Hey um my name is Aaron Daniel I work at WCTC London I teach there full time as An educator in there for about three Years now to say for three years now I Did my diploma in 2017 and currently Stage one last of wine student but more Importantly I’m a certified Cherie Educator so I’m very excited to be Taking you all with me on this journey Down to her s or depending on where or Maybe up to here and exploring the Styles of wines there’s a great Diversity the history the methods of Production just there’s so much about it For me it’s a fascinating subject and Hopefully you will share that passion With me that I have so this is what We’re going to look at a very brief History okay and it is a historic region And lots of change has happened Political and otherwise over time so We’ll just have a little look at that We’ll see where we are in the world it Gets very important where her if Actually is and the area that I’m going To really be alluding to you as it’s not Just the city itself but areas around it And the climate in the weather they’re Incredibly important and that influences The styles of the wines I’ll talk to you A little bit about vineyard and vineyard Practice and of course very importantly The grapes that have grown there there’s Not lots of different grape varieties
There’s one main right variety in a Couple of others that we’ll talk about And the winemaking that happens okay so It’s a very interesting process making Sherry and unlike any other wine really In the world which is why I find it so Fascinating of it why you will come here This evening the maturation is an Incredibly important part of the sherry Making process so we’ll go into some Detail around that and the unique way They mature their wines and that Includes the Solaris system which I will Explain and hopefully you will Understand because it is one of the most Difficult things I think to to get your Head around but once you do you can see Why it’s it’s such a fantastic way of Making these wines and then we’ll look At the actual Sherry’s out there what You can buy what they taste like all the Different stars and actually I’ve left One very very important thing off the List here the bottom I should have Did food pairing food and sherry because That’s extremely extremely important and Particularly down there in in Harris so Lots and lots of things to cover so I Hope you’ve got some time and anyway I Shall continue so okay right here we are So we have got really a bit of a time Line and you can see an evolution of the Name of the place So you’ve missed me three thousand years
Ago we have the Phoenicians entering Spain and of course that would be an Entry point down there and then there’s South of Spain there Andalusia and they Brought the vine so that’s one thing That’s incredibly important they bought The vine so grapes can grow the Romans Came quite a bit later and they started Transporting wines from Spain then when We have the Moors coming in they’ve they Invented distillation so a very Important part of the process of making Lines there is a Reconquista would be Christians and taking over back again And then later on as we can see in the Sixteenth century or just fit for for a In fifteenth century there’s the Discovery of the Americas I think that Was really important for for the Transportation of sharing the marketing At the market for sherry and then we got Today so a bit of a timeline there very Quick very brief history but you see Originally the area was called Bearer Okay and then that’s changed over time When the Moors came they called it Cherish that’s incredibly important Because sherry as we know it is is that What is the word for the PDO sherry and Her heirs or sheriff and that this word Here that’s what we call it that’s That’s the PDO and it was very very Important that the consejo regulador Well although were forming could
Actually prove that the name of the Place was very links to the word sherry Which we can see okay so the name has Changed you can see Harrington our Fronteras here it was a it was a border Town it was it was a it was defending Itself you know a really close to the to The ocean there and yes over time and Now we’ve got the place that we would Rotate if you go there we call it Harris The wine it produces is sherry wine but They also On the P do you see the word correct as Well yes there there’s a little bit of History there so just going back a bit More detailed more recent history I mean It’s not that recent but the 15th to the 17th century was really what’s the Expansion of the sherry wine abroad and Sherry was a very very important wine For long voyages sailors would drink a Quarter of a liter of sherry every four Quarters of ELISA I’m sure they’d have If they’d have four periods of time During the day where they would have Sherry and that was important believes They have beliefs of sherry today in Effect that’s a lot of a fortified wine To be drinking or wine in this case to Be drinking on a journey but it did stop Mutinies so there’s one of the reasons There and if it wasn’t just to be drunk It was also exported and you know is Exported on purpose but also because it
Was part of the of the cargo for the for The sailors and then you know this Exportation of wines to the Americas it Made it popular there and the links the Americas very very strong and that’s Where San Luca de Barra made its weapons For Thomas set sail from and sherry as We know it well later on so in the 19th Century we were able to aid towards that Was a legal thing you could do that So that means that we are producing a Product now with or more complexity Fortification was originally used to Stabilize wines so you have a wine and Wine would go off pretty quickly and in Back in those days we didn’t have all The technologies that we do now so if You added alcohol to the wine you Fortified it then you’re going to Stabilize the wine but actually that’s Not the reason that we use a Fortification in sherry really anymore I Mean it’s what helps but it’s now more Than in a nautical tool we use we use Fortification to do certain things which I’ll explain so we end up with certain Stars of sherry because of the Fortification the amount of alcohol that Is added because there was a demand for This particular wine there was a demand For a system that could could meet meet It so the Solaris system was born it was A way of being able to Constantly creates a wine that people
