discovering sherry affluent magazine
TRANSCRIPT
1011946=7-C1 (9 x 10.875) CREEP: none (96+4 pages) p. 38
38 AFFLUENT MAGAZINE
LIFESTYLE
had the opportunity to travel to Jerez this past
September, and throughout the five days we spent
exploring the Sherry-producing districts of Southern
Spain’s ancient Andalusia region, one thought kept on
creeping into my mind: I cannot believe I never drank more of
this fantastic wine before.
This was one of those paradigm-shifting trips that not only
opened up my eyes to Sherry in particular, but that also forced
me to reconsider what I thought fermented grape juice was
capable of.
The best wines, as producers and connoisseurs have
understood for millennia, are firmly rooted to a specific
geographical location. And, indeed, the classifications and
appellations of Europe are based on the idea that the same
grape variety can be harvested from two neighboring villages,
for example, and express themselves in completely divergent
ways as a result of the differences in the geology of the
vineyards and the micro-climatic shifts from one place to the
other.
In Jerez, however, things are a bit different. Travel to Bordeaux
or Burgundy, by way of contrast, and you’ll hear the constant
drumbeat of the importance of the land; great wines, they tend
to say, are made in the vineyard. In Jerez, however, we were
told time and again that the best wines, while requiring good
fruit and vineyard sites, are generally made in the winery and
over the years in the barrels as they age and evolve.
Unlike dry wine, most of which is sold year after year in
vintage-designated bottlings, Sherry is the result of the
region’s famous solera system. Put simply, the solera system
facilitates the progressive blending of new wines and older
ones, which layers the flavors and aromas, adds depth and
nuance to wines as the blends accumulate, and results in a
finished product that is as intimately — and literally — tied to
the past as any wines in the world.
The success of these fortified wines — the fact that they can be
produced at all, in fact — is a result of the unique geographical
location of the legendary Sherry Triangle and the nature of the
grapes that grow there, as well as of the specific strains of yeast
that flourish and the flor that results. (For specifics on the
region, the solera system, flor and why real Sherry can only
come from here, visit www.sherrycouncil.com, the excellent
web site of the Sherry Council of America.)
Over the course of my time in Spain, we had the chance
to visit nine bodegas and to taste dozens of samples
both on their own and during meals. And perhaps more
than anything else, I was flat-out astounded by how
well Sherry pairs with food.
Some of this success at the table is a result of the range
of styles in which Sherry is produced, from dry,
supremely refreshing fino and more caramelized but
still lithe amontillado, to rich, structured oloroso and
the dessert-in-a-glass Pedro Ximénez. (There are other
styles too — my favorite, in fact, was the rare,
mysterious palo cortado.)
But more important than the range of Sherry styles is
the nature of the wines themselves, the unexpected
flavor profiles with which they frame the foods they’re
being sipped alongside. For even though differences
between, say, a fino and an oloroso are vast, Sherry has
the ability to handle a range of ingredients that
precious few other wines do. Over the course of our
week in Jerez, we paired various styles of Sherry with
everything from sardines on tomato bread, to garlicky,
nutty baby eels, to steak with mushroom, to foie gras,
and even notoriously wine-unfriendly artichokes, and
Sherry made easy work of them all, highlighting the
flavors we wanted, minimizing the ones we didn’t, and
making every dish not only more delicious than it otherwise
would have been, but also a flavor and texture odyssey as
enjoyable on an intellectual level as it was on a sensory one.
And while Sherry is not yet as widely consumed on this side of
the Atlantic as its unfortified cousins, more and more of it is
being imported and loved. So seek it out and stock your cellar
with a broad enough range of styles and producers to start the
process of learning more about Sherry, one of the most
interesting, delicious, food-friendly wines around.
Brian Freedman is a food, wine and travel writer and
wine consultant. He writes for John Mariani's Virtual
Gourmet, Philadelphia Style Magazine, and the blog
www.UncorkLife.com for Wine Chateau, among others.
For more information on his work, or to contact him
regarding consulting or speaking, please visit
www.BrianFreedmanPhiladelphia.com.
I
DISCOVERING SHERRYThe Many Charms of One of the
World’s Greatest Wines
By Brian Freedman
While in Jerez, we visited the
following producers. Despite
differences in style and philosophy,
every one of them was a standout
for one reason or another. Here they
are, in no particular order. Look for
them and taste — you’ll be thrilled
you did:
Bodegas Harveys
Bodegas Tradición
Bodegas Grupo Estévez
Bodegas Osborne
Bodegas Sánchez Romate
Bodegas Williams & Humbert
Bodegas González Byass
Bodegas Lustau
Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana
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