Overview
Sherry is not a single wine but a family of fortified styles produced around the cities of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. The wines begin with Palomino Fino grown on albariza soils, then mature through the solera and criadera system in cool, humid bodegas. Each style, from bone-dry Manzanilla to lusciously sweet Pedro Ximénez, reflects a different path of yeast or oxidative aging.
The region's proximity to the Atlantic brings humidity that encourages flor, a layer of yeast that gives Fino and Manzanilla their saline, almond-like character. Oloroso styles are fortified to kill the flor and develop rich, nutty, caramelized complexity. Sherry remains one of the world's most distinctive and undervalued wine categories.
Key Varietals
- Palomino FinoThe neutral base grape for dry Sherry styles, shaped by flor and oxidation into layered wines.
- Pedro XiménezSun-dried into raisins, it creates the darkest, sweetest, and most syrupy Sherries.
- Moscatel de AlejandríaAn aromatic grape that yields sweet, perfumed dessert Sherries.
- Palomino de JerezA traditional Palomino selection prized for quality vineyard sites within the DO.