Sherry, Sherris, Scheris,
Xérès, Jerez ‑ by whatever name you call it, is, beyond a doubt, the greatest
wine product of Spain and one of the greats of the world, one of those agricultural
combinations of soil, air, climate, crop, people and public relations that
usually occur only in France. We mention public relations because Sherry is a
wine so inextricably connected with its region and country that the drinking of
it immediately conjures up memories or fantasies of gigantic bulls, flamenco
dancers, gypsies, horses and guitars.
The town that is the center
of Sherry production is Jerez de la Frontera, so‑called because for a time it
was on the frontier between the Moors and the Christians.
Jerez is a charming town,
with golden, stone buildings, many of them in the Renaissance style, and many
churches dating from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries, built around
the remains of mosques. It boasts a Moorish "Alcazar", whose oldest
parts are from the eleventh century. The Moorish heritage comes through in many
ways ‑ in the slowed pace of life, the hospitality of the residents, the
"Cante Jondo" singers, said to be the best in Spain, and other, more
ineffable ways.
But the town is, of course, most proud of its famous wine and its
"bodegas", where the wine is raised from its rough infancy as an
undistinguished grape juice to its majestic old age as the champion of Spanish
wines, contained and maturing in more than 500,000 huge butts in the cellars of
Jerez.
The triangle of land on which
the grapes are grown lies between Jerez, Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlucar de
Barrameda, encompassed by the Guadalquiver and Guadalete Rivers. It is an
undulating stretch, between 100 and 500 feet above sea level and receiving the
salt air of the Atlantic.
This land triangle is quite
unusual in containing the three necessary types of soil within a small region
of dependable climatic conditions.
The best soil is called
"albariza", and is up to 80 per cent chalk; so much that one's boots
become chalky when walking on the land. The most delicate grape, the
"Palomino", is planted on this fine soil, and the resulting juice is
a prime ingrediant of the "fino" varieties of Sherry. The output of
the vines on "aibariza" soil is lower than on the other types,
producing about 7,500 pounds of grapes per acre, which will make about 500
gallons of wine. The lowness of
the yield is compensated for by the extremely high quality of the wine grapes.
The second class of soil is
called "barro", and is predominantly clay soil. On this soil a larger
yield is realized.
The third type of soil is the
sandy soil called "arenas", on which a very abundant yield can be
realized.
In the four districts which
form the Sherry region, Carrascal, Machunardo, Miraflores and Balbaina, the
best albariza soil is found in the Machunardo district, to the north of Jerez.
The climatic conditions we
have mentioned are ideal for the wine grape, with an average 295 sunny days
each year. The important factor here is dependability, with the rain very
seldom starting before the vintage in September. This allows farmers to let the
grape ripen to the full in the sun without the danger of a heavy early rain
disturbing the growth of flavor. There is, of course, also no danger of early
frost that so often accounts for a bad vintage in cooler climates.
The two most important vines
are the "Palomino", used in the finos and amontillados, and the
"Pedro Ximenez", used as a sweetening agent, especially in the
olorosos and dessert wines. Also used are the common Canacazo grape, the Mollar
grape and the Mantuo Castellano.
Vines are planted in rows
five feet apart, with the plants at five feet from one another within the row.
This means about 2,000 vines to the acre. For purposes of encouraging moisture,
holes two‑and‑a‑half to three meters deep are dug when planting, and the soil
is handmixed and loosened around each vine.
The vines are cultivated at a
low height of about 16 inches. Four branches are allowed to grow, and two of
these are allowed to give fruit in alternate years. The grafts are posterior
grafts onto an American root stock which, though it has a short productive life
of 25 years, is resistant to the phylloxera vastatrix parasite.
The grapes are gathered
around the second week of September ‑ the traditional date of the vintage is
September 9 ‑ and the picking goes on to the end of the month. For reasons of
tradition ‑ the sort of thing that would happen only in Spain ‑ the bunches are
gathered only with the traditional knives rather than clippers.
The grapes, with the Pedro
Ximenez being cut first, are taken in baskets to a place in the sun where they
are laid out for drying and concentration of the juice on cane mats. This
process makes them sweeter, which is the reason for laying out the Pedro
Ximenez grapes first, leaving them for a fortnight, while the dry Palomino
grapes are laid out for only 24 hours.
