- International Sherry Week -
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The world of Sherry can be a daunting one. Right out the gate, many of us have had little exposure to quality sherry — commonly our first reference points are cooking Sherry (low quality and salted) or Grandma's sweetened Sherry. But the fortified wines of Jerez come in a range of styles, with unique flavors you can't recreate anywhere else in the world. From dry and salty, to syrupy and complex, there is a style of Sherry for every palate. Today, we explore the broader world of Sherry, its wide range of styles and how to best enjoy them. |
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FREE Tasting Tonight!
(Thursday, 11/09/23, 4 - 7 p.m.)
Join Pat Sharp of Bourget Imports to taste the historic Sherries of Valdespino!!
-and-
Jon with Libation Project is here to pour some whiskeys (including our own barrel pick) and vermouths!!!
5-8 pm
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Save The Date
Mark your calendars, because we're hosting a Champagne Event on December 14th with Laurent Perrier!
Tickets will be available to purchase next week!!
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What is Sherry?
Sherry is a fortified wine from Jerez, in Southeastern Spain, just off the Atlantic shore. Millennia ago, this region was submerged under the sea. The soil here is consequently "albariza", composed of marine sediments, limestone, and prehistoric sea fossils. The flavors of Sherry is a world unto itself, a broad frontier for food pairing possibilities! Palamino is the star grape of dry Sherries. Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel Bianco grapes are also grown in Jerez and are used in the production of dessert Sherries.
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Aging of Sherry
The Solera System (also known as fractional blending) is a method of perpetually blending vintages. In any given year, you can only draw off 30% of a Solera, at which point you fill the Solera from the 1st Criadera (the youngest barrel of fractionally blended Sherry). Then you fill the 1st Criadera from the 2nd (second youngest blended barrel), and so on and so forth. There can be up to fourteen levels of Criadera! Therefore, by law, Sherry never carries a vintage date — although you will commonly find the year the solera was formed on Sherry, indicating the oldest portions of the wine.
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Flor
The styles of Sherry are determined largely by the presence or absence of flor, the yeast blanket that grows on the surface of some styles of sherry. Flor is the Spanish word for 'flower' and reffers to the blooming of this foamy, waxy yeast film. The flor-covering leads to light, fresh, dry styles of Sherry. Without flor, the Sherry will become more oxidative, darker in color, and more nutty/rich in flavor.
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Fino
Fino Sherry develops under Flor, which protects the developing Fino from oxidizing by consuming the surrounding oxygen. The Flor ebbs and flows with the seasons, and is therefore not impermeable — so small amounts of oxidation will occur, imparting complexity. Generally, the style of Fino Sherry is dry and delicate, with notes of almond, fresh dough, and wild herbs. Fino food pairings include umami rich olive tapenade, sashimi, roasted almonds, oysters, and salty tin fish. We love the Delgado Zuleta Fino Sherry which is creamy with intensely nutty notes, yeasty aromas, and a gorgeous chamomile-soaked nectarine palate. The Manuel Aragón Fino Granero is bone dry, electric, and salty. This historic bodegas is just 800m from the sea, and you can taste the Atlantic influence!
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Manzanilla
Similar to Fino Sherry, Manzanillas will also develop under a flor, and are also tangy and crisp with green earthiness. The difference is that Manzanilla MUST be developed in Soleras situated seaside, by the town of Sanlucar de Barrameda. It is in this location the 78% humidity and salty air create a unique mesoclimate where the flor remains thick and robust year round! Therefore, Manzanilla has the most delicacy and least possible exposure to oxidation. Lustau Papirusa Manzanilla is bone dry, light, and crisp with soft notes of salt and flowers. Valdespino Deliciosa Manzanilla is light and dry with notes of citrus, fresh herbs, olive brine, almond and a salty minerality.
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Oloroso
Oloroso translates to "intensely aromatic" and is a long-aged style of Sherry that has not been protected under flor, therefore it has been exposed to oxygen. The result is a darkened, rich, nutty full-bodied Sherry with an unctuous mouthfeel. To prevent flor development, Oloroso is fortified with grape spirits to about 18 to 20 percent — making an unhospitable environment for flor development. These wines are lusty, with roasted nutty flavors. Food pairings include meat stews (especially with gelatinous meats such as bull's tail or cheaks), wild mushrooms, and well cured cheeses. We love the richly textured El Maestro Sierra Oloroso with complex notes of hazelnuts and exotic spices.
