Palo Cortado is a rare variety of sherry that is initially aged under flor to become a fino or amontillado, but inexplicably loses its veil of flor and begins aging oxidatively as an oloroso. The result is a wine with some of the richness of oloroso and some of the crispness of amontillado. Only about 1–2% of the grapes pressed for sherry naturally develop into palo cortado. [1]
The name means 'cut stick', in reference to the mark made on the cask when this style of wine is recognized. Since the wine was originally destined to be a fino or amontillado, it will initially have had a single stroke marked on the cask. When the overseer realizes that the wine is becoming a palo cortado, he draws a cross (or cut) through the initial stroke (or stick), resulting in a crossed stroke or 'cut stick' (/). At this time the wine will be fortified to about 17.5% alcohol, to prevent spoilage from contact with the air. As the overseer continues to monitor the wine over time, he may feel it necessary to add more measures of alcohol to the cask to continue its development. These additional measures are marked on the cask as more crosses, with the resulting wine being designated 'dos cortados', 'tres cortados', etc. according to the number of 'cuts' marked on the cask. The greater the number of cuts, the older the wine.
On 12 April 2012, the rules applicable to the sweet and fortified Denominations of Origin Montilla-Moriles and Jerez-Xérès-Sherry [3] were changed. The classification by sweetness is:
| Fortified wine type | Alcohol % ABV | Sugar content (grams per litre) |
|---|---|---|
| Fino | 15–17 | 0–5 |
| Amontillado | 16–17 | 0–5 |
| Palo Cortado | 17–22 | 0–5 |
| Oloroso | 17–22 | 0–5 |
Palo Cortado can be served as an apéritif with olives, nuts, cheese, or foie gras; it can also accompany fowl, red meats, or game. It should be served slightly chilled.
As palo cortado falls between amontillado and oloroso, it is relatively stable and may be stored for a few years before opening. After opening, it can be kept, corked and refrigerated, for a few weeks.
Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Commandaria wine, and the aromatised wine vermouth.
Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert.
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versions similar to white table wines, such as Manzanilla and fino, to darker and heavier versions that have been allowed to oxidise as they age in barrel, such as Amontillado and oloroso. Sweet dessert wines are also made from Pedro Ximénez or Moscatel grapes, and are sometimes blended with Palomino-based sherries.
In Spain, the denominación de origen is part of a regulatory geographical indication system used primarily for foodstuffs such as cheeses, condiments, honey, and meats, among others. In wines, it parallels the hierarchical systems of France (1935) and Italy (1963), although Rioja (1925) and Jerez (1933) preceded the full system. In foods, it performs a similar role, namely regulation of quality and geographical origin among Spain's finest producers. There are five other designated categories solely for wine and a further three specifically covering food and condiments, all recognised by the European Union (EU). In Catalonia, two further categories – labelled A and Q – cover traditional Catalan artisan food products, but were not recognised by the EU as of 2007. In recent decades, the concept of the denominación de origen has been adopted by other countries, primarily in Latin America. In 2016, the use of the term Denominación de Origen (DO) was changed in many cases for the European Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, but the traditional term of DO can still be used legally on labels.
Apéritifs and digestifs are drinks, typically alcoholic, that are normally served before (apéritif) or after (digestif) a meal.
Palomino Fino is a white grape widely grown in Spain and South Africa, and best known for its use in the manufacture of sherry. It is also grown in the Douro region of Portugal where it is used for table and fortified wines.
Vin jaune is a special and characteristic type of white wine made in the Jura region in eastern France. It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as the voile, on the wine's surface. Vin jaune shares many similarities with Sherry, including some aromas, but unlike Sherry, it is not a fortified wine. The wine is made from the Savagnin grape, with some of the most premium examples coming from the marl based vineyards in the Château-Chalon AOC. In other French wine regions, there has been experimentation in producing similar style wines from Chardonnay and other local grape varieties using cultured yeast such as the vin de voile wine produced in the Gaillac.
The subjective sweetness of a wine is determined by the interaction of several factors, including the amount of sugar in the wine, but also the relative levels of alcohol, acids, and tannins. Sugars and alcohol enhance a wine's sweetness; acids (sourness) and bitter tannins counteract it. These principles are outlined in the 1987 work by Émile Peynaud, The Taste of Wine.
Pedro Ximénez is the name of a white Spanish wine grape variety grown in several Spanish wine regions but most notably in the denominación de origen (DO) of Montilla-Moriles. Here it is used to produce a varietal wine, an intensely sweet, dark, dessert sherry. It is made by drying the grapes under the hot sun, concentrating the sweetness, which are then used to create a thick, black liquid with a strong taste of raisins and molasses that is fortified and aged in solera.
