Having secured a lively response to the piece a few weeks ago on sweetness in wine, today features another underappreciated part of the wine world.
Sherry.
Sadly, memories of “Granny’s tipple” and of the poor quality versions sold here last century still suppress sales even today.
Ironically, that “typecasting” is especially unjustified because sherry not only has an extensive range of flavours and styles but can also be a great food wine.
Matches can encompass rich versions to accompany chocolate right through to bone dry versions for, say, sushi.
Indeed, sherry can often provide the answer to some “hard to match” foodstuffs like asparagus.
Even more welcome news is that the limited demand means that prices remain pretty low and, hence, there are great value options.
That is so despite the last fifty years seeing the vineyards dedicated to sherry dropping by around two-thirds.
But, rather than keep stressing those value and versatility benefits, I will let MidWeeker Richard take up the story.
“A tale of 2 Finos and a Zoom Sherry Tasting!
(1) Just prior to a 2 night break in Norfolk, a regular Good Food Guide email update featured a Cromer restaurant called “Fino”, recently included in a “best local restaurant” list.
Great! Cromer is a short bus trip from our West Runton hotel, so I immediately checked out their web site.
Since Covid I have become a bit jaded about eating out – haven’t yet come to terms with the current price levels for food and wine.
How I yearn for the simple informal menus and attractive pricing that I so well remember in Portuguese and Spanish restaurants.
Nevertheless, “Fino” looked very attractive and imaginative with its 3 daily lunch-time specials at £15 each – and a glass of house wine included. .. Perfect!.
Alternatively, if you book in for an early supper at 6 or 6.30 and have 2 courses each, you get a complementary carafe of house wine.
So what happened when we got there?
Their wine list was short and reasonable, and – here is the key thing for this piece – they have a separate sherry list and, better still it includes Tio Pepe Fino en Rama which is not so common in the UK outside metropolitan areas.
We couldn’t get a table for the early supper (the formula obviously works) so settled for a late lunch.
It was a great lunch, good food and wine (and sherry), lovely friendly and informal atmosphere.
We started pencilling in some possible dates for our next visit, and to nab a 6.30pm booking …
Once back Home
(2) About a week after our Cromer “Fino” lunch, we had our usual early evening discussion to agree on wine(s) to have with dinner.
The proposed starter was a plate of Haslet, with avocado, leaves and some capers followed by Salt-dried Cod Croquettes (from Lidl, I think), with various vegetables.
After thoughts of some whites and/or a light red – and remembering the name of that Cromer restaurant – fino sherry suddenly came to my mind!
After all ….
I love sherry, but we have got into the habit of only drinking it (probably about a 70ml serving) with a small light lunch.
We have Fino or Manzanilla in Spring/Summer and Palo Cortado or other styles in Autumn/Winter.
We are not alone as Hugh Johnson marks the changing of seasons by his switch from “Summer Sherries” to “Winter Sherries”.
I had the remnants of The Wine Society’s Fino, and an unopened bottle of La Ina Fino (£8.95 & £11.95 respectively from the Wine Society).
Both were 15% ABV – not a huge difference from some table wines.
So we each had about 150ml of Fino with the meal. And it was just perfect. Fantastic value wines, and it brought home that Fino is not just for aperitif or light lunches.
Putting the Plan into Action
As Autumn has already started, I’d better finish up the Fino, and start getting in our Winter Sherry? Here are some possibilities:
- Wine Society Criadera Palo Cortado en Rama, Barbadillo, 19%, £20
- Waitrose: No.1 Torre Del Oro Palo Cortado, 19%, £14.10
- Morrison: The Best Palo Cortado, 19%, £7.50 (Half bottle) I have enjoyed this, and a past MWW recommendation.
- M&S: Palo Cortado, 19%, £9 (Half bottle) – see below.
Looking more broadly
(3) To celebrate International Sherry Week (2-9 November), The Wine Society has a (free to members) Zoom Tasting on 6th November.
Optionally, you can also buy a £25 tasting pack, and taste along with Harriet Kininmonth, The Society’s Sherry buyer (and genuine enthusiast), who says, ….
“Six 100ml tasting samples of the following sherries to taste-along with for our Celebrate sherry week online event.
- Lustau La Ina Fino;
- Alegria Manzanilla; Criadera Palo Cortado en Rama, Barbadillo;
- Don Zoilo Collection Dry Amontillado 15 Years Old, Williams & Humbert;
- The Society’s Exhibition Mature Medium Sweet Oloroso Blend;
- Half bottle of Don Zoilo 15-year-old Pedro Ximénez, Williams & Humbert”
Perhaps 2025/26 will be your time to become an active sherry enthusiast?”.
Thank you Richard for a great piece about sherry and, for the more intrepid, here is a practical exercise to take the subject forward.
Try this at home
So