Sherry COPY Flashcards
Jerez
3 soil types
- albariza
- barros
- arenas
pagos
vineyards
Jerez
Largest pago (vineyard)
Macharnudo
- over 2000 acres
Sherry
3 authorized white grapes
- Palomino (Listan)
- Pedro Ximinez (PX)
- Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria)
Palomino
a.k.a.
Listan
Palomino
Palomino
- Lackluster, low-acid table wines
- Appx 95% of vineyard acreage in Jerez
Palomino
2 sub-varieties
- Palomino Fino - more prevalent, prized for higher yields and disease resistance
- Palomino de Jerez
Moscatel
Preferred soil type
Moscatel is mostly planted on Arenas soils
- Near Chiponia
soleo
soleo
-
For 1 to 3 weeks, grape bunches (Moscatel, Pedro Ximenez) are dried in the sun on esparto grass mats prior to pressing
- Palomino may also be sunned, but rarely longer than 24 hours and often not at all
Jerez
Harvest
- August
- Mostly by machine
vara
stick
pulgar
thumb
vara y pulgar
vara y pulgar
- Common traditional training method in which growers prune alternate spurs each year
- One year’s vara (stick) will be pruned back after harvest to become the following year’s pulgar (thumb)
Liters of juice that may be pressed from 100 kg of grapes
72.5 liters juice / 100 kg of grapes
Jerez Superior
max yields
80 hl/ha - Jerez Superior
vs 100 hl/ha everywhere else
zapatos de pisar
zapatos de pisar - cowhide boots w/ angled nails on the soles, worn by pisadores (laborers) to crush and press grapes
pisadores
pisadores - laborers, who would traditionally crush and press the grapes under their feet
Must (mosto de yema)
3 different parts of the pressed juice
- primera yema - free-run juice, accounting for 60-70% of the total mosto de yema
- segundo yema - press wine
- mosto prensa - poorer quality press wine for distillation
Fermentation
2 stages
- tumultuous fermentation - hot and vigorous initial phase lasting up to a week
- lenta - slow fermentation - in which high temperatures subside and any remaining sugar in the wine is converted to alcohol over a period of weeks
Wines classified as palo are in tanks marked with a what?
vertical slash
Wines classified as gordura are in tanks marked with a what?
circle
Wines marked as palo are fortified to what % abv?
15 - 15.5% abv
- Destined to become more delicate Fino or Manzanilla styles
Wines marked as gordura are fortified to what % abv?
17 - 18% abv
- High level of alchohol that will not permit the growth of flor, and will become Oloroso Sherries
En Rama Sherry
Biologically aged Sherry bottled directly from cask without filtration
River that sits in the northwestern part of Jerez
Guadalquivir
- Guadallete River in the center of the region near the town of Cadiz
Sherry
2 DO zones
- Jerez-Xérès-Sherry
- Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda
* they share an identical production zone and similar production guidelines, but the latter must be aged in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Hot, dry wind that blows from the east, and intensifies the heat in Jerez
levante
- cooks the grapes on the vine during ripening
- vs poniente, humid Atlantic wind, which alternates with levante, and promotes the growth of flor
Jerez
2 influential winds
-
levante
- From the east, hot, dry, intenifies heat, cooks the grapes on the vine during ripening
-
poniente
- Humid Atlantic, from the west, alternates with levante, and promotes the growth of flor
albariza soil
albariza
- Chalky, porous, limestone-rich, brilliant white color
- Moisture-retentive, retains water from autumn and winter rains
- Friable structure, allows vine roots to penetrate deeply in search for water trapped beneath its baked, impermeable surface during the arid growing season
- Concentrated on the gentle slopes of Jerez Superior (80% of region’s vines), subregion btwn Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the Guadalete River
- Produces the best Sherry
albariza soil
Benefits
albariza
- Moisture-retentive, retains water from autumn and winter rains
- Friable structure, allows vine roots to penetrate deeply in search for water trapped beneath its baked, impermeable surface during arid growing season
Area with most concentration of albariza soils
- Jerez Superior - gentle slopes
- Sub-region btwn Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the Guadalete River (which flows into Bay of Cádiz, south of Jerez de la Frontera)
Jerez
Region with most vines planted
Jerez Superior
- 80% of the appellation’s vines
- Sub-region btwn Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the Guadalete River
Main area with most pagos (vineyards)
Jerez de la Frontera
- Inclunding vineyards Macharnudo, Añina, Carrascal
Macharnudo
Size in acres
over 2000 acres
barros soil
barros
- Higher proportion of clay
- Prominent in low-lying valleys
Areas with most barros soils
barros
- Prominent in low-lying valleys
- Higher proportion of clay
- More difficult to work
arenas soil
arenas
- Sandy soils
- Coastal areas
Jerez
3 major vineyard sites
- Macharnudo (over 2000 acres, largest)
- Añina
- Carrascal
Sobretablas
Sobretablas
- For wines that develop under flor, period of 6 months to a year, which the wines’ evolution may be redirected, and classified a 2nd time as one of the following:
- 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.
