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A long history
At the beginning, it was the Phoenicians and Car- thaginians who brought viticulture to the region.
Since then, the Greeks, Romans and Moors have passed through leaving their mark, before 1492 the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula was carried out by the Christians.
Of course, the wines produced at the time still differed markedly in purity and concentration from the sherries we know today.
A very innovative step in winery culture came with the introduction of the art of distillation by the Moors. Although alcoholic beverages were banned in these circles, the production of wines for „medical purposes“ was allowed.
Thus, the opportunity arose to make the wines more alcoholic, which mainly improved their shelf life. So, they could be transported, even on long voyages, for example, to the newly discovered America.
The close connection to England played a suppor- ting role until now. Already in the 12thcentury, „bags“ (Sherries) were traded there, so their popularity rose steadily.
But there were not only peaceful days, in 1587 the pirate Francis Drake stole, during the siege of the port of Cadiz, 2900 sherry casks and brought them to England. Despite the loss, this had a positive outcome, the popularity and demand for Sherry in England subsequently increased exponentially.
From 1770, new, larger bodega buildings were built thus enabling the storage of larger quantities of wine. These cathedrals of wine are still in use today and their architecture is an important part of the Sherry-production process.
A success for producers was the creation of the Control Council in 1933 and the granting of the ensuing appellations D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and D.O. Manzanilla in 1964. By means of strict controls, the origin, production and quality of the wines could now be guaranteed.
The terroir
As already described, we are in the so-called sherry triangle in the southwest of Andalusia and only the wines that are produced here are allowed to actually be called Sherry.
However, the grapes for the production may also come from outside the area. This is for example for the production of Pedro Ximenez sweet wines whose grapes in large part come from approximately 220km away to the east in Montilla.
The climate alternates between mild winters and hot summers, with the fresh winds mitigating the
heat slightly from the nearby sea.
The region offers a charming landscape, a wonder-
ful interplay between the blue of the sky, the green of the vines and the bright white of the so-called Albariza soils comprising up to 70% lime. These are mainly found in the high-quality of individual layers (Jerez superior) between Sanlúcar de Barrameda and the river Guadalete. They have a very high water absorption capacity and can also store the water required during very hot periods for several weeks. With the Albarizasoils, three of the appellations are described, white grape varieties are grown: Pedro Ximénez-, Moscatel and Palominotraube
Sophisticated architecture
After the harvest in August/September, the grapes are transported to the bodegas. Today we nd cur- rently the same architectural structures as in 1770. Through the typical arrangement of the window at the top, a constant air exchange takes place. The soil consists of sand to be sprinkled with water in these very dry periods and to ensure a uniform humidity, which is very important for the maturation of wines, as well as for the barrels.
Until now the Sherry maturation took place mainly in the two main maturity systems.
1. The rare Añada (Vintage) system has experienced a minor comeback in recent years. This is a static expansion system, as the wines stay from beginning to end of maturation in a barrel and are therefore genuine and high quality.
This mainly concerns Sherry variants Amontillado, Oloroso and Palo Cortado aged oxidatively and at the beginning of the process, the more concentrated, full-bodied musts are used for these special wines. Prior to bottling, the winemaker often adds just a small fraction of sweet Pedro Ximénez to round off the wine. Such very ne wines are in demand not only among connoisseurs but also among Sherry fans as they like to acquire these wines because the vintages are often associated with personal events.
2. The Criadera & Solera system is more complex, here we are talking about a dynamic maturation system as the wines go through different barrels before bottling.
Take the example of a young man. He gets his rst room on the top oor of a house. Throughout his life he moves from oor to oor, continues to move downwards and thrives with many people, he gains experience and matures...
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