion
Bodega de Zona de Produccion
Bodegas de Crianza y Espedicion: firms which both mature and sell wine they must hold 250hl of wine and 60%must be sold under the DO label
Bodegas de Crianza y almacenados: firms which mature and keep stocks of wine of almacenistas / they may sell young or aged wine in bulk to the Crianza y espadicion
Bodega de Elaboracion: winemaking bodega allowed to hold stocks of wine before selling it on
Bodega de Zona de Produccion: winemaking bodegas permitted to mature wine but not sell wine
