Sherry Flashcards
More than any other wine style what style is defined most by the processes used during maturation?
Sherry
where are Sherry’s exploited to their fullest extent?
Jerez
Where are vineyards that produce Sherry
in an area that surrounds the southern Spanish town of Jerez de la Frontera which gives the region its name.
Where must the Sherry wines be matured from Jerez?
either within city limits or in one of the two smaller seaside towns of Sanlucar de Barranmeda or El Puerto de Santa Maria
What type of climate does Jerez have?
hot sunny, Mediterranean although the vineyards that are nearer to the coast are on average a little cooler and benefit more from the prevailing cool, humid westerly wind.
What is the prevailing cool humid westerly wind on the coast in Jerez called?
poniente
What is the levante in Jerez?
it is a hot drying which sometimes send the temperature soaring when it blows in from the east.
What does the extra heat from Levante do to the vineyard
can add stress to the vines and damage the grapes.
What is the rainfall like in Jerez?
higher when compared to other Spanish regions, however in the growing season it is limited.
What type of soil does Jerez have that allows the vines to cope with limited rainfall
albariza soil - which has a very high chalk content providing good drainage but vitally its depth and excellent water holding capacity mean it stores enough water to sustain vines during very hot, dry, summers
What is done in Jerez in order to maximize the amount of water that is retained by the soil during autumn and winter
rectangular pits are dug between rows of vines to trap the water and reduce run off.
When are the rectangular pits dug in the vineyard to maximize water retention?
right after the harvest has finished and the soil is smoothed out again in the spring
How is moisture retention further enhanced in the summer in Jerez?
the albariza soil forms a hard crust that limits evaporation from the soil.
What are the three grape varieties allowed in Jerez?
Palomino, Ledro Ximenez (PX) and Muscat of Alexandria
Which grape varietal is the vast majority of plantings in Jerez
Palomino
What are the characteristics of wines made with Palomino in Jerez?
naturally low in acid, and lack obvious varietal aromas, which makes it ideal for Sherry production
How is Sherry production of wine largely determined?
either by biological or oxidative maturation.
What does Pedro Ximenez (PX) have in common with Palomino?
both have very little varietal flavor
what types of skins do PX grapes have? how does this impact the wine made
thin skins which makes them ideal to be sun dried for sweet sherry production
Where are PX grapes mostly grown?
very little grown in Jerez - mostly grown in neighboring regions of Montilla-Moriles where it grows more successfully. unusual exception that these grapes can be used in Sherry production
Describe Muscat of Alexandra wines\
only a very few amount of this is grown and like PX used for sweet wines.
What grape is used to make the dry style of Jerez wines?
Palomino
Due to high temperature at harvest times for Palomino grapes, what must happen at harvest?
the grapes must reach the press as quickly as possible to avoid oxidation
How does fermentation typically take place for dry sherry wines
in large stainless steel tanks at temperatures ranging from 20-25C (high for white wine, but suits the producer trying to make a neutral base wine.
Describe a base wine made from palomino grapes
dry with approx. 11-12% abv
after harvest for sherry wines, what happens in the autumn?
the wines are classified into two types: ones to be sent for biological ageing and those that will be sent for oxidative aging.
How is the decision made on if a wine will go the biological aging route or the oxidative route?
based on the flavor characteristic of the wine.
What route do lighter paler Sherry wines with more finesse go in terms of aging?
biological aging
What route do lighter darker, richer, heavier Sherry wines go in terms of aging?
oxidative ageing
At the stage of selecting which type of aging a Sherry base wine will go into first , what else is also happening?
the flors (film forming yeast), will have started to grow on each wine’s surface.
What kind of sherry base wines are more suitable for biological ageing?
wines made from grapes grown in relatively cooler coastal regions and/or are fermented at lower temperature levels
What kind of sherry base wines are more suitable for oxidative ageing?
wines made friom grapes grown in the warmer climates and/or fermented at higher temperatures
Once first classification is made for base Sherry wine what is the next step?
wines fortified using a 96% abv natural spirit then set aside for a few months before they are incorporated into the solera system this stage is called Sobretabla
What are sherry wines for biological ageing fortified to? and why?
between 15-15.5% abv which is the ideal strength for the development of flor
what step in the process is extremely important for biological ageing sherry wines?
period of sobretabla - the producer needs to wait and see if the flor develops correctly on these wines
which method of aging of sherry wine requires a 2nd classification? why?
biological - necessary to determine whether the wine has a style and character that is suitable for its respective solera system.
