Sherry, Madeira & Marsala

Sherry comes from Jerez de la Frontera, in Southern Spain's Andalucia region. Wine has been produced here since the time of the Phoenicians, but trade in Sherry really got started when the English began shipping it home in the 16th century. The Elizabethans knew sherry as "sack" (a favorite of Shakespeare's Falstaff), and England has been an important market ever since.

Sherry, much of it made from the white Palomino grape, is aged in a unique system called a solera, usually diagramed as an inverted pyramid of barrels. The newest wine is placed into a barrel at the top of the solera. As one third to one quarter of the oldest wine is drawn for bottling, from the casks at the bottom, newer wine is moved down the rows of the solera to replace it. The wine ages as it makes its way down. The solera system helps keep sherry consistent from bottling to bottling.

There are two main types of sherry. The type called fino is covered by a film of yeast (called the flor) during aging, keeping it free from the influence of oxygen. Fino is typically light, dry, and crisp. Served chilled, it is the classic accompaniment to tapas. Oloroso doesn't age under a covering of flor and is left exposed to air, becoming darker, richer, and more concentrated than fino. Other types of sherry include amontillado (a fino that has taken on the characteristics of an oloroso) and Pedro Ximenez (an intensely sweet, raisiny sherry made from the grape variety of this name). 

FINO: Golden coloured, 15º, dry, delicate aroma, light, "almond flavored".
Drank with: Appetizers, tapas, soups, seafood, white fish and mild cheeses.

MANZANILLA: Lighter golden color, 15º, similar to fino but aged nearer to the sea, in Sanlucar de Barrameda.
Drank with the same dishes as Fino.

AMONTILLADO: Amber colored, 17.5º, "hazelnut flavored", light and soft to the palate.
Drank with: White meat, dark fish, cured cheeses.

OLOROSO: Amber or chestnut colored (darker), strong aroma (that´s where the name comes from), 18º, strong body, "nut flavoured".
Drank with: Game or red meat.

PALO CORTADO: Chestnut colored, dry, 18º, combined characteristics of the amontillado and the oloroso. Hard to find because the ideal grapes for this wine disappeared with the phylloxera epidemic in 1894.

PALE CREAM: Pale color (golden), soft and sweet, 17,5º.
Drank with: Paté, fresh fruit.

CREAM: Dark colored, it is obtained from oloroso, but it is sweet 17,5º. Drank with: pastries

PEDRO XIMENEZ: Dark chestnut colored, smells of raisins. Soft and sweet, but very aromatic. Made with the "Pedro Ximenez" variety of grapes, sun ripened.