After this drying, about 3/4
ton of grapes are placed in each press. The traditional pressing method,
whereby two men wearing rawhide boots jump up and down on the grapes, is still
used.
All this goes on amidst great
celebration, and it is a treat for the tourist to be in Jerez during the
vintage, when bullfights, flamenco, and all sorts of gaity abound.
All the juice is extracted,
running into vats from which it is ladled into butts, with each butt being
filled to about 7/8 capacity. The butts are of porous, American white oak, due
to the need for air and oxygenation in the fermentation process. Each butt can
hold more than 100 gallons.
The butts are left out in the
open while the must undergoes the first, tumultuous fermentation, filling the
entire town with its odor. Following this is the second fermentation, a more
gentle process lasting 10 weeks. After this all the sugar has been converted to
alcohol.
Afterwards the butts are
fortified with wine alcohols or brandies.
The only grape in which not
all the sugar is converted is the Pedro Ximenez, which is later used as a
sweetening agent; without this addition the other Sherries would be too dry.
After the fermentation comes
an examination in which the butts that did not ferment properly are rejected.
What is left is "racked off", getting rid of the lees, and put in
fresh butts, also of special wood. The wines at this stage are all dry, except
the Pedro Ximenez, and have no special character.
During the next stage, the
aging process, which goes on for two to three years, each cask develops along
its own lines, even though the entire process has been identical for every
cask. Thus you have a great selection of types.
Classification of the butts
is done by experts, who can tell by sight and smell whether the wine will be
fino, amontillado or oloroso. There are many sub‑classifications, but these are
the main types. After classification the wines can be used in the famous
"solera" blending scheme of Jerez.
This solera system consists
of maintaining a "bank" of wines. with an "account" for
each type of Sherry, each containing many casks in ascending grades of
maturity. The earlier stages are called "criaderas" and the final
stage is the "solera". The process consists of drawing out a certain
amount of wine from the solera and replacing it with the same amount from the
next older criadera. This criadera is then refilled with wine from the next
older, and so on all down the line, until the last criadera is refilled with
new wine.
This is the system in theory,
though in practice it is more complex. Good management of the system is an important
factor in the final quality of the Sherries. Done properly, it insures that the
qualities of the oldest wines will always be present in every product, and that
the same high quality can be maintained year after year.
The oldest
"accounts" are those of the olorosos, amontillados, or Pedro Ximenez;
finos stop being finos after a few wine generations and become amontillados.
It is because of this solera
system that there are no small "bodegas" (wine cellers) in Jerez,
because it takes many years to build up the necessary wine bank. Thus, someone
wishing to start in the trade would have no choice but to buy out an entire
existing solera.
During the entire process of
maturing, a yeast grows on the wine , called the "flower", which is
instrumental in the final taste. This "flower" develops to the
greatest extent on the finos. It falls to the bottom of the cask . twice a
year, forming a crust called the "mother of wine". Brewers take great
care not to break or disturb this crust.
There are two processes left
in the completion of the Sherry: blending and fining. Blending is self‑explanatory
and takes place with all Sherries marketed. Here a great deal depends on the
skill of the blender.
Fining is the process that
clarifies the wine, making it a pleasure to the sight, though it has no effect
whatsoever on the taste.
In fining a number of egg
whites, usually about 16 to each butt, are dropped into a jar, mixed with
fuller's earth, and stirred into the butt. The mixture is left for about a
fortnight, until the additive has settled, taking with it all particles and
leaving the clear, bright liquid you see in your glass.
The alcoholic contents of
Jerez wines are quite high:
fino ‑ 15 to 16 degrees.
amontillado ‑ 16 to 18
degrees usually but running as high as 24 degrees.
oloroso ‑ 18 to 20 degrees
with some as high as 24 degrees.
Pedro Ximenez ‑ 20 to 24
degrees.
The dryest Sherries are
called finos, of a pale, yellow color and a delicate bouquet, a bit acid.
This wine goes excellently
with sea food, especially of the "snack" types, such as shrimp. A
glass of fino and a plate of the famous, pink, Jerez shrimp, is a classic
appetizer. This wine is also the favorite afternoon wine of the English, and it
is used much in cooking.