Wanted and then in 1935 so 1933 was the Start of the forming of the sherry do Okay so the denomination daughter Hannah PDO and in 1935 officially that’s when The consumer regular door officially Were able to give sherry the name Jerry So that meant that no other places in The world were allowed to call their Wine sherry because this happened a lot In like with champagne they’re parts of The world where they would say oh this Is South African sherry or this is British sherry or this is Hungarian Sherry well you’re making a fortified Wine but it’s not actually sherry it’s Not made in her F it’s not made in the Same way it may not be made to the same Quality levels so it what they needed to Protect that name and they were able to Do that from 1935 well there was always An ongoing trouble not all going there There will be places I’m pretty sure California still sell sherry Californian Sharing so there isn’t just sherry wine That’s produced down in Harris we have 3d O’s okay we’ve got here we go this is All sherry wine so you can see if you Get a bottle of sherry wine those of you They’ve got your bottle in front of you You’ll see that you’ll have those three Words area charis I don’t know how you Pronounce it I should probably learn and Sherry okay we can see what so many Different styles there which I’ll talk
About later we’ve got an Anthony here Samantha Nia is the is its particular do For the area of San Luca Deborah Mader I’ll talk about that a bit later cuz San Luca has slightly different conditions So the wine that’s made there this man For near one that’s made there is a Little bit different to the pheno wine That you get from Harris explain why That is It’s like vinegar so if we’re never to Haran as well It’s a gourmet vinegar it’s one of these More expensive ones that you can get That has a little bit more to it than Your than your average star but it’s not All they make they have got brandy Although that’s not one of the Peters of Ranadev Herrick and there’s lots of gin Production as well so all sorts being Made and created on there but those are Their PDO so you Make vinegar and call it vinegar to Herod if it’s not made in made in that Region if Anthony has you made in Sending car and of course the wine being Called sherry has to be made in a Specific area as well okay so where are We All right so most was probably have an Idea of where sherry wines are made but For those of you that are learning and Exploring for the first time we are Right down here okay so in Andalusia and
So herethis the name that we’re giving To the wider region although he’ll Oppresses antara The the little city there and that it That’s one place but around it is where We’re gonna have the grapes where we’re Going to have other towns where Maturation can take place and production Around as well So you can see where we are we’re right On in the south now if we go back up Here I’m not sure it’s very very arid Okay there is wine made there before Stepping in as we go kind of further South you don’t think you know how on Earth did you manage to grow grapes in Places you know so far south in Spain You know it’s not like we’re specialists Up here it’s gonna be raining all the Time you know it’s very different and I’ll talk about the weather and the Climate because that is what makes Harith a really interesting place for Growing grapes and why it’s making a Style of wine which is so interesting We’ve got this fortified style you know What’s going on why is it that we have This style of wine and Paris the area Where we are in the world is very much Part of that so here we are So we now I’m just going to show you Here we’ve got three places okay that Are on this map here and so you can see What the Atlantic Ocean look what a
Lovely River here we’ve got Sally cada Barbados if you remember from the Previous slides that’s where man for Nia Is made we’ve also got a bit further South we’ve got puerto de santa maria And if we go over to the east a little Bit with what jerez de la frontera and These are actually the three main towns And we refer to them as the sherry Triangle because you can draw a lie Between you doctor doc you’ve got a Triangle so that’s your harris sherry Triangle there okay and then you know All around here are areas where you grow Your grapes and lots of the areas where You’re growing a break the vineyards Have this Pale soil okay say this this and I’ll Talk about the soil types that’s really Incredibly important but you can see Unlike in la manche if you went to the Manor you would see vines being planted Really far from each other even further North in toro okay they’d be very very Widely planted but here we’ve got really Quite high density plantings going on And I’ll explain how we can get away With that why that happens in this part Of the world and you can see there are Some clouds a little clearer there okay So let’s let’s see what it is what’s Going on why can we make why can we grow Grapes successfully down there and why Are they perfect for making fortified