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Amontillado
Amontillados are a hybrid style of Sherry. They begin their lives as Fino Sherry, then are later fortified to a higher alcohol content that dissuades flor from developing in the Solera — finishing their development like an Oloroso. This results in a darker color from the oxidative aging, and a richer nuttier flavor than a Fino. Generally, Amontillados are in the middle of the Sherry spectrum. Amontillado Sherry is a great accompaniment for Iberico ham, cured meats, game meats, and meatier tapas. The El Maestro Sierra Vinos Viejos Amontillado is fresh and salty, with rich notes of roasting coffee, peanuts and cinchona.
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Palo Cortado
Palo Cortado is VERY similar to an Amontillado, and also starts its life under flor. The difference is that Palo Cortados are made with a controlled and sudden killing off of the flor. Palo Cortado must have the refinement of an Amontillado, but with the body and structure of an Oloroso. As a style, Palo Cortado is vaguely defined, but always marked by its finesse. Try the Cesar Florido "Peña del Aguila" Palo Cortado, with aromatics of incense, white chocolate, marmalade, and nuts. This medium bodied Sherry is produced from 25+ year old Palomino vines. The El Maestro Sierra Palo Cortado has a highly expressive nose, with notes of cinnamon pastry, roasted chestnuts, dried mushrooms, walnuts, tobacco, and maple syrup. The deep persistent flavors include orange peel, pepper, roasted coffee beans, clove, and walnuts.
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Cream Sherry
This style of Sherry was originally created for the British market, and their insatiable sweet tooth! Cream Sherry is the result of sweetening dry Oloroso Sherry, and a "pale cream" is a simple "white" version of cream Sherry, with less alcohol than regular cream Sherry. Cheap Cream Sherries are made of dull base wines, passed through a couple barrels, and then sweetened heavily — lacking any real character or complexity. But, one taste of the Lustau East India Solera Sherry will provide a hedonistic experience of profound richness and complexity. The Alameda Cream Sherry is an organic blend of Oloroso and Pedro Ximenez, which is aged for many years in solera. The Lustau Deluxe Cream Capataz Andrés is a tribute to the great cellar master of Lustau from the 1960s. This Sherry has fresh acidity, with Concentrated notes of smoky wood, dates, dry figs and raisins.
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Pedro Ximénez
Pedro Ximenéz is an ebony-colored sweet style of Sherry, created by drying the Pedro Ximenéz grapes on straw mats under the Spanish sun. Once the grapes have lost a significant amount of water, concentrating the sugars, the syrupy juice can be extracted. The resulting wines are 40-50% residual sugar, that's three times as sweet as a Sauternes! It is a perfect pairing for hard & pungent cheeses. It's great poured over ice cream or on top of pancakes. We also love it as a blending ingredient in Mezcal cocktails! Try the Hidalgo Pedro Ximenez, which is perfectly balanced — sweet but not cloying. We also love the El Maestro Sierra Pedro Ximenez, which is aged in a solera now on its 8th decade! Elegant, and not nearly as syrupy as you'd expect, this Sherry has notes of crème brûlée, marmalade, and toasted hazelnuts.
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Friday Tasting Table
Friday, 11/10/23, 4 - 8 p.m.
Join Taylor of Wine Merchants for a FREE wine tasting this Friday!
Get 10% off any bottle of wine from the tasting table.
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Cocktail of the Week: Autumn In Jersey
Autumn in Jersey is an applejack cocktail. Applejack is a blend of apple brandy and neutral grain spirit. It gives the applejack a lighter more apple-y flavor than most apple brandies. Applejack has been called Jersey lightning since the prohibition days. So that's what's Jersey about this drink. This cocktail combines the Applejack, lemon and Orgeat with a sprig of mint to freshen it up — perfect for a crisp fall evening.
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Ingredients:
2oz Laird's Applejack
.75oz Fee Brothers Orgeat Syrup
.75oz Fresh Lemon Juice
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
Instructions:
Add all ingredients into a shaker. Fill a rocks glass with crushed ice. Without shaking, pour your mixture over crushed ice and top with more crushed ice. Garnish with a mint sprig.