A sub‑variety of fino is the
wine of Sanlucar de Barrameda, called Manzanilla. It is the dryest of the dry,
light and a bit acid, with an extremely pale color; drunk in the same way as
other finos.
Amontillado has an amber
color, with some sweetness and flirtatiousness in the bouquet. It must still be
called dry, and is more heady than the fino. It is a peaceful wine, to be drunk
along with mountain cured hem or sausages, and is often added to soups.
Oloroso is the color of old
gold, with a strong, yet sprightly bouquet. It has a high concentration of
alcohol, and can surprise the drinker. Very good for a dessert wine and also
taken as an aperitif.
Cream Sherry is a combination
of a very rich oloroso and Pedro Ximenez wine. It is very much in demand, being
the sweetest of the Sherries and having much vigor and body. Excellent with
cakes, nuts or fruit, this wine is also drunk at the beginning of the day and
as a dessert in itself.
Wine made from the Pedro
Ximenez grape, which is almost a sugary raisin after its drying process, is far
too sweet and syrup‑like for drinking and is used as an additive. It is nearly
black in color and with a high alcohol content of about 22 degrees.
La Rioja is a region of great
beauty, a dreamlike area of fresh mists, green hills, and small woods situated
along the Ebro River banks. It seems a perfect setting for a Medieval epic,
filled with knights, dragons and the like ‑ a region that could hardly differ
more from the Jerez triangle.
The wines of La Rioja are
also at the opposite end of the spectrum from Sherry. They are gentle, quiet
creatures, speaking to the drinker of cool, refreshing rains rather than the
burning sun, of inland conservativism rather than coastal, flamboyant, flamenco
culture of the south.
The main towns of La Rioja
are Logrono and Haro, stolid, straightforward, Catholic towns with barely a
hint of Muslim influence, stuck at the borders of the Basque, Navarra and
Castilla spheres of influence. A workmanlike atmosphere prevails in these towns
which take great pride in their world‑famous beverage. The wines are as
dependable as the people who produce them would seem to be.
Rioja's climate is more or
less stable over the entire region, with cold but not severe winters,
consistant quantities of rain, and hot summers not devoid of precipitation. The
soil varies somewhat within Rioja but, for the most part, is fairly chalky and
not rich.
The area is located in parts
of the provinces of Burgos and Alava and in all of Logrono. It begins a few
kilometers east of Miranda de Ebro and extends as far east as Alfaro, ending in
the south at the foothills of the mountain ranges San Lorenzo, Demanda and
Camera. It is divided into three parts: Rioja Baja, in the extreme east; Rioja
Alta, centered at Haro, and Rioja Alavesa, on the north side of the Ebro, not
far from Haro.
The wines of Rioja have been
famous since about the sixteenth century, but only realized their full
potential in recent times as a result of the Phylloxera vine disease, which
nearly wiped out the vines of France. Since the disease had not crossed the
Pyrenees, the French wine experts did, bringing with them their vast fund of
"secret" knowledge, which they imparted to the Spanish growers in
order to keep supplying their thirsty countrymen with quality products.
The canny Riojan peasants did
not forget what they learned, once the French departed, and continue today to
produce partly according to French methods.
The finest, most delicate
wines of Rioja are produced in Rioja Alta, which may be called the Bordeaux of
Spain. Here the wines are of a low alcoholic content, no higher than 14
degrees. The methods of production are the cleanest and most modern in Spain.
The wines are a brilliant, clear red, usually between 10.5 and 12 degrees of
alcohol, and go excellently as a dinner wine with lightcolored meats, such as
lamb or veal. They are quite dry and low in acidity, making them light and
aromatic. The bouquet is feminine and intriguing.
Besides the clarets, Rioja
Alta also produces a very palatable white wine of about 11 degrees alcoholic
content and low acidity. The color has a slight greenish cast.
The red wines of Rioja Baja
are more full‑bodied, not so delicate, and good travelers. Like Burgundy, they
have a hearty appeal and go well with roasts and red meats. This region is
heavily planted with the grape, "Garnacha Tinta" and, in lesser
degree, "Mazuela", "Moscatel" and "Tempranilla".