Wines So we’ve get an average is a Mediterranean climate down there yeah It’s a pretty pretty warm to hot Mediterranean climate and 300 days of Sunshine per year the winters are really Mild and you get very hot summers going Up to 40 degrees Celsius that’s that’s Pretty hot so you know you want to be Careful not to sunburn get those boats To get sunburned because all of the Grapes were talking about are white Grape varieties as well so that’s again That’s a really interesting thing Because often when we think about where If you’ve got lots of climates you often Think that that’s where you’re more Likely to grow black white varieties but These are all white grape varieties that Grow there but interestingly this is the Really interesting thing is the amount Of rain is actually quite a lot of rain There’s less rain in Rioja 450 meters in Reoffer You’ve got there’s less than 400 in la Mancha expect then we’ve got 655 min we See that’s the same amount of rain You’re getting Oxford annually the thing Is this rain comes in the winter so it Comes between sort of november december February time so that’s when you get Most of the rain although having been There outside that time in october and i Have seen with my own eyes that when it
Rains it pours so it’s just to rental so You know you’ll get a day of rain all The other days of the year you know You’re you’re 65 Over 300 days plus of year with no rain Is because when it does rain it pours But that’s very important because that Doesn’t mean that the ground has some Water okay but it doesn’t get it all Year round so that’s where the soil Becomes very important and not just the Soil type which I’m going to talk about In a moment but also you know how do we Get this rain in the first place well You’ve got to have these particular Winds which help to bring in this rain Bring to bring moisture humidity very Very important for the vines for the Land for the actual production of the Wine as well so I’ll going to get more Detail when we get to that point so We’ve got the wind called the Pony Entei Which comes from the west and that Westerly wind that is a wind that’s Coming from the Atlantic okay so that is Gonna be bringing with it Humidity or moisture basically and it’s A cool wind Okay so humidity and it’s cool whereas We’ve got the Levante which is coming From the east and it’s coming from the Southeast it’s coming across very dry Lands it’s hot so it’s a hot dry wind so These two Quinns mean about the pressure
But the rain but also we have this Ability with this honey Entei wind to Influence the coastal areas in Particular and a bit further inland and Bring humidity with it and that’s key to The to the winemaking which I will Elaborate in a bit but I’d like to just Have a look at this diagram here cuz What we’ve got is a bodega I’ll go Through what a bodega isn’t a bit but Just briefly it’s a an aging warehouse Where we’re keeping the barrels of the Wine and what they do in this part of The world is they build these the Degas So that the windows and can face the West so that allows the Pawnee enter Wind into the bodegas so that brings Coolness and humidity into the bodegas That’s incredibly important okay so you Can see here we’ve got this arrow and That’s allowing the Pawnee ante there Into the bodega and right So I’ll come back in a bit and talk About humidity because that’s very Portly why making but let’s let me look At the vineyards okay so we saw earlier There was a photo and there was a you Could see there’s very very white chalky Soil so about 90% of the the soils are This albariza soil there are other soils As well as barrels which is play and There is arenas which is sandy soils as Well but most of it is this a burrito Soil and Alba meaning white very white
As you can see goes a bit gray when it Rains and and it is just really a hold From maritime fossils like bits of Octopus and stuff and it’s an incredibly Chalky to the point where actually you Could have some problems with the amount Of limestone that there is in closest With with the vines which is a Deficiency or actually it’s too much Limestone moderner deficiency and so What that means is they’ll be very Careful with their with the root stocks That they use but they’ll be going a bit Over your head so I’ll leave that for a Moment but what is great great great About this soil type is as you can see It’s chalky and fundamentally chalk Absorbs quarter and that absorption of The water it’s like a sponge so absorb It but also release it as well so it Keeps it and then releases it when it’s Needed it also forms a really good crust Which stops evaporation of the water so You’re not just losing the water Straightaway because we’ve got this Higher density plantings as well it also Means that you can have because there’s A lot of grapes going on so all the Refighting a bit and god of this light Reflected back on the boat it ate eggs – It means you couldn’t ripen the grapes As well because you don’t want to pick Them too late because in particular the Palomino grape variety has a pretty low
Acidity and if you keep though if you Try and ripen them for too long their Acidity level drop so we don’t want that When we ask my wife I want to retain Some of that lovely acidity there and so Really really fantastic and and I think I’ve got another photograph explain what This is so you can see we’ve got these Little puddles here in these These little dips and that have been may They used to dig these by hand but now They’ve got machines to do and this is Called an SF here and this is a system And it’s a really great system because What it does if it holds the water there So so it’s gonna stay it’s not going to Run off the lands which is definitely Something that we don’t want to happen We weren’t worried too much about the Water running off the land because we Don’t have very steep slopes I mean There are some slopes about ten to Fifteen whose gradient but it’s it’s not Too hilly because it’s not too hilly There’s a lot of mechanical harvesting Zazz around 60% is machine harvesting Going on and the the training system for Those of you either into that kind of Thing they’ve got a they have a Traditional training system which was Put in Verity pulgar which basic means a Rod and a thumb okay so they’d have like A long cane which is where your chutes Would come up from and then a little
