Sherry

For many people sherry is a sweet sticky thing they stole from a half forgotten bottle when they were young. While there is sweet sherry - and it can be particularly delicious with cheese or desserts - a lot of sherry is quite dry and also delicious on its own.

Sherry will not last forever in the bottle after opening. While some of the richer and sweeter styles will last for a while once opened, all sherry tastes better the fresher it is. Lighter, dry sherry such as fino & manzanilla are best drunk within days of opening.

It is best to keep sherry chilled. Not only does sherry keep better when chilled it also tastes fresher.

Sherry is a fortified wine, originally made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez, Spain. In Spane, it is called vino de Jerez. The word "Sherry" is an anglicisation of Xeres (Jerez).

After fermentation is complete, sherry is fortified with brandy. Because the fortification takes place after fermentation, most sherries are initially dry, with any sweetness being added later. In contrast, port wine (for example) is fortified halfway through its fermentation, which stops the process so that not all of the sugar is turned into alcohol.

Sherry is produced in a variety of styles, ranging from dry, light versions such as finos to darker and heavier versions known as olorosos, all made from the Palomino grape. Sweet dessert wines are also made, from Pedro Ximenez or Moscatel grapes. Sherry is regarded by many wine writers as "under-appreciated" and a "neglected wine treasure".

There are four different styles of Sherry: Fino (Dry and light in colour), Oloroso (sweet and fairly dark), Amoroso (lighter in colour and sweeter than Oloroso) and brown (dark and sweet) blending different wines.

Sherry is traditionally drunk from a copita, a special tulip-shaped Sherry glass.