Fino is the driest and palest of the traditional varieties of sherry and Montilla-Moriles fortified wine. They are consumed comparatively young and, unlike the sweeter varieties, should be consumed soon after the bottle is opened as exposure to air can cause them to lose their flavour within hours.
Amontillado is a variety of sherry wine characterised by being darker than fino but lighter than oloroso. It is named after the Montilla region of Spain, where the style originated in the 18th century, although the name "Amontillado" is sometimes used commercially as a simple measure of colour to label any sherry lying between a fino and an oloroso. It features prominently in the Edgar Allan Poe short story "The Cask of Amontillado".
Oloroso is a variety of fortified wine (sherry) made in Jerez and Montilla-Moriles and produced by oxidative aging. It is normally darker than Amontillado. Oloroso is usually dark and nutty.
Manzanilla is a variety of fino sherry made around the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia (Spain), and is produced under the Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) of Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda DOP. In Spanish, chamomile infusion is called "manzanilla", and thus this wine gets the name because the wine's flavour is said to be reminiscent of such infusion.
Flor in winemaking, is a film of yeast on the surface of wine, important in the manufacture of some styles of sherry. The flor is formed naturally under certain winemaking conditions, from indigenous yeasts found in the region of Andalucía in southern Spain. Normally in winemaking, it is essential to keep young wines away from exposure to air by sealing them in airtight barrels, to avoid contamination by bacteria and yeasts that tend to spoil it. However, in the manufacture of sherries, the slightly porous oak barrels are deliberately filled only about five-sixths full with the young wine, leaving "the space of two fists" empty to allow the flor yeast to take form and the bung is not completely sealed. The flor favors cooler climates and higher humidity, so the sherries produced in the coastal Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María have a thicker cap of flor than those produced inland in Jerez. The yeast gives the resulting sherry its distinctive fresh taste, with residual flavors of fresh bread. Depending on the development of the wine, it may be aged entirely under the veil of flor to produce a fino or manzanilla sherry, or it may be fortified to limit the growth of flor and undergo oxidative aging to produce an amontillado or oloroso sherry.
John Harvey & Sons is a brand of a wine and sherry blending and merchant business started by John Harvey in Bristol, England in 1796. The business within 60 years had blended the first dessert sherry dubbed 'cream' which has changed little since 1880 and is known as Harveys Bristol Cream. The brand was sold to Beam Global in 2010 and then to Grupo Emperador Spain S.A. in 2015, which is owned by Alliance Global Group of the Philippines.
Andalusian cuisine is the cuisine of Andalusia, Spain. Notable dishes include gazpacho, fried fish, the jamones of Jabugo, Valle de los Pedroches and Trevélez, and the wines of Jerez, particularly sherry.
Spanish wine includes red, white, and sparkling wines produced throughout the country. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 1.2 million hectares planted in wine grapes, making it the most widely planted wine-producing nation, but the second largest producer of wine in the world, behind Italy and ahead of France and the United States. This is due, in part, to the very low yields and wide spacing of the old vines planted on the dry, infertile soil found in some of the Spanish wine regions. The country is ninth in worldwide consumption with Spaniards drinking, on average, 21.6 litres per person a year. The country has an abundance of native grape varieties, with over 400 varieties planted throughout Spain, though 88 percent of the country's wine production is from only 20 grapes — including the reds Tempranillo, Bobal, Garnacha, and Monastrell; the whites Albariño, Airén, Verdejo, Palomino, and Macabeo; and the three Cava grapes Parellada, Xarel·lo, and Macabeo.
Montilla-Moriles is a Spanish Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP) for wines located in the southern part of the province of Córdoba. It is bounded by the river Genil to the east, by the river Guadajoz to the west, by the river Guadalquivir to the north, and by the Subbetic Range of mountains to the south.
Sherry vinegar is a gourmet wine vinegar made from sherry. It is produced in the Spanish province of Cádiz and inside the triangular area between the city of Jerez de la Frontera and towns of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María, known as the "sherry triangle".
The history of Sherry is closely linked with that of Spanish wine production, particularly the political fortunes of the Cádiz region, where it originated with the early Phoenician settlement of the Iberian Peninsula. The triangular region between the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda still marks the limits of the modern denominación. One of the world's oldest wines, its considerable evolution has been marked by the influence of many of the world's greatest empires and civilizations: the Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Moors, Spanish and British. Today, while Sherry does not enjoy the level of popularity it once did, it remains one of the wine world's most unusual and historical expressions.
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