Short stubby will one which was just There just in case in case something Went wrong with the other one but now They tend to do more more conventional Methods of more sort of cane pruning Which would be your single or double Giro for those of you that doing in the WT courses as you get to level three you Start learning more about their the Training systems so a little bit more Conventional what you might see maybe More in the north of Europe in northern France for example okay and so we’ve got Three main grape varieties and you know Is by far the most planted grape variety And it accounts for about 90% percent of The just give me yeah or they’re leaning Outside and so Palomino is about 99 Percent of the of the plantings and most Of the wines that are made are actually A dry style and I’ll talk about that in Just a bit I think the perception often Is that there’s lots of sweet wines and There are some sweet wines but most will Actually dry and those dry wines are Coming from I love the Palomino grape variety Palomino is a white Variety it’s a mid to late ripening Great variety but we need to pick it and Tad earlier to keep the acidity levels a Bit higher and not too much sugar in the Grape variety there and this is a Variety that’s also grown in antenna
Faith and they call it list on Blanco There and Palomino there’s some debate As to as a great variety how interesting Is it for still wines I’m not really had That many still ones but I do find the Wines that you get from the Canary Islands do hang out tend to have a kind Of a mineral quality about them which is Really nice and they make some lovely Wines but here they’re really you mean It’s all it’s all about the fortified Wines and their aging process and that’s Where all the power comes into its own Here in Harris Petra here – also known As px this only makes sweet wines and This is a great variety that it you can See it’s a white grape variety but the Wines you get from it don’t tend to look Particularly like white wines they often That brown black color and I’ll talk About why that is a bit later and then We’ve got muscatel and very very very Small amounts of muscatel sherry are Made again this is a sweet style and This is a great variety that if you’ve Ever had Muscat before you’ll know it’s Very very aromatic you get those great Floral peachy notes and that’s what Makes this slightly different style it’s Also a sweet wine not you’re not Normally as sweet as Pedro him in it but Is still a sweet style of sherry but Again very little is made and in fact The must Scarecrow’s than muscatel grows
Better in the sandiest soils and so they Are in US and by the coast it’s got a Couple of particular areas where they’re Allowed to make and aged those wines Outside of the sherry triangle okay so Wine making now first thing we’re doing Is we’re pressing or grapes because There’s a quite a process so I hope I Don’t lose you here and but just kind of Take you from the beginning so we’ve got Our grapes have come into the winery and I’m primarily gonna be talking about Palomino I will go back to muscatel and Hetero him in a bit later so we’re Pressing the grapes okay And we want the first press we’re gonna Get some nice very very clear juices we Need to decide what these where these Juices are going to go are they going to Which style of sharing they’re going to End up being so there’s a lot of Classifications throughout the process Of making sherry so press the grapes Decide what and where they’re going to Be and then we’ll have a first Fermentable will do the fermentation to Make a a base wine a dry base wine That’s that’s the aim here okay so and They call that base one Musto not to be Confused with musk which is often just What we called grape juice But this base wine they referred to as Must oh okay so I’ve got our base wine And so the fermentation it’s gone up to
Eleven to twelve percent okay so it’s Not very high we don’t have a lot of Sugars in these grapes we don’t want Crazy ripening because we need to retain That acidity remember for Palomino so I’m talking about Palomino now so we Have another classification okay and and Usually what will happen is the the Grape juice that that’s lightest once That’s been fermented that will be Classified to become a Fino okay or Ma’am veneer remember Matheny is just From San Luca and so there’s a Classification here so is this sherry Going to be a FINA or is it gonna be in Colorado so at this point you’ve just Got two routes for it to go down Fino or honor Oso and how that happens How that how the wine then becomes a Fino or becomes non or or so is down to The fortification now the fortification Happens after fermentation when we teach About fortified wines and we talk about Porter Lots Okay again a fortified wines are Fortified often because it says make Them stable for long journeys it’s no Coincidence that lots of fortified wines Are matured or produced by by the ocean On Islands etc but here we’re making a Dry wine so we’ve got a dry base wine And we fortify later and this is where Fortification has become a Neena logical Tool it’s a resource it’s not just about
Stabilization We fortify around 1550 0.5% alcohol by Volume then we end up with a floor FL o R or I’m going to discuss that in a Moment we end up with a floor on our Wine and that will be that then Contributes to the style of the wine Which is gonna be our Fino wine probably If we fortify higher around 17% this Floor cannot survive it cannot it can’t Grow so this wine is going to go down a Different route and so this will be Going down a route where it has access To oxygen okay and this will become Clear on the next slide okay but once They’ve decided this is gonna be a Phenome or this gonna be an order or so It gets put into a little waiting room Again we call this waiting room for Supper table There’s just waiting there these are new Wines new to fortified wines just Waiting to go into the system for Maturation so let’s have a look at how That works cuz this is really important Okay so we’ve got a visual aid here and So the pheno It’s been classified it’s been in that Waiting room the supper-table And now it’s gonna go into the Solaris System okay and it’s gonna go into a Slurry system and this system is a Biologically aging system because we’ve Got this floor that I mentioned before
