Sherry — Andalusia's Oxidative Marvel

Sherry production dates to Phoenician colonists who established Xera (modern Jerez) around 1100 BCE. The Romans valued the wine, and it was documented by Shakespeare (Falstaff's 'sack' is Sherry). The solera system was codified in the 19th century. The Sherry DO was established in 1935, the first DO in Spain.

Sherry is one of the wine world's most misunderstood and underappreciated categories — a complex, diverse, fortified wine produced in the Sherry Triangle (Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, El Puerto de Santa María) in Andalusia, southern Spain, using the solera ageing system, and ranging from bone-dry, pungently saline Fino and Manzanilla to the richest, darkest, most oxidative Pedro Ximénez (PX) dessert wines. The system is unique: wine is aged in a 'solera' — a series of barrels arranged in scales (criaderas) from youngest to oldest — with a portion drawn from the oldest barrels for bottling and refilled with younger wine from the next oldest tier. This fractional blending system creates wines of remarkable consistency across decades. The flor (a film of yeast that forms on the surface of Fino and Manzanilla) is the most extraordinary biological agent in winemaking — it protects wine from oxidation while imparting the characteristic bread dough, almond, and chamomile complexity of biologically aged Sherry.

FOOD PAIRING: Sherry's range spans the entire culinary spectrum from the Provenance 1000 recipes. Fino/Manzanilla: Jamón Ibérico (the definitive pairing), Boquerones en Vinagre, Oysters, Marinated Anchovies, Fried Calamari. Amontillado: Consommé (the perfect soup wine), Smoked Almonds, Aged Manchego. Oloroso: Cured Meats, Strong Cheese, Roast Chicken, Lentil Stew. PX: Vanilla Ice Cream (pour over — one of wine's greatest simple pleasures), Chocolate Fondant, Dried Figs, Blue Cheese.