Historical Background

Sherry is a fortified wine produced in the region surrounding the city of Jerez in Andalusia, Spain. This area has a rich history of viticulture and winemaking that dates back to the Phoenicians' rule. From early times, Sherry was a widely traded commodity.

Following Jerez's conquest by Christian forces in the 13th century, Sherry's domestic consumption and exports surged as English, Irish, and Flemish traders began shipping the wine. Free trade agreements with France and England further boosted its trade. After Christopher Columbus voyaged to America, significant quantities of Sherry were exported to the New World.

The Sherry industry experienced both prosperity and challenges over the centuries. Events such as the Peninsular Wars and the phylloxera plague devastated the industry. However, during more stable periods, successful shipping businesses flourished. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a rise in Sherry's popularity, prompting other countries to produce their own versions of Sherry, often of inferior quality. This led to establishing of Spain's first wine-related Regulatory Council, the Consejo Regulador, in 1933 to regulate Sherry production and trade. Although Sherry sales declined during World War II, they recovered in the following decades, peaking in the 1970s with shipments reaching 1.5 million hL in 1979. However, by the 1980s, younger consumers' preferences for different wine styles caused a significant drop in demand, leading to a surplus of low-quality Sherry.

Today, the Consejo Regulador works to balance vineyard plantings, stock levels, and sales while promoting Sherry's quality.

Location and Climate

Jerez is located in Andalusia, southern Spain, characterized by a hot Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers and mild, relatively rainy winters. Influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the region experiences the cooling, humid poniente wind and the hot, drying levante wind from North Africa. These climatic factors affect grape transpiration, concentrating sugars and presenting fermentation challenges. Jerez enjoys many cloud-free days, high sunlight hours, and fully ripe grapes, though sunburn can be a concern without sufficient shading.

Grapes

Sherry production is confined to the delimited area known as the Zona de Producción or Marco de Jerez, encompassing around 7,000 hectares. Grapes grown here can be used for DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry or DO Manzanilla – Sanlúcar de Barrameda. An exception is the Pedro Ximénez (PX) variety, which can be grown around Montilla and included in DO Jerez-Xérès-Sherry wines. The vineyards are further divided into smaller areas called pagos, each producing wines with distinct characteristics.

Grape Varieties

  • Palomino: The primary variety, accounting for 97% of vineyard area, used in all dry and sweetened Sherry styles. It ripens mid to late, is well-suited to dry, sunny weather, and produces large yields but loses acidity quickly at maturity.

  • Moscatel (Muscat of Alexandria): Grown mainly around Chipiona, it is late-ripening, heat, and drought-resistant. It is aromatic and used for sweet fortified wines.

  • Pedro Ximénez (PX): Used for sweet fortified wines and as a sweetening agent. Its small, thin-skinned grapes are sun-dried to concentrate sugar. PX grapes can be grown in Montilla and transported to Jerez for wine production.

Soils

The key soil in Jerez is albariza, a mix of limestone, silica, and clay. Albariza retains water from winter rains, vital for the dry growing season, and forms a crust when dry to reduce evaporation. This soil allows for higher planting densities and yields, as Sherry grapes do not need intense flavor concentration. The light color of albariza reflects light into the vine canopy, aiding grape ripening.

Winemaking

Grapes are pressed upon arrival at the winery, with free-run juice and light pressings used for biologically aged wines. Oloroso wines are made from later press fractions. Musts are clarified to remove dust from albariza soil. Fermentation occurs in two phases: a quick, vigorous first phase followed by a slow phase. Malolactic conversion is prevented to maintain acidity and avoid buttery flavors.

After fermentation, base wines are classified for biological or oxidative aging. Wines for biological aging are fortified to 15–15.5% abv to support flor yeast growth, while wines for oxidative aging are fortified to 17% abv to inhibit flor. The fortified wines enter the sobretablas stage before joining the solera system.

Maturation

Sherry matures in old wooden vessels, primarily American oak. The Solera system, a method of fractional blending, ensures consistency and quality. The system involves multiple criaderas (groups of barrels) containing wines of different ages. Wine is periodically drawn from the solera (oldest group) and younger criaderas to maintain a steady supply and consistent flavor profile.

Biological Aging

Biological aging involves maturing wine under a layer of flor yeast, which thrives at 15–15.5% abv without added SO2. Flor protects the wine from oxidation, imparts acetaldehyde aromas (apple, hay, chamomile), and reduces glycerol, resulting in a dry wine. The solera system helps maintain flor health by blending nutrient-rich young wines with older wines.

Styles of Sherry

  • Dry Sherries: Must have a maximum of 5 g/L residual sugar.

    • Fino and Manzanilla: Entirely aged under flor, pale lemon, dry, light to medium-bodied, low acidity, and 15–15.5% abv. Manzanilla, from Sanlúcar de Barrameda, is often lighter and fresher than Fino due to thicker flor layers and lower acetaldehyde levels.