So you see we have this barrier this Layer in the barrel just to be clear the Barrels in Harrods do not have glass Fronts and bags This is just so you can see into them Okay and this floor in order for it to Survive is a living organism it needs to Breathe it needs to eat it needs to Excrete all of those things and it has The perfect conditions to do that so the Wine here has nutrients in it so the Floor feeds off those nutrients feeds Off glycerol which is in the in the wine As well It breathes the oxygen above it and it Excretes acetaldehyde acetaldehyde will Give you bruised apple flavors and Aromas in the wine because if there’s a Yeast You also get yeasty characteristics in Your wine so most like Marmite yeast Extracts I’ve got bruised Apple Marmite East extract you get these olives sort Of olive brine characteristics more of These things going on raw almond seaweed All sorts of stuff but very savory Really savory notes so this is a very Interesting style of wine so it’s a Biological aging so this is a Fino or am Anthony a– okay for this also for this To live this floor layer it does need a Certain amount of humidity and these Bodegas because of that pani ante wind Coming in they enable there to be around
65% humidity and the temperature as well Is around 20 60 to 20 degrees as well so Put this slightly cooler temperature for These thick walls for the bodegas we’ve Got those open windows what shutters so To stop any kind of direct sunlight They also bathe they throw water onto The floor and this clave floors which Also increases the humidity and this Enables the floor to grow really well in San Luca the barometer which More coastal very close to that large Rift that one idea that has even more Humidity and more ability for the floor To grow even thicker and because it Grows even thicker their delight the Style of wine in that barrel is lighter Tum has had even less oxygen content so If you were to say what’s the difference Between a Pinot and am Anthony apart From where the wines have produced Typically you’d expect a man veneer to Be a lighter style than a Fino however Of course depending on the producer Depending on this style depending on all Sorts of things it’s not always easy to Tell if you’ve got a Pinot in am Anthony In front of you blind and you’re told What is it what’s one which is he no he Does nothing that’s actually quite Tricky thing to do so most the time you Know I wouldn’t worry too much about it But they’re very similar very similar Styles but that’s why I’m Anthony is but
Its own it’s got its own name now for The austere Beijing we’ve got a similar Thing okay we’ve still got a gap so These are showing these sherry box There’s 600 litre butts they Jim they Don’t fill them up they always leave a Gap so they leave a gap as well for the For the oxygen aging ones but this time Because they fortified 17% the floor Can’t survive so there’s no barrier so The air no barriers the oxygen say these Will spend lots of time in contact with Oxygen and as a wine oxidizes over time You get these very exciting interesting Characteristics quite different from Biological aging dried fruits caramel Toffee molasses in some cases some Coffee nuttiness loss of nuttiness Brazil nuts walnuts and so very Different and often if you smell them They smell like they’re gonna be sweet These wives because they’re kind of Association so and but a lot of them Aren’t and we’ll talk about that in just A moment so you can age these wines for A long long long time because with Biological aging the floor is relying on Nutrients in the wine and of course over Time there’s gonna be less nutrients Okay we’re able to Even quite an amount of nutrients and I’ll show you this for the Solaris System but there is a limited amount of Time that you can age biological lines
But with octave wines you can go on for Very a very very long time and you can Do it with sweet wines and you can do it With the dry wines okay so this is where It gets a little bit complicated this is Our Solaris system so I’m gonna try and Explain this as best I can now this is Just a diagram but I want you to Understand if you actually sit go into a Bodega it wouldn’t look like this you Would not have a set of barrels on the Bottom that do one thing and then set of Barrels above doing nothing and I’m Think this is just kind of how it works In theory in practice if you go to Bodega there are different parts of Different systems all over the place Probably because it’s It’s to ensure them insure themselves if If a whole system was damaged by our or Whatever earthquake then that’s it That’s gone and some scenario systems Have been established in the 18th Century so we really don’t want that Happening ok but this is kind of how it Works It’s a fractional blending system so What we have is if you remember I talked About the young wines it’s the new wine The newly fortified wine has been in a Waiting room and the sovereign Tabler so Either biologically aged or is going to Be oxidatively aged and then it will Enter the Solaris system now we looking
At the color here we can have it it’s Easy to apply this to and opposite of The aged wines because as you may be Aware in your experience you may notice That wines white wines when they are Older when they’ve been allowed to Oxidize then they they go from a paler Lemon through to front of amber almost Brown color so and that’s kind of what We’re looking at here so I’m just Talking about what we call these pots so This whole system is called the Celera System and the bottom layer of barrels Is actually called the Solera as well so The net the system is named after the Bottom layer of barrels and that’s Because the Spanish word for the ground Is swallow so it kind of comes from that And we would expect to find this part on On the ground most fun so this is where The oldest wines are the oldest wines Are in the Solera and that is most the Time where you’re going to take your Wine from to be bottled ok so that’s That’s the Solera now the the wine That’s slightly younger than that ok is Gonna be in the first period era a sec First Pradera Then the wine that’s a little bit Younger than that will be in the second Grade era and so forth and you could go Up to say 14 crea Dara’s now this is Where it gets interesting the more Period eras you have and the list list
