SHERRY

The range of colors in Sherry. Photo from Creativa.

Time was, "Sherry" meant only one thing to us: sweet cream Sherry, a wine as brown as onion soup and as sweet as sorghum, its role limited to granny's bedtime Ambien or the "Father's Day tie" of Christmas presents.

Meanwhile, in southern Spain, sun-bronzed men as burly as bulls were downing glass after glass of the Sherries they had made, wines called manzanilla or fino or palo cortado, none of them resembling, in any way, that cloyingly treacle-sweet sip.

These were dry wines, with a briny cut to them, heady with the scents of nuts, spice and wood. These Sherries, little appreciated hereabouts until recently, were long among the globe's great wines, lauded by Shakespeare's Falstaff and a pillar of British trade.

As Sherry regains standing in our country, it finds once again its rightful place—with food, a unique wine for unique eats.

The name "Sherry" is rooted in the name of a region in far southern Spain, called "Xera" by the Greeks, the Roman “Ceret,” "Sekeris" by the Arabs and "Jerez" by the Spaniards (corrupted to "Sherry" by the British).

It is a fortified wine, in other words, a base wine (made primarily of the palomino grape) to which winemakers add neutral grape distillate, thus raising the wine's alcohol level to 15 to 20 percent. Fortification is necessitated because the wine is set out, open to the air, for a period of controlled oxidation (something most makers of table wine eschew) which, along with a distinctive method of blending, makes Sherry, well, Sherry.

Sherry comes in various styles, from bone dry to very, very sweet. Among them, manzanilla and fino Sherries develop under flor, a blanket of yeasts that marginally protect them against too much oxidation.

The flor gives these two a yeasty, bread-doughy aroma and flavor. All other Sherries develop without flor and consequently are more oxidized (nuttier, browner, deeper in flavor).

In addition to controlled oxidation, Sherry is the beneficiary of a system of fractional blending called solera. To fill bottles, Sherry is aged in 600-liter barrels of American oak, then continuously drawn out of these barrels—never more than a third of a barrel at a time—and the barrels are replenished with younger wine.

As such, Sherry is constantly blended with wine from previous years.

Serving temperature for Sherry is important: manzanilla and fino must be served cool or cold; medium-dry Sherries at or about 65 degrees; and very sweet Sherries at just below American room temperature (68 to 70 degrees).

Sherries and their food partners

Manzanilla: Very dry, light, tangy, crisp and only from Sanlucar de Barrameda, a humid, seaside village that many feel gives manzanilla a "salty" edge. A classic match is marinated olives, but also grilled, oily fish (whole fresh sardines, for example) or fish croquettes; any salty finger food, the saltier, the better.

Fino ("fine" in Spanish): Straw-colored, dry, sharp, tangy, fresh, smelling like almonds or, if excellent, "like a garden after the rain," according to wine writer Karen MacNeil. Try with sliced green apples; walnuts or oiled, salted almonds; or crustaceans or shellfish.

Amontillado: An aged fino, amber-colored, with hazelnut-y, butterscotch-like aromas and flavors; light and smooth. Have with salty, firm, aged cheeses (pecorino, aged manchego, etc.); or roasted or grilled white meat (turkey, pork, rabbit, chicken, veal). One of the few wines that works alongside broth-based soups.

Oloroso (Spanish for "fragrant"): A dry to medium-dry sherry, amber- to mahogany-hued, very nutty tasting, dark and often slightly sweet. Olorosos have an edge of acidity to them that renders them tasty with fattier foods, such as foie gras or other liver; or pork belly, bacon-wrapped foods or fatty sausages.

Palo Cortado: A dry amontillado that has morphed of its own accord into the body and richness of an oloroso; dry, persistent, rich. This may sound down-market, but an amazing combination is toasted dark bread with good peanut butter and honey.

Cream: A sweet, often elegant, mahogany-colored oloroso to which wine made from ultra-sweet pedro ximenez grapes has been added; velvety and full. Enjoy with a range of savory and sweet foods, from blue cheeses and sliced ham, to dark chocolate or dark berries drizzled with balsamic syrup or condimenti.