    • Fino Viejo and Manzanilla Pasada: Aged under flor for a minimum of seven years.

    • Amontillado: Starts as Fino, re-fortified to 17% abv, and undergoes oxidative aging.

    • Oloroso: Aged oxidatively, fortified to 17% abv, brown, with dried fruit and walnut flavors.

    • Palo Cortado: Combines Amontillado's aromas and Oloroso's palate.

  • En Rama: Wines bottled with minimal stabilization to represent the best expression of the wine straight from the barrel.

Naturally Sweet Wines

Once harvested, grapes for naturally sweet wines are laid out to dry in the sun for 2–3 weeks. This drying process causes water to evaporate from the grapes, concentrating their sugar levels and developing raisin-like aromas. Fermentation for these wines stops naturally at around 4–6% ABV due to the high sugar levels. The wines are then fortified to a concentration of 15–16% ABV. They are usually matured oxidatively in their own solera systems, where gradual evaporation causes the sugars and flavors to concentrate further.

The most common grape varieties used for naturally sweet wines are Pedro Ximénez (PX) and Moscatel. Most Sherry producers make a single varietal PX, which must have a minimum residual sugar level of 212 g/L, but typically reaches 450–550 g/L. These wines are full-bodied (with a consistency similar to syrup), low in acidity, with pronounced aromas and flavors of raisins, molasses, and licorice. Single varietal Moscatel is much less common. These wines must have a minimum sweetness level of 160 g/L, but usually have 325–375 g/L of residual sugar. They can be protected from oxygen to give a non-oxidative style or aged in barrels for several years in an oxidative style. Both styles showcase the aromatic nature of the Moscatel grape. PX and Moscatel wines can range from inexpensive to premium in price and from good to outstanding in quality. Both can also be used as blending components for sweetened Sherries.

Sweetened Wines

Not all Sherries with sweetness are made in the above way. Sweet Sherries can also be made from Palomino grapes that have been fermented dry, fortified, aged, and then sweetened using a sweetening component. Inexpensive wines are likely made from relatively young wines that are sweetened just before bottling. For mid-priced and premium wines, the sweetened wine may be further matured in its own solera system. For example, Gonzalez Byass’ Matusalem VORS Cream Sherry remains 15 years in a solera system after the dry and sweet Sherries (already aged for 15 years) have been blended.

Pale Cream

These wines must undergo a period of biological aging prior to sweetening. Rectified concentrated grape must (RCGM) is generally used as the sweetening component, so it does not add color or its own flavors to the wine. These wines frequently have a very light flor character and are often not aged for very long, with the sweetening component diluting some of the flor-derived characteristics. They can be medium-sweet to sweet. Most Pale Cream wines are inexpensive and of acceptable to good quality.

Medium and Cream

In the past, Medium wines had to show characteristics of both biological and oxidative aging, whereas Cream wines would have oxidative characteristics only. Under new legislation, these wines can now be made from blends of biologically and oxidatively aged wines or exclusively one or the other (though sweetened wines made exclusively from biologically aged wines will be labeled Pale Cream). Both Medium and Cream wines are usually blended with PX for sweetening. Medium Sherries can range from off-dry to sweet (less than 115 g/L residual sugar), whereas Cream Sherries are sweet (above 115 g/L residual sugar). These wines can range from inexpensive to premium in price, and from acceptable to outstanding in quality. As with dry styles of Sherry, the cheapest wines tend to be made from younger wines, whereas premium examples will be made from a high proportion of well-matured Amontillado, Oloroso, and PX wines.

VOS and VORS

The term VOS (Vinum Optimum Signatum / Very Old Sherry) denotes wines with an average age of 20 years or more. The term VORS (Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum / Very Old Rare Sherry) denotes wines with an average age of 30 years or more. Each batch of these wines released from the bodega is assessed for typicity by a tasting panel and sent for laboratory analysis to provide evidence of the wine's age (e.g., carbon-14 testing). Since these very old dry wines can taste a little astringent, producers can blend in a little sweet wine, usually PX, as long as it does not mask the original dry wine (as judged by the tasting panel). These wines are produced in very small quantities, and their very good or outstanding quality, together with their relative rarity, means they sell at premium and super-premium prices.

12- and 15-Year-Old Sherries

These categories are for wines with a slightly lower average age. The wines must still undergo a tasting and laboratory analysis, but this is carried out yearly rather than for every individual batch of wines released.

Sherry Sales

Sherry sales have declined over the past four decades, from 150 million liters in the late 1970s to 31 million liters in 2019. Sweetened Sherry sales have fallen sharply, while dry styles like Fino and Manzanilla have also seen declines. Despite this, Sherry remains popular in Spain, the UK, Holland, Germany, and the USA. Recent trends show a shift towards premium and age-indicated Sherries, which now represent a profitable segment for producers.

Genaro Gallo