Beliefs the less wine you take out of The salera you know on on a regular Basis You’re taking it out not very much not Very often and if you’re not taking out That much you’ve got lots and lots and Lots and lots of crude errors then You’re going to end up with a wine that Is on average age very old okay so this Is blending so we don’t have there are Some vintage Sherry’s I’ll talk about That in a moment but tiny tiny amounts So this is a non vintage product and It’s an it’s not a static blending it’s Continual blending fractional blending Okay support static blending is a Solaris system which is fractional Blending again so all happen is you’ll Take out some of that wine okay never Any more than 40 percents not allowed Okay because we’ve always got to have Some old wine there otherwise we’re not Blending so take out some of the wine That is replaced some of that goes into The bottle that is then replaced with The wine that’s a little bit younger That is then replaced with the wine that Is a little bit younger and it goes on And it goes on until you take the new Wine from the subject others now I’m Sure I’m getting questions I can’t see The chat box like they’re saying how do You do that how would you blend it what Happens so is it on my hand and so you
Can do by hand there is there a bodega Called tripathi on where they do it all By hand they’re very traditional if you Like but you can do it using machines in Fact there is a machine they call the Octopus well it has like lots of arms Those arms are basically hoses or pipes That go into the top about each barrel Has a little hole in the top okay so you Can never get access to the wine so That’s why they have these long fins With things little cups at the end of Cordovan NCOs that they did put in and Take the wine out unfortunately I’m Going to work I don’t have one at home I Didn’t win the prize when I did the Asia Educator and program so unfortunately Otherwise I would have won one today That’s always a little bit upsetting When I think about that but moving on And so they’ve got a hole in the top of Every every barrel and so you can empty Some out by hand put in a jug mix it up With all the other barrels from that Same kriya dara and then pour it into The createrra below or you can use this Octopus which have lots of pipes they go Into eating the top of the barrels gets Takeout gets sucked out goes into a tank And then goes back in to the the barrel Below okay so lots of blending going on So that means that you’ve got an Incredibly consistent product now you Can see there’s lots and lots and lots
Of questions being asked I can’t see the Questions but see there are lots Hopefully if we literally is answering a Lot of them Oh and I’ve all go back and ask answer Some as well because I do understand it This is quite a complex topic and you Probably do have quite a few questions And I could always go back to certain Slides a bit later as well if necessary Okay so there we go and so our photo our Young line is now entering the Solera System ready for its journey and that May be a short journey because two years Is the minimum aging requirement for Sherry or it could be a very long Journey where we could get a very old Rare sherry which is some 30 years Average age and that depends on again The amount of Korea dairies you have how Often you’re taking the wine out of the Salera And how much you’re taking out okay now If it is a biologically aged sherry So a phenol on Anthony because this Requires the floor requires nutrients And the wines as you get older everyone Gets older you have less nutrients in The wine so if you try to have a very Extensive salera system with a female or A man veneer you would end up the with The floor dying now we don’t want max we Want to protect the wine so you can only Really have Mountaineer and fee nose in
An in a Solaris system where they’re Going to end up with an average age pre Maximum seven eight Yes okay most are around four or five And something like that okay so let’s Talk about these styles of sherry Because it’s not as phenome Anthony on All or so there are other styles as well So if you were here earlier on I would Have said oh I’m having my very much Talking it’s a bit later on so I’ve Explained that we’ve got this this Pinos These are all our dry styles okay now Interestingly in the UK we import mostly Sweet styles okay so if you go into the Shops you’re going to see this way Stars inherit their drinking 80% of what They have of the dry Styles so it’s a Very different culture around sherry in Spain down in her s than it is in the UK And interest to be interesting to see How it is in other parts of the world Holland they it’s a lot – USA gets a Fair amount as well Belgium – and but Yeah these are the dry Styles Saifi no Man Fournier as we know about Alex You’re gonna Amontillado I’m introducing You to so some of you say you have an M On – yah – I do love Amontillado for me Is a really interesting and complex wine Because it starts its life as a phenome So it starts biologically ageing and Then it’s refortified so when it’s free 45 17% it then starts its path i’m
