The Beer Brewer

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.

Check back for part 2 shortly ….