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Sherry
13 of 15 steps verified
Albariza, Palomino, flor and the solera, then the Sherry styles from Manzanilla to Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel.
All levels 117 min 15 steps About Jerez-Xérès-Sherry DO
Part of Spain
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Start with Sherry: fortified wine from white grapes grown around Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia.
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Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Denomination of Origin
Next, the rules of Spain's first DO, established in 1933, and its certified age categories.
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Albariza: The White Chalky Soil of Jerez
Then albariza, the white chalky marl whose water retention carries Palomino vines through rainless summers.
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Meet Palomino Fino, a low-acid, neutral grape that lets albariza and flor shape the wine.
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Sherry Fortification and Flor Yeast: The Biological Aging System
See how fortification decides whether the flor veil survives, the split behind styles from Fino to Oloroso.
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Biological Aging Under Flor Yeast (Sherry Fino & Manzanilla)
Then biological aging under flor, the process behind fino and manzanilla.
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Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DO
See flor in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, where Manzanilla has its own DO and a thicker, year-round veil.
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Solera System: Fractional Blending (Sherry, Madeira, Some Ports)
Now the solera, the fractional blending system fundamental to all sherry, where no barrel is ever fully drained.
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Amontillado: The Dry Sherry Aged Under Flor, Then Oxidatively
Amontillado starts as a Fino under flor, then loses it and ages oxidatively.
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Oxidative Aging Without Flor (Oloroso, Madeira Canteiro Method)
Next, oxidative aging without flor, where fortification to 17 percent or more commits the wine to oxygen.
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Sherry Styles: Oloroso (No Flor, Fully Oxidative, Dry)
Oloroso, aged fully oxidatively with no flor and required by the DO to be dry.
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Palo Cortado, a rare dry style that begins under flor and then ages oxidatively, between Amontillado and Oloroso.
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Turn to the sweet side with the Pedro Ximénez grape, sun-dried to concentrate its sugars.
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The PX wine itself: ebony and intensely sweet, much of it from Montilla-Moriles grapes shipped to Jerez for aging.
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Close with Moscatel de Jerez, a sweet, oxidatively aged style from about 1 percent of the appellation's plantings.
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