Palomino Fino

Palomino Fino carries the VIVC prime name Palomino Fino, variety number 8888. VIVC records Spain as its country or region of origin; resting on that single source, Spain is its likely homeland. Its parents are unknown: both parent fields in its passport are blank, and no full pedigree is recorded. It does have offspring: the WineWiki lineage data, derived from VIVC, lists Listán Negro as a child of Palomino Fino.

• VIVC prime name: Palomino Fino; VIVC variety number 8888
• Country of origin: Spain (likely; single source)
• Parents: none recorded (parentage unknown)
• Recorded offspring: Listán Negro

By tradition, the grape takes its name from Fernán Ibáñez Palomino, one of the most important military officers of King Alfonso X of Castile, who reclaimed Jerez from the Moors in 1264. Palomino is the most traditional of the Jerez region's varieties and has been grown there for centuries. Phylloxera arrived in the Sherry region in 1894. Growers replanted on phylloxera-resistant American rootstock, and the recovery brought the definitive selection of the varieties still used to make Sherry today. The British were largely responsible for Sherry's increased popularity around the world. When Spain's first Wine Law was published in 1933, it made reference to the Denomination of Origin Jerez and its Consejo Regulador, the first to be legally constituted in Spain. Today the Consejo Regulador's regulations name Palomino, Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel as the varieties suitable for Sherry.

• By tradition named after Fernán Ibáñez Palomino, a military officer of King Alfonso X of Castile
• The most traditional variety of the Jerez region, grown there for centuries
• Phylloxera arrived in 1894; replanting on American rootstock led to the definitive selection of today's Sherry varieties
• Spain's first Wine Law (1933) referred to the Denomination of Origin Jerez; its regulations name Palomino as a variety suitable for Sherry

Palomino Fino's home is the area around Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain, where it is the undisputed leader among grape varieties. The region's climate is warm, with dry summers in which temperatures frequently rise above 40°C, an average annual temperature of 17.3°C and between 3,000 and 3,200 hours of effective sunlight a year. The nearby Atlantic Ocean helps maintain humidity and moderate temperatures, most noticeably at night. Beyond Jerez, the variety is often known as Listán Blanco in the Canary Islands, and it is grown to a limited extent in California's Central Valley and in Australia. It was once widely planted in South Africa.

• Home region: around Jerez de la Frontera in southern Spain
• Dry summers with temperatures frequently above 40°C, and between 3,000 and 3,200 hours of effective sunlight a year
• Also grown in the Canary Islands (as Listán Blanco), California's Central Valley and Australia
• Once widely planted in South Africa

Albariza, the best soil for producing Palomino, is a limestone soil of chalk and clay, rich in calcium carbonate (up to 40%), that takes on a dazzling whiteness in the dry months. It is very moisture-retentive, storing each winter's rainfall to nourish the vines through the dry months. The region also has barros (clays) and arenas (sands), used for Sherry in a lesser percentage. Palomino's wine may oxidise easily. Palomino Fino ripens in early September, with yields in the order of 80 hectolitres per hectare and low acidity.

• Albariza contains up to 40% calcium carbonate and stores winter rainfall for the dry months
• The wine may oxidise easily
• Ripens in early September; yields in the order of 80 hl/ha with low acidity

Palomino Fino's slightly low acid, low sugar grapes make an ideal base for Sherry. Fino comes from the total fermentation of Palomino must. In the Jerez region, Sherry base wine is completely dry, pale, delicate, slightly fruity and low in acidity. Wines classified for ageing as Fino and Manzanilla are then fortified to 15% by volume, enough for the yeasts of the flor to form a film on the surface that protects the wine from oxidation. Wines classified to undergo ageing as Oloroso are fortified to at least 17%. Above 17% by volume, even the yeast cells of the flor cannot survive. Once in direct contact with air, a wine begins a slow process of oxidation, seen in a gradual darkening of colour. Wines marked palo cortado are those that, despite their fineness and apparent suitability for biological ageing, are redirected to oxidative ageing. Fino is aged for at least two years in American oak casks in the traditional criaderas and solera system.

• Sherry base wine is completely dry
• Fortified to 15% for biological ageing under flor; at least 17% for Oloroso
• Wines marked palo cortado are redirected to oxidative ageing despite apparent suitability for biological ageing
• Dry styles include Fino, Manzanilla, Oloroso and Palo Cortado

Primary sources: https://www.vivc.de/index.php?r=passport%2Fview&id=8888 ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/viticulture ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/fortification ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-region/history-of-sherry ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/production/vinification ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/dry-sherry-wines/fino ; https://www.sherry.wine/sherry-wine/dry-sherry-wines Reference sources: https://www.jancisrobinson.com/learn/grape-varieties/white/palomino-fino Last verified 2026-10-17