by Zachary Byers
Let’s play a word-association game. Your word is Sherry. What comes to mind? The sickly-sweet stuff your grandparents drank? Low-quality cooking wine? Dusty, cryptically labeled half-bottles mixed in with the amari and Port at your local wine shop? That’s the case for so many consumers, whose reactions to the fortified Spanish wine range from total confusion to marked distaste.
To me, this is a real shame, because what may be the most misunderstood wine in the world is also the most versatile. Thanks to the numerous styles it’s made in—Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, PX, and cream—Sherry can be searingly dry and salty, lusciously dense and chocolaty, and everything in between. Considering that most of these disparate expressions are made from the same grape, their diversity is beyond special. To travel to their home region of Jerez, meet its people, and observe the history and culture surrounding these wines is to recognize the heartbreaking injustice of the fact that that they’re not being talked about and enjoyed more often.
Personal bias aside, though, I understand why those experiencing Sherry for the first time are challenged by its assertive aromas and flavors. The key to allowing people to make sense of these wines is context. That’s why, if you order a glass on a Jerez patio, a little dish of olives comes along with it: Food pairings are a vehicle for better understanding the unique and potentially unfamiliar qualities of the wine.
This approach of consistently coupling Sherry with food is the inspiration the U.S. sommelier community can draw from to help introduce the category to a domestic audience. If you’re in need of a starting point, look to some classic Spanish tapas: oysters with Manzanilla; olives or Marcona almonds with Fino; jamón with Oloroso; and chocolate with PX instead of the standard Port.
These ideas, however, are by no means representative of the full scope of what Sherry can do. A lot of wine professionals seem to think that they’re barred from showcasing Sherry in their programs just because their restaurant or bar doesn’t adhere to Spanish culinary traditions. But with some experimentation and creativity, you’ll find that these wines have a place just about anywhere.
I recently traveled to Jerez to attend the annual Sherry Educator Course hosted by the Consejo Regulador de los Vinos de Jerez y Manzanilla, the governing body of the Sherry appellation. One of the most enlightening experiences was a pairing exercise involving ingredients like artichokes, wasabi, sardines, curry spice, and mole—some of the most challenging things to get wine to agree with. Yet astonishingly, there was a style of Sherry that solved each of these pairing riddles beautifully, serving as a powerful illustration that these wines can work just as well outside of their cultural boundaries as within them.
Given Sherry’s versatility, employing it in a tasting-menu format can be a gold mine, giving sommeliers the opportunity to take the decision-making away from the guest and facilitate new experiences. For example, at The Wolf’s Tailor in Denver, Colorado, where I serve as head sommelier, I pour a 35-year Amontillado with wagyu and wasabi. It’s an extraordinary pairing that most guests wouldn’t think to order for themselves.
If exciting consumers with Sherry is work, then let it be a labor of love. With these ideas and approaches in mind, the wine community can find novel and engaging ways to present Sherry and ensure that this great wine can be appreciated by a new generation.