The Beer Brewer

This is part 2 of an ongoing publication on fortified wines and sherry.
author: The Master Brewer English-Australian copyright 2007

History of Sherry and Fortified Wines

Wine has traditionally been produced in the Jerez area of Spain since the time of the Romans, however sherry in its present form seems to have evolved at some point during the mid 1700s to early 1800s , after the commercialization of distillation , although Voss (1993) and Reader and Dominguez (2003) indicate its origins may extend beyond this time period. The primary reason for fortification of this style (with a neutral grape spirit) seems to lie in the fact that the hot climate of this region, coupled with comparatively poor soils, created wines of poor quality . Fortification with a spirit served to significantly improve the quality of this wine . However some authors, Halliday and Johnson, (1992) and Jackson, (1994) indicate fortification was utilized to offer microbial stability to such wines during often lengthy ocean voyages to England (a primary consumer of such wines) in the 1700s.

What is certain is that the present style of Sherry, i.e. exclusively sourced from white wine and produced using a unique maturation system (solera) is a result of collusion between local producers and British traders.

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This is part 1 of an ongoing publication on fortified wines and sherry.

author: The Master Brewer English-Australian copyright 2007

Definition of a Fortified Wine

Before proceeding to describe sherry and port wine production, if may be of benefit to define the category that these wines fall into: Both are classified as fortified wines (containing between 15 – 22% alcohol by volume), on account of both styles receiving fortification with a wine derived spirit at some point in the production process, rather than achieving final alcohol volumes by fermentation only.

Definition of Sherry and Sherry Style Wines

The term Sherry describes a range of fortified, white dessert wines, produced in the southern region of Spain (Andalusia), around the area of Jerez de la Frontera, in the province of Cadiz. This style of wine is a geographical appellation (European regulation), therefore only the wines produced in this designated area may bear the name Sherry . There are three main types of Spanish Sherry, fino, amontillados and oloroso, which are described hereafter.
Further European regulation stipulates dry and medium style sherries are required to contain a minimum of 15% alcohol, and cream sherries 15.5% . Outside Europe, wine styles similar to Sherry, that may or may not utilize similar production techniques to that used in Jerez, are often termed Sherry style, or carry the producing countries name appended to the term sherry.
The traditional method of sherry production utilized in Jerez (the solera method) is initially considered hereafter. Other methods will be briefly compared subsequently.

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