What happens to a sherry wine that does not meet the requirements of the flor developing correctly?
they are either refortified and sent for oxidative ageing or rejected altogether
what are sherry wines that are for oxidative aging fortified to? and why
17% abv at this strength flors dies
Why is the period of sobretabla not as important for oxidative ageing?
there is no need to wait and see if the flor flavors develop
What happens to grapes that are destined for naturally sweet sherry wines
they are sun dried to concentrate their sugar levels and also develop raisin flavors.
what happens to grapes after they are sun dried and must weight is achieved for sherry wines?
grapes are pressed and fermentation begins
what happens to sherry wine grapes that have gone through the sun dried process as they ferment
grapes yield such a concentrated juice that the yeast struggles to ferment the sugars and rarely manage more than a few degrees of alcohol.
what% alcohol are sherry wine grapes that have gone through the sun dried fortified to?
17% abv
What does Sherry need to be aged in?
a butt - 600 litre oak barrels
prior to maturing Sherry what are butts often used for?
mature unfortified wines so any oak flavor is eliminated
why is the oak needed in Sherry maturation?
to allow oxygen to reach the wine which is further enhanced by the butts only ever being 5/6 full
What is a particular challenge in Jerez regarding maturation?
keeping the maturation environment cool.
How do typical bodegas in Jerez keep the maturation environment cool?
they have whitewash walls, high ceilings and windows that point towards the cooling ponient winds and the floors are kept damp to maintain humidity. some are now air conditioned
What system does Sherry use of maturation that it is famous for?
solera system used to sustain both biological and oxidative aging.
what is the solera system?
its made up of a number of groups of butts, referred to as levels which hold different average ages
What are the levels in the solera system called?
criaderas -
what does the maturation process using the solera system involve?
moving wine between the levels over time to achieve a blend of younger and older wines.
what is the difference between solera and solera system?
solera system is the entire system as a whole. solera by itself is the last level of system that holds wine of the oldest average age.
what is the first step in the solera system process?
wine for bottling is taken out of the solera system from the solera and an equal amount of wine is taken from each butt at this level.
what is step 2 in the solera system process?
the solera is not fully emptied and the butts are replenished with the same volume of wine taken from butts in the next level that contain wine of a slightly younger average age called the first criadera
what are the three steps in the replenishment in step two of the solera system?
- equal amount of wine taken from each butt in the first criadera.
- all the wine from the first criadera is mixed together
- finally this blended wine is used to top off each butt in the solera.
What is the third step in the solera system process?
the first criadera is replenished in exactly the same way with wine as the second criadera and so on so that each criadera is being replenished with younger wine
what is the final step in solera system process?
the criadera containing the youngest wine is usually replenished with sobretabla wine.
Typically how many criadera are used?
can vary from 3-14
what is the main advantage of wine taken out of the solera system?
it is the same every time. its a feature of the system that the wine introduced to a new level takes on the characteristics of the older wine it has been blended with .
what could be a reason that a wine that has gone through the solera system does not show consistency
if wine is of poor quality was fed into system to begin with or too much wine is taken out each year.
why are criaderas from the same solar system often kept in different buildings?
to reduce the risk of losing an entire solera system in one catastrophic event
what does biological ageing require the presence of?
flor - which is made up of a number of yeast strains.
what does flor do to the wine?
they form a thick layer on the surface of the wine and feed off the alcohol (and other nutrients) in the wine and oxygen in the atmosphere to produce CO2 and acetaldehyde.
what gives biologically aged Sherry its unique flavors
acetaldehyde
what does flor need in order to thrive?
precise levels of alcohol, temperature and humidity.
at what amount abv can flor not survive in a wine?
above 15.5%
what temperature and humidity level does flor do better with?
cool to moderate temperatures and high levels of humidity.
what seasons does flor grow more vigorously?
spring and autumn and dies back in winter and summer.
Why is each butt in the solera system only partially filled?
to allow oxygen access to the flor, which then in turn protects the wine from the oxygen.
Why is regular additions of new wine needed in Sherry
flors constantly consume alcohol and other nutrients and by adding new wine it keeps the flor supplied with these nutrients
how is a ready flow of nutrients between criaderas maintained?
wine is drawn off the solera at frequent and regular periods throughout the year.
What kind of Sherry’s quickly lose their freshness and ideally need to be consumed immediately?
biologically aged Sherries such as Fino.
how long can flor cultures be kept alive?
it is possible to keep it alive indefinitely, however wines taken from solera systems rarely have an age over greater than 3-4 yrs.
what happens as the average age of sherry wine increases
the overall level of nutrients in the oldest criadera and solera drops and by the average age reaches 7 years the levels are sufficiently low that the flor can start to fail and oxidative characteristics can develop
What types of Sherries are aged oxidatively (without presence of flor?