In Alhama, Cidacos, Iregua
and Leza the wines produced have small acidity, the result being very smooth
with a fruity bouquet. Alcoholic content is the highest in Rioja, averaging
about 14‑15 degrees, with some above 16 degrees. They are best drunk young,
like Beaujolais.
In Rioja Alavesa are the 18
municipal districts of Alava, with the "Tempranilia Tinta" vine, plus
"Malvasia", "Moscatel", "Anaves" and "Blanco
Gordo", producing a smooth wine with much character ‑ about 13‑14 degrees
of alcohol.
Because of the farming system
of Rioja, in which the land is divided into small plots of three or four
hectares, with each farmer overseeing his own plot, control in the growing is
hard to arrive at. The bodega owners must make a blend of the best grapes they
can buy, spending great time and effort in trying for some consistency. Their
difficulties are far greater than those encountered, for example, in France,
where the winemaker also has his own land and the grapes are grown under his
strict supervision and control.
After the grapes are bought, collected
and pressed, the juice is stored in gigantic oaken vats for 10‑12 days, where
it undergoes its tumultuous fermentation.
Afterwards it is placed in
large oak barrels, much larger than those of Jerez, where it undergoes a second
fermentation and aging, usually for from two to three years.
The wines of Rioja age quite
well, so if you can be certain of the accuracy of the label, it is worthwhile
searching out an older bottle. Unfortunately, you cannot depend on the label
telling the exact vintage. Anyway, the wines do not vary so much from year to
year, as the climate is nearly the same each year. It is only a general idea of
the wine's age that you want.
Rioja supplies France with a
great deal of wine, which is mixed with French wines and sold under a French
label, being in no way inferior to the ordinary French wines.
In the total area of Rioja
there are about 185,000 acres of vineyards, producing nearly 50,000,000 gallons
of wine.
The wine of Rioja is
traditionally drunk by the peasants from a porron, the pear‑shaped glass
decanter from which the wine flows in a narrow stream, going, theoretically,
from the spout directly into the mouth.
An excellent local drink made
from Rioja wine is zurracapote. Other ingredients include sugar, lemons and cinnamon.
It is a special fiesta drink.
The popular labels of Rioja
are Paternina, Marques de Murrieta, Vina Albina and Montecillo.
The wines of Malaga are among
those whose history goes back to ancient times ‑ to the days of Rome at least.
Virgil and Pliny were among those who praised the qualities of Malaga wine, and
there is much mention of this sweet beverage In Muslim writings.
All the wines of Malaga are
sweet, based heavily on the juice of the Pedro Ximenez grape, which is dried in
the sun until its sugar content is extremely high. The composition of a typical
Malaga wine may include as much as 50 per cent Pedro Ximenez, with additions of
about 15 per cent Moscatel, 20 per cent "Lairen" and 5 per cent of
other grapes. Average sugar content runs as high as 150‑200 grams per liter.
The major production zone for
Malaga is the Sierra de Almijara, along with Antiquera, Archidona, San Pedro
Alcantara, Velez Malaga and Competa. The vineyards are small, of about nine
acres each.
The wine is fermented in
oaken vats for about 11 months, after which It is filtered into oak butts. In
the town of Malaga, there are many bars serving the wine directly from oaken butts,
a picturesque sight, and the range of choice offered to the drinkers is so
large as to be confusing.
Among Malaga types are:
Malaga Negro ‑ made mostly
from Pedro Ximenez grapes, and very dark and sweet, almost like a syrup.
Blanco Dulce ‑ also very
sweet, but of a golden brown to amber color.
Semidulce ‑ still lighter in
color and not quite so sweet.
Food 8 Wines 229
Oscuro ‑ of a chestnut color.
Amontillado ‑ medium dry and
of a golden cast.
Lagrima ‑ very dark and
sweet.
Seco ‑ golden and among the
less sweet.
There is no alcohol added to
the wines of Malaga, and it is certainly not needed, as the high sugar content
of the Pedro Ximenez grape insures a high alcoholic content of up to 20
degrees. .
There is a watered down
version of the solera system operating in Malaga, whereby the old wines are
blended with the new ones, though nothing like the careful system employed in
the making of Jerez wines.
