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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:23 pm Post subject: Sherry |
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Christmas is coming which means the British will buy their one bottle of sherry for the year so I thought I'd get a little info for this year.
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Due to an association with vicars, grannies, the aristocracy and alcoholics, sherry suffers from more accusations of naffness than almost any other drink. But it is in fact a fine drink to sip and swallow.
Basics
This sweet snifter is a Spanish drink, produced in the South-Western part of the country, around the town of Jerez de la Frontera. Production is similar to wine with a few notable exceptions. The grapes used to make sherry are fairly acidic and there is a considerable depth of flavour in the juice.
After the grape juice has fermented, it is left to mature in large vats. Amontillado and Manzanilla sherry use a peculiar yeast called flor which is allowed to grow on the surface. The flor spreads like a thick crust and prevents the liquid from reacting with the air. Oloroso sherry, on the other hand, develops with exposure to air. The sherry-to-be is then fortified with a wine distillate.
Types of sherry
Fino is a dry, pale-coloured sherry which should be drunk young and is usually served chilled. Try it while snacking on tapas and cured meats. Manzanilla is a variation of Fino as it’s light and fresh. It’s got a slightly salty flavour which is probably because it hails from a seaside town. Amontillado is a dry, dark sherry which is somewhat aged. Oloroso is a rich brown sherry - some are dry, but they are often sweetened.
Gonzales Byass is probably the best-known sherry producer. They produce the famous Tio Pepe fino, as well as fine olorosos and manzanillas. Gutierrez Colosia is another fine producer, although slightly less common over on UK shores. Osbournes and Sandeman were both started by Brits and produce some of the most popular sherry in Spain. |
http://www.viewlondon.co.uk/sherry_index.html _________________ https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-drink-talk-675586225966432/ |
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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:27 pm Post subject: Sherry History 101 |
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When the Romans captured Spain, they found many vineyards and viticulture advanced rapidly. Then the Vandals invaded (calling the south Vandalusia) and in turn the Visigoths. It heralded a time of perpetual war until the Moors swept over the peninsular for some seven centuries, only to be usurped finally by the Christians. During Moorish domination, Jerez expanded in size and wealth. They called it "Seris", whích was later corrupted to "jerez" by the Spanish and to "sherry" by the English.
By the 16th century, the sherry trade with England had become well established, but it actually originated earlier during Moorish domination (despite the irony that wine was prohibited to the muslims.)
In recent times, wage inflation and the availability of cheaper and better machinery and new computer technology have jolted the traditions and whole atmosphere of the sherry towns. Equally the impact of individual businesses such as the fluctuating fortunes of Ruíz-Mateo has been enormous, from his family's humble beginnings as a local wine shipper to big business and banks. Nowadays all the big sherry labels of the world are present in some form in Jerez. |
http://www.flamencoshop.com/sherry/sherry.htm _________________ https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-drink-talk-675586225966432/ |
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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:29 pm Post subject: Sherry 2004: Introduction |
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As I write this article Christmas is approaching fast, it being early December. We have much to look forward to - family gatherings, alcohol-induced spoonerisms, drunk uncles wearing lampshades on their heads, arguments and stress. Obviously sales of Sherry are about to rocket, as it is an essential ingredient in trifle - vital at the festive time of year - and also because you have to leave something out for Santa. Through personal communications with the great man himself I am able to inform you of two important facts. Firstly, rest assured that Santa has already started his annual milk thistle routine; this is essential if he is to get through the estimated 8.3 billion glasses of Sherry and other beverages that he encounters every year on Christmas Eve. Secondly, old Saint Nick (as only us close friends should really call him - Mr Christmas to you) has, in recent years, been somewhat disappointed by the standard of offerings. The mince pies are fine, the carrots acceptable (did you think he actually gave them to Rudolph??), but the Sherry is frequently awful.
And so, at the request of the big man himself (and he is big), enjoy over the next few weeks my Sherry profiles, featuring four of the region's greatest producers. Shop around for some of these wines and, I guarantee, not only will Santa be pleased, you will too. For Sherry is one of the world's greatest, most underappreciated, and therefore undervalued, wine styles. If you're into cult wines for £6 per bottle, read on. |
full article see: http://www.thewinedoctor.com/spain/sherry2004.shtml _________________ https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-drink-talk-675586225966432/ |
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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 2:42 pm Post subject: |
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If looking for a genuine sherry but price is an issue why not try this at £3.76 a bottle, Cheap as QC, yes they do still make it but this is the real spanish stuff - if anyone is near an Oddbins and gets a bottle please write a review, though on line they are out of stock!!!!
http://www.oddbins.com/products/productDetail.asp?productcode=10019
Valdespino Cream
Product Code : 10019
A proper rich oloroso sherry from a very good producer. The wine is not overly sweet and sticky. We think it's well worth a schooner or two
Tasting Notes : Medium sweet to sweet with a pleasant rich depth, warm nutty complexity and lovely length of flavour.
Producer : Valdespino
Method of Production : A light white wine was made with very ripe Palomino grapes and fortified with neutral spirit. Wine from later pressings aged in a solera system of well seasoned American oak barrels. Long ageing in the solera gave deep colour and rich complexity. Fractional blending in the solera blended young fresh wine with complex older wines. The blend was sweetened before bottling.
Food Choice : Drink with sweet or savory nibbles from nuts and dried fruit to cheeses or pastries.
Region : Jerez Superior
Percentage Alcohol : 17.5
or
Macarena Amontillado
Product Code : 33496
Exceptional entry-level medium dry amontillado that was born in some of the oldest and most beautiful bodegas in Jerez.
Tasting Notes : A classic Amontillado, medium dry, with crisp nutty fruit and a long tangy finish.
Method of Production : The PX grapes were dried out in plastic tunnels while the Palomino grapes were taken straight to the winery. After pressing fermentation was carried out in stainless steel tanks at 25 to 30°C, hot for white wines so as to produce more aldehydes. The now dry wine is then put in barrel and fortified. The finished wine was taken from the solera and sweetened with wine from the PX grapes before bottling.
Food Choice : Cheese and strong flavoured tapas.
Region : Jerez
Percentage Alcohol : 16 _________________ https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-drink-talk-675586225966432/ |
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Johnny Site Admin

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Johnny Site Admin

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Old Faithful Aged Maltster


Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 432 Location: East Yorkshire
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Posted: Fri Dec 08, 2006 6:35 pm Post subject: |
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You can't beat a nice Sherry trifle!!!  |
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Johnny Site Admin

Joined: 02 Apr 2005 Posts: 3556
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 10:01 am Post subject: |
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Old Faithful wrote: |
You can't beat a nice Sherry trifle!!!  |
Apparently with really good sherry it should be drank like wine so only lasts hours or a couple of days so that is why sherry was used so much in cooking. The dark sweet sherries we buy in the UK are very different to those in Spain and these last a couple of months after being open. _________________ https://www.facebook.com/Let-the-drink-talk-675586225966432/ |
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Old Faithful Aged Maltster


Joined: 21 May 2005 Posts: 432 Location: East Yorkshire
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Posted: Sat Dec 09, 2006 12:12 pm Post subject: |
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Johnny wrote: |
Old Faithful wrote: |
You can't beat a nice Sherry trifle!!!  |
Apparently with really good sherry it should be drank like wine so only lasts hours or a couple of days so that is why sherry was used so much in cooking. The dark sweet sherries we buy in the UK are very different to those in Spain and these last a couple of months after being open. |
I do tend to have the odd sherry or 2 around this time of the year!! But much prefer the darker ones!!!
Any idea which type is typically used for whisky barrels???  |
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