Cheers,
Nikola
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Staff Picks - What to Drink this Week
Try these special, staff-selected libations!
2022 Domaine de la Madone 'La Vinif a Papa' Beaujolais-Villages - $25.99
Fall, and Thanksgiving in particular is Gamay's time to shine. One of our favorites here at the shop is ‘La Vinif à Papa’- a tribute to the winemakers’ father, who back in the 1960s crafted “wines with personality,” via carbonic maceration and no added sulfites. Endlessly fragrant and fruity, with tons of summer-ripe blackberries and cherries, this Beaujolais-Villages brings all the Fleurie-adjacent energy and fruit that Madone has long been known for. An easy drinking red in its most perfect form that should be on everyone's Turkey Day table!
-Angie
2022 Jolie-Laide Melon de Bourgogne - $34.99
The savvy wine consumer should know the grape Melon de Bourgogne from the best valued white wine region Muscadet, in the Loire Valley in France. There are also a few producers producing exceptional Melon de Bourgogne bottlings in California, most notably Jolie-Laide. This wine hails from a high elevation vineyard rich in limestone and decomposed granite located in Monterey County called the Chalone vineyard. The nose shows aromas of lemon oil and honey and the palate delivers rich vinous apple and pear fruit with a lively mineral note. Try this stunning white wine with Chicken Piccata or Clams Casino.
-Rob
Domaine De La Combe Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie- $22.99
This Muscadet is an excellent choice for a holiday white as it shines with light golden hues that are similar to those of the sunsets that are beginning to come earlier each passing day. This wine comes from a vineyard near the town of Saint Fiacre in the Loire valley settled between the notable rivers of “Sevre” and “Maine” which creates a cool climate and unique soils for the grapes. This light yet flavorful wine ferments with wild yeasts from the vineyards and is considered to be a low intervention wine, it spends eight months aging on winemaking lees with regular battonages before it is fined and bottled. It drinks beautifully beyond its years with luscious flavors of preserved lemons accompanied by a minerality that is versatile when pairing with dishes. It can be paired well with meals involving light seafood while also having enough substance to accompany creamier sauces with pasta.
-Olivia
2022 I Brand Family Winery ‘Paysan’ Jack’s Hill Chardonnay - $23.99
The Paysan series from Ian Brand offers character driven wines from select sites in California that offer real verve and value. The Chardonnay jumps out of the glass with finely rendered lemon curd, roasted pineapple and tart apple. The detailed and exuberant fruit continues on the palate and lingers through the mid palate and long saline finish. The overall style of this wine is highly versatile and seems ready made for Fall flavors like pumpkin risotto or an open faced turkey sandwich.
-Dave
2018 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars 'Hands of Time' Red Blend, Napa Valley - $39.99
In 1970, Warren Winiarski, purchased a prune orchard and replanted it to vines and Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was born. A mere 6 years later, with only his second vintage, Winiarski shocked the wine world by winning the now legendary Judgement of Paris blind tasting with his 1973 SLV Cabernet Sauvignon. California wine making has never been the same since. Flash forward decades later. Stag's Leap is still in the upper echelon of wine making in California, considered one of the "first growths" of Napa Valley. In 2003 dozens of wine making alumni from Stag's Leap created the Hands of Time exhibit at the winery with their handprints encased in limestone plaques. It is a tribute to Winiarski and a hall of fame, so to speak, of established wine professionals who spent formative years at Stag's Leap. This special label is called Hands of Time in honor of that history and to offer the opportunity to enjoy a Stag's Leap red blend at an approachable price. For this outstanding 2018 vintage, lots from various vineyards, including Stag's Leap's famous Fay, SLV, and Artemis vineyards, were blended together, with 71% of the blend being Cabernet Sauvignon and the rest being Merlot. The wine was aged for 16 months in 100% French oak barrels before bottling. Aromas of ripe plum, blackberry, and violets lead to a full round palate of black fruit, cinnamon, vanilla, nutmeg, and dark chocolate. The finish is long and supple. Enjoy this with grilled beef tenderloin and baby red potatoes.
-Patrick
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VERY IMPORTANT - Furry Friend Visits! |
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Cheers, Everyone!
The Team at North Loop Wine & Spirits
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