Malaga wines are, on the
whole, far less serious than the wines of either Jerez or Rioja, ideal for
desserts, or for drinking in the afternoon or evening, splendid at parties with
a salty goat's milk cheese to temper the sweetness of the wine. The wines of
Mileage produce good cheer rapidly, and are wines the uneducated palate can
readily enjoy.
The land of Don Quixote, a
rugged region with vast, flat landscapes and generous skies, provides most of
the "low" wine that is drunk in Spain, and especially in Madrid. Its
wines are very cheap, quite drinkable, produced quickly in enormous quantities
and containing a high proportion of alcohol, so much that when used as table
wines they are often mixed with water.
The average yearly production
of wine in La Mancha is an astronomic 800,000,000, and roughly 3/4 of this is
sold within Spain.
This is a very picturesque
wine‑producing region, because of the rejection by the peasants and bodega
owners of all modern "fiddle‑faddle", and the continued employment of
traditional instruments and methods.
Because of Castillian stubbornness,
the La Mancha region did not profit to the extent Rioja did from the Phylloxera
disease. Though the growers were able to sell large quantities of wine to the
French during the years when the French had no crop, they did not assimilate
French viniculture improvements, and seem to generally take the attitude that
the culture of "great" wines is a shade on the effeminate side.
The traditional process
begins with the vintage, when the grapes are put into special cages known as
"atrojes" for the crushing.
From here they go into the
traditional clay container called a "tinaja" with a capacity of from
3,000‑12,000 liters. Here it undergoes all the fermentation it will have within
four to six months, the first fermentation requiring about one month, and the
second, three to five. There is no aging. The wine is simply put into barrels
and sold. Often it is held in the traditional pigskins of La Mancha, made from
the skin of a young pig and retaining the shape of the pig.
The region in which all this
is carried out is divided into four provinces; Toledo, Albacete, Cuenca and
Ciudad Real (Valdepenas included). Vineyards begin around Toledo in the
mountains and cover the lowlands to the south.
The soil is light brown in
color. Winters are very rainy and summers feature a merciless sun, a
combination producing a large grape and a high yield of about three kilos per
vine. Depth of cultivation for the vines is about 45 centimeters.
The grapes used are
"Airen" and "Vidoncha" for the white grapes, and the black
grapes called "Cencibel" and "Garnacha". Airen makes the
best wine, while Vidoncha has more grapes of a lower quality.
The red wines of Valdepenas
are the most popular wines and very possibly the best of La Macha, with an
alcohol content of about 14 degrees. They are of such a light color as to
resemble a rosé wine, and made from both black and white grapes.
Whites of La Mancha are of
differing shades. The best seem to be those of a slight golden cast. All the
whites have a lower alcohol content of about 13 degrees.
No sugar is added to La
Mancha wines; they keep very well and grow in the bottle.
In the town of Valdepenas
there are about 400 bodegas of all sizes. Other La Mancha towns producing
good local wines are Tomelloso, Manzanares, Socuellamos, Daimiel, Villacanas,
Quintanar de la Orden, Noblejas, Yepes, Esquivias, Casas de Haro, Horcajo de
Santiago, Tarancon, Mots del Cuervo, Campo de Criptana, Campo de Calatrava and
Alcazar de San Juan.
In the coastal region of
Cataluna are produced some wines very familiar to the English, such as
Priorato, Malmsey and Panades.
Many of the known wines of
Cataluna are those made in the Tarragona region, which begins in the south at
Gandesa and reaches to Panades in the north. The bodegas are generally in
Tarragona or Reus.
Among wines of this region is
Priorato, coming from a special area of Tarragona with highly volcanic soil
producing a wine of a very high alcoholic content.
Priorato is made from the
Garnacha grape, producing two to three kilos per vine. Two types are made ‑ a
dry and a sweet wine. The dry is of a nearly black color, about 18 degrees of
alcohol, used mainly for blending. The sweet is from 14 to 22 degrees.
An interesting process for
hurrying the aging used to be employed here, though it is failing now into
disuse. This consists of placing the wine in "bombonas", glass
bottles holding about 30 liters each, and shaped like teardrops. These are laid
out in the sun, making the wine age much more rapidly.
