Palomino Fino

This morning, we flew into Gibraltar and headed northwest to Jerez de la Frontera, often simply known as Jerez, the burgeoning economic and social capital of Cadiz in the Andalusian section of southwestern Spain. While Jerez has its own airport, we thought it would be nice to look out over the Strait of Gibraltar where we had an excellent view of Morocco in northern Africa before starting our 90 minute drive.

The climate in Jerez could best be described as subtropical. While winters can get quite cold, occasionally with low temperatures in the range of -18C/0F, summers remind one of the American southeast -- humid with daytime highs typically around 35C/95F and even having the potential to hit 45C/113F. Despite the humidity, however, it rarely rains in the summer; instead it just can make someone feel like they've been in the rain.

What makes the Jerez area ideal for growing Palomino Fino is the albariza (the z is pronounced like a th) soil -- a very chalky textured dirt that treats this grape well. 

It's a grape that on its surface seems almost pointless for wine, however. In its native form, it is extremely low in both acidity and sugar content, so it would seem to have no point in wine. In fact, the traditional wines made from Palomino Fino are nearly undrinkable.

What happens with these grapes, however, is that they are made into Sherry (the name Sherry is an English bastardization of Jerez). 

Typically, Palomino Fino is harvested in the first part of September. The first pressing of the white grapes yields a must that will be used to produce both Fino and Manzanilla Sherry. The must is then fermented for about two months, in oak casks for the finest wines, but generally in stainless steel vats for most Sherry.After fermentation, the wines are preliminarily sampled. The finest wines, those labeled with a single stroke. These will be fortified from their natural roughly 11% ABV to about 15% to allow for the production of flor -- a yeast-like growth stops the wine from oxidizing.

The Sherry is then aged in 500 liter casks made of American oak (makers of Sherry have determined that the additional porosity in American oak is best). Casks are filled five-sixths full leaving space for the flor to develop. Over time, the wine is gradually transferred downstream, so to speak, among a series of between three and nine casks using the "solera system." The youngest casks will be at the top, and the oldest, the solera, will be at the bottom.

The period of aging of the resultant Sherry determines its classification. In particular, Vinum Optimum Signatum (VOS) have been aged at least 20 years and Vinum Optimum Rare Signatum (VORS) at least 30 years.

Pair your Sherry with smoky seafood, in particular white fish. Or, if it's your choosing, pair your Sherry with a fine cigar.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gruner Veltliner

Your Server's First Wine Adventure

Muscat Hamburg