Oxidatively ageing so you get the Depending on how long it’s spent Biologically ageing and how long it’s Been absitively ageing you will get Characteristics of the both so you’ll Get this kind of tangy olive yeasty Maybe slightly bruised Apple character Coupled with that nuttiness the Brazil Nuts the caramel the toffee dried fruit So you can make wonderful wonderful Wines okay really exciting honor ah so We know what about so Orosco is hundreds Of us if the age and then Palo Cortado Is the one I really don’t like talking About because some people claim that It’s like this mythological way of Making it but it’s very mysterious and But but what I can tell you about how The pasado is that it is textual II like A normal row so okay so you’ll find that M Allah Rosco’s and Colorado’s are Thicker and the palate they have no Glycerol because they have had an ala Rosso has had no floor so it’s had it Hasn’t had a glycerol and consumed by The by the floor and Palo Cortado Generally spends a very small amount of Time on the floor so it had might have a Little bit of a biological hint to it But it’s mostly gonna be more oxidative It’s gonna be thicker on the palate so It’s quite similar Roscoe but another thing but it’s not Much of it is produced okay so I can
Tell you two things like me sure about With with Paulo Cortado that it is rarer So that’s generally why it’s more Expensive okay And it’s is quite similar in two to not You know so okay so it’s not – it’s got That kind of that thickness on the Palate so I’m gonna talk now about the Naturally sweet styles of sherry so I Talked about muscatel and Pedro him Annette before and you can see here this Wonderful photo okay that we’ve got These grapes or being rested like lying Out on straw mats Okay so diving sundry this is asked the Acai Oh way of drying them so this is Mostly what they do with Petra him in it And and that’s why when you get better Human s it looks really dark brown or Black in color because these grapes Raisins and so they’re dark and then They’re pressed and when they’re pressed They’ve got such high levels of sugar That they could be a sweet wine anyway They don’t needs to be the third they’re Going to be fortified early to keep Sugar they be sweet anyway They are fortified really early so then They are even sweeter so it is Incredibly incredibly sweet wines that You can get in a petrol heaven I think At 400 grams per liter of residual sugar Which is ridiculous okay that’s so these Are luscious very sweet sweet wines
Sometimes they leave the grapes armed to Ripen a little bit more on the vine as Well but you know either either all and Muscatel again dried grapes but they’re A little bit more aromatics and paired Ramoth so these are what we call Naturally sweet cherries because they Often are they’re gonna be muscatel or Pedro him enough okay so there’s our Nutty sweet cherries and we all look at That raisin in going on there so you can Imagine when you taste a-pillar him in It it’s gonna taste of raisins You know raisins dried fruits and again That kind of depending on how old it is These are aged oxygen Always a job suitably muscatel they go Through a Solaris system to muscatel and Federer heaviness and you’ll get that a Bit of that almost yes oh nothing us a Little bit nothing this there but very Very tiring through when was molasses Characteristic with muscatel a bit more Aromatic maybe an orange peel that’s Kind of a thing that you might expect a Bit with it with a muscatel and it’s Slightly more floral notes there’s like – flora notes okay so now I’m going to Talk about the blend in Sherry’s they See all these different catchphrase what Drive that naturally sweet and what the Blended cherry so the military’s are Sweet they’re Sherry’s but they’re based On our dry categories so we can either
Add Petra him and f2 them to make them Sweet that’s all up that’s our Sweetening component or we can add our CGM which is rectified concentrated Grape must then that’s what you’re going To do with your really entry-level pale Cream so pale cream was invented for the UK market relatively recent invention Actually and that’s based on a Biologically aged wine so you’re using Something like a fee no one that Probably hasn’t been in the system for Too long and then you’re adding great Mass to it and it’s never you’re never Gonna add and pedal him and ask to a Pale cream because it’s pale so it Always is gonna look like a white wine But it’s gonna be sweetened fina cailli A medium that will be based on really The foundation of it is an Amontillado Here you’re probably more likely to add Petra him in it they tend to be a bit Not as sweet as the cream cherries so You put one out as much better having it Here but that’s gonna be your medium Style and then your cream is gonna be Based on an all or or so most of the Time and you can get different quality Levels of these things and get really Premium stars that have gone through Extensive Solera systems as an honor Also say and we’ve got a pair of him and Em going through another Solaris system And they’re blended and they continue
Down through another Solaris system and For a long long time and those can be Incredibly complex wines and they’re not Going to be cheap But then you’ve also got your Entry-level like you’re comfortable for Example which is not going to be so Complex and that’s your your pale cream There so really a massive immersive Styles and when we talk about pale cream Medium medium and cream Sherry’s you Know don’t turn your nose up and they Can be really really premium really Wonderful wines and I mean sometimes I’ve seen the terminology Colorado Dulce But that’s not really meant to be used If it is a sweetened version of a medium Or cream if it’s a sweetened version of An Amontillado or Palo Cortado or a non Orosco then they do need to use them Consejo regulador so they have to use Medium and cream on the label but I Think there’s a few producers who are And jumping through some little hoops There and getting getting away with it But sir You know you when you taste the wines And they’re a bit older and I’ll talk About age indications in a moment and They’ve been coming some really great in Their assistance yeah wonderful stuff to Be had so moving on to our age Indications so it’s an it’s not it’s a Non vintage product as we can see