This curious process is still
used in the Panades district, where the aging in the sun goes on about two
years.
Fermentation of Tarragona
wines takes place in large vats rather than the oaken butts used elsewhere in
Spain.
Another wine district of
Cataluna is that of Panades, centered in the town of Villafranca del Panades
and extending from Vendrell to beyond Sitges, ending about 20 kilometers from
Barcelona.
The white wines of Panades
have a very low alcoholic content ‑ about nine degrees, though they can go much
higher in some cases. The reds are much stronger, with about 16 degrees of
alcohol.
Sitges is particularly known
for its dessert wines. The wine called "Malmsey" is actually
Malvasia, kept in the vat for about eight years before bottling. The Moscatel
wine of Cataluna is very heady and strong.
Other wines worth ‑trying in
Cataluna are Alella, the wines of Ampurdan, sparkling wines of San Sadurni and
Champagne Catalan.
Wines of Galicia do not
travel at all, which is the reason they are not much known. If you are
traveling in Galicia, therefore, you have some pleasant surprises in store.
The best wines come from the
region between Orense and Vigo, especially the Ribeiro district around
Ribadavia. In this district try any local wine offered. In Vigo be sure to
taste the Albarino and the Rosal. When in Pontevedra, stick with Albarino,
Espadeiro, Condado and Rosal. In Orense the wines to try are Ribeiro, Valeorra,
and Monterray, and all through Galicia you can drink the wines of Ribeiro,
Condado, Arbo, Betanzos (white) and Espumoso de Salvatierra.
A fairly wide range of wines
are produced in this region, mostly from the Garnacha grape, and mostly of a
low alcoholic content. They are generally quite acid, with a tartar content of
between six and nine grams per liter.
There are notable differences
between Navarran wines, depending on their place of origin. Some of the best
are those produced nearest the Ebro and those of Tudela.
The wines of Córdoba known as
Montilla‑Moriies are known outside Spain and range from very sweet through all
the gradations to dry. Production of the grapes for the wines of Córdoba
includes Montilla, Moriles, Montalban, Puente Genil, Monturque, Nueva Carteya
and Dona Mencia.
The different types of
Mortilla‑Moriles wines are classed according to the characteristics of their
musts and differences in the process of maturation.
With aging:
Fino ‑ a pale, dry wine,
slightly acid, light and fragrant and of a transparent straw color; 14 ‑ 17.5
degrees alcohol.
Amontillado ‑ dry with a
pungent bouquet ‑ gentle with body ‑ of, an amber color; 16 ‑18 degrees
alcohol.
Oloroso ‑ full‑bodied,
aromatic and energetic ‑ dark, mahogany color; 16.‑18 degrees of alcohol.
Palo Cortado ‑ about halfway
between amontillado and oloroso in every way.
Without aging:
Color ‑ name applied to wines
obtained from fermentation of fresh must, adding 1/3 concentrated must until
the sugar element thickens. The wine has an intense
color and acquires character
and aroma only with age.
Ruedos ‑ dry, light, pale,
with a minimum alcoholic content of 14 degrees.
Fermentation occurs in mud,
cement or wood vats; the aging takes place in oak containers.
This is the oldest wine area
in Spain. The vine was cultivated here even by the Iberians, acquiring
improvements from every invading group that passed through.
There are three main types of
Valencia wines. These are Valencia, Utiel‑Requena and Chaste.
The Valencia types are Malvasia, Puerto, Pedro Ximenez, Moscatel Dulce,
Moscatel Seco, Generoso Seco, Rancio Seco, Rancio Dulce, Valencia Tinto and
Fino Mesa. These are mainly obtained from
the "Mersequera" and the "Planta Nova" grapes (for white
wines), and the "Monastrell" and Garnacha (for rad wines).
The wines of the Utiel‑Requena
types are mainly Tinto Doble Pasta, Tinto Normal and Rosado, all coming from
the "Bobal" grape.
The Chaste variety includes
white wines made from the Masquera and Planta Nova grapes.
Also worth trying in the
Levant are white wines of Turia and reds of Yesla, Jumilla, Nonovar and
Villena.
A wine called Plan wine is
made in the region of Cartagena, which is a very small harvest, difficult to
obtain but worth the search.