Olorosso, PX and some Muscat Sherries.
What type of Sherry is aged oxidatively after a period of biological aging?
Amontillado
How is the impact of oxygen greatly enhanced in oxidative aging sherry wines?
by the air present in the part filled butts
What helps sherry wines from becoming overly oxidized
in the solera system adding in the young wines helps to preserve the base character therefore keeping it from over oxidizing
How long can Sherries be matured oxidatively?
upwards of 30 years - however very few make it to this age.
How high can the abv get in oxidatively aged sherries ?
up to 22% as the water content evaporates
Most Sherries are the product of one solera system - true or false
false - there are some, but rarely. best sherries are blends of several solera systems
What happens to a Sherry just prior to bottling in most cases?
fining and filtration - although in recent years these are being kept to a minimum
Which type of aged Sherries don’t utilize much fining and filtration?
biological aging sherries as the vibrancy of their flavors can be dulled by high levels of intervention.
What are the four groupings of dry sherries?
Fino and Manzanilla; Oloroso; Amontillado, and Palo Cortado
What are the two naturally sweet styles of Sherry
PX- Pedro Ximenez and Muscat
What are the three styles of sweetening for Sherries?
Pale Cream, Medium, and Cream
What kind of aging has Fino and Manzanilla undergone?
biological only
Describe a Fino or Manzanilla style Sherry?
pale lemon in color, usually have aromas of citrus fruit, almonds, and herbs, with bready notes from the flors. sometimes referred to as tangy or salty.
When should a Fino or Manzanilla be consumed?
immediately they are not meant to age
What is Manzanilla de Sanlucar?
a variety of Sherry that is made outside of Jerez in a coastal town called Sanlucar de Barrameda (separate DO)
How are Fino and Manzanilla de Sanlucar made differently?
they are made exactly the same except that the cooler more humid conditions on the coast ensure a thick layer of flors throughout the year - giving a more tangy aroma.
what are sherry wines labelled that have undergone minimal fining and filtering
en rama
What type of aging does Oloroso undergo?
only oxidative aging
Describe an Oloroso wine?
brown in color, full bodied, and dominated by oxidative aromas such as toffee, leather, spice and walnut.
what happens to very old Oloroso wines?
they can become very concentrated and develop astringency that is balanced when blended with younger wine in the solera system
How are Amontillado wines aged?
they first undergo a period of biological aging followed by a period of oxidative aging.
What happens to Amontillado wines when the biological aging piece is completed?
they are refortified to 17% abv to kill the flor and then fed into the Amontillado solera system.
Describe Amontillado wines
amber or brown in color, less full bodied than oloroso and combine yeast derived aromas with oxidative aromas although the yeast ones slowly fade as the wine ages but still are recognizable.
How long can Amontillado wine age?
they can be aged as long as Oloroso
What is a rare kind of Sherry?
Palo Cortado
describe a Palo Cortado Sherry
one with aromas of Amontillado and body and richness of Oloroso
How do some producers classify Palo Cortado although not universally the case?
the second classification
What style is used to make Palo Cortado
varying styles but nearly all are high quality
What wines are mostly used as components in sweetened Sherries
PX and Muscat
Describe a PX wine
deep brown, and lusciously sweet often reaching 500g/l residual sugar. pronounced aromas of dried fruit, coffee and liquorice
Describe Muscat wines?
similar to PX wines except they retain varietal dried citrus peel character
Describe a Pale Cream Sherry
they must have undergone a short period of biological aging prior to sweetening typically with RCGM. similar to Fino but rarely have pronounced flor character
What does the category of Medium and Cream Sherry include?
very diverse category including both inexpensive and super premium wines.
How is Medium Sherry aged?
it must show characteristics of both biological and oxidative aging.
How is Cream Sherry aged?
only has oxidative characteristics.
How are both Medium and Cream Sherry sweetened?
with PX
Describe the best Medium and Cream Sherry
seamlessly balance the toffee, leather, and walnut flavors with the dried fruit notes of the sweet wine.
Describe an inexpensive Medium and Cream Sherry
taste cloying and lack complexity
What are the 4 categories of age indicated Sherries
- VORS - Vinum Optiumim rare Signatum/Very Old Rare Sherry) (30 yr old)
- VOS - (Vinum Optimum Signatum/ Very Old Sherry (20 yr old)
- 15 years old
- 12 years old
What are only type of Sherries which can have an age indication status
Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, and PX