Fractionally blended it’s very difficult To make a vintage product using a Solaris system and we start our age Indications at average age of 12 and 15 Years say that’s pretty complex that’s Passing they’re not taking your wine out Of the cellar very often and you’re Going to have a fair period errors for That then we get vos now vos the Latin For that is vinum optimum thickener to Them but we just call it very old sherry And then you’ve got vo ORS which is Vinum optimum rare signature which is Very old rare sherry now vos is is a 20-year average age and vo RS is a 30-year average age vintage sherry very Very small but not too much I got a Photo here because vintage sherry very Rare but sometimes they will take the Wine that isn’t going to go through the Solaris system and this is going to be An oxidizer Tiffany stored wine because Floor cannot survive in these conditions In bottles like this so because there’s No nutrients Being added so there’s always going to Be opposite of stars or autos and they Just kept like this but they have to be Exceptional and they are tasted and They’re deemed worthy of being vintage Or not but very very very small Production of those very rare and They’ll be kept for a long long time Before release okay so this is why we’re
Here to work out what to eat with our Cherry so it is an incredible food wine I cannot emphasize how much it is such An incredible food wine in fact if You’ve ever seen the book taste buds of Molecules and things by a and he talks About how there are so many molecular Compounds in common with foods so it’s It works as as an accompaniment so it’s Complimentary lots of complementary Molecules but also ones that are in Common as well so it’s it has it’s much More complex it’s got the most Complexity most molecular compounds than Any other wine so it just works what’s So so well and annually in her a thing Called the kaabah dohaeris where they Compete for the best menus they have Three courses they’ll start with a Biologically aged sherry they’ll have an Oxygen liege sherry and they’ll finished With a sweet sherry and they have to Choose a dish to go at each one and then You will win the copy dohaeris if you Have the best food which which pairs What were the best pairings this Gentleman here is well Frances Chartier He was a consultant to El Bulli you know This was the the top restaurant in the World in Spain so you know they know What they’re doing there’s some Wonderful wonderful places restaurants In the world who do pear and Sherry’s With it with the food and not just in
Her ass but you know you in on lots of Formal menus there was a restaurants in Puerto de santa maria Called upon ent which is a mission star Restaurant and you can just have With every course of no answer like 20 Courses ridiculous so it’s a serious Food wine it’s not just an aperitif you Have a glass of Pinot with some almonds Or some serrano ham for example I’m here Metheny me with some prawns but your Amontillado you can have with big big Dishes same with rasoi And then it’s not just pairing you could Have it’s an ingredient loads we will Use petrol him in it on ice cream they Pour because it’s such a thick sherry Necessary sweetie it’s basically just Sauce so you can pour it on your ice Cream you can use it as a glaze on pork Someone even said that they used it make It with foie gras I mean it’s incredible And what you can do I mean it’s such a Powerful such a complex wine you know It’s a you can have it with really Powerful complex things here I have a Little heavy going look at that so they Say regular at all them vino to her ass I’ll show you the website in a moment They put together this this diagram and When I dings is doing the the educator Program and they sort of made links of What goes well with what and there was An article as if Jancis Robinson article
Only a few days ago and I Jeffrey you Tell me about that and then said in my Dad that I came up in my inbox as well And that was talking about all these Wonderful pairings to and so you can see That just there’s so many things that go Well I think I might might say don’t go For hot spicy food with sherry just Because it is fortified wine and the the Heat of the wine might accessor bait the Heat of the chili in your food but if You like really hot and spicy foods and Then go for it but yeah I mean and I Just find often these really premium Sweet wines and the premium blended Wines and wonderful with cheese went Really really well so you know I’ve had Meals where I’ve had a different sherry With a different course I’ve even put Different events where I’ve done sherry And food pairing and often people who Didn’t like sherry before didn’t we Understand it came away with a with a Real passion And enthusiasm for it so there we go There’s the sherry wine website so just Note that down I’ve got perineum website Loads of information there you can see Look at all those the spectrum the color Of sherry wines these beautiful bodegas Don’t be put off by the mold on the wall That’s just telling you that there’s the Right amount of humidity and you can see It is very thick walls we’ve got high
Ceilings as well so let the Ponte Entei Through we’ve put these shutters just to Stop the Sun if need be but also to let In the air as well he’s sandy clay soils And I’m on the ground to increase Humidity when we put water on them these Old always old barrels by the way always Old they’re American oak and they paint Them black so that they can see easily If there’s any leakage or problems Lately no the barrels don’t move the Wine moves through the barrels it’s Wonderful so traditional they’re not Using air conditioning nothing like that It’s just all done naturally by the the Climates there so that’s a that’s my Presentation for you which went on for a While I hope you’re still awake and I Know there’s absolutely loads and loads Of questions so I’ll see if I can there If I can pick them up on the chat and Let’s see having a bit of a problem with That and I don’t have to go back out and Come back in again stop sharing over There right