The sherry revival

guardian.co.uk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For centuries, the British had a strong bond with sherry, once known as "sack". Shakespeare's Falstaff asked audiences "to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack" and Francis Drake pillaged thousands of barrels from Spain.

 

But in the last few decades, the drink has suffered a serious image problem. The predominance of sickly "cream sherry" – sweetened young fino – on British shelves obscured just how delicious the drink can be, and it became associated with terrible 1970s dinner parties and tipsy trifles. As a result, bottles tended either to be shoved to the back of the drinks cabinet and forgotten, or saved for Christmas.

 

Sherry's fortunes have improved recently though, and it's being celebrated once again for its taste and variety – after all, sherry ranges from the driest wines on earth to the sweetest. Fino is the lightest: bone dry with hints of grass, green apple and citrus. Its cousin manzanilla has a tang imparted by the briny breezes blowing through the seaside wineries of Sanlúcar de Barrameda – one of three places, along with Jerez de la Frontera and El Puerto de Santa Maria, that define south-west Spain's "sherry triangle". Amontillado is a matured fino with nutty, caramel notes, while oloroso is generally sweeter and more complex, with hints of caramel and toffee, dried fruits and spice. The sweetest is Pedro Ximenez – often just known as PX – the dark intensity of which is perfect with dessert and also a robust match for cheese.

 

Most sherry comes from an undistinguished grape called palomino: "sherry is made in the winery, not the field," says Beatriz Pascual, sherry specialist at award-winning wine merchants Boutinot. Fino and manzanilla are born beneath a yeast called flor, which appears on the wine's surface and devours sugars to create dryness and add notes of nuts, freshly baked bread, lemons, and a slight saltiness. For amontillados and olorosos, the flor is killed off and the resulting oxidation gives the sherry its dark richness. After maturing for at least three years in the barrel, some of the sherry is drawn for bottling and is replaced with younger wines from other barrels. This mixing of different ages allows blenders to play with the taste of different bottlings.

 

Pascual says sherry should be enjoyed and tasted like any other wine. Instead of thimble-sized servings, it's best to glug a decent 125ml measure into a proper wine glass, swirl and nose appreciatively. Serve well-chilled for fino or manzanilla. And like any wine, it doesn't keep. In other words, don't shove to the back of a cupboard between Christmases.

 

Sherry works wonderfully both with food, and in it. Heston Blumenthal has paired crab with amontillado and smoked mackerel with oloroso. Jose Pizarro, chef at the restaurant Brindisa, in London's Borough Market, recommends cooking beef in oloroso, while for game or offal he suggests amontillado. In Bristol, Bordeaux Quay head chef Liz Payne cooks pork in both PX and amontillado. "Sherry has such developed flavours," she says. "It comes through unlike any other wine."

 

Unfashionability has kept prices low. "Sherry is the best-value wine on the planet," argues Richard Bigg, who recently opened Bar Pepito, Britain's first dedicated sherry bar, in London's King's Cross. Here, staff guide customers through options for simple sipping or pairing with food, and enthusiasts can try a range of sherry "flights" – mixing three varieties from around £7.

 

Sherry's star is also rising when it comes to cocktails; a return to form, given that a sherry cobbler (sherry, sugar and fresh orange) was one of the most popular drinks in the US in the 19th century, and any decent 1920s list featured sherry concoctions such as a Flip or Sangaree. Glen Morgan at London's LAB bar now pairs fino with bourbon, and across the Atlantic Jim Meehan of New York venue PDT uses sherries with everything from tequila and vermouth to cream and mustard. "There is a sherry that will work for everyone's palate," says Meehan. So what are you waiting for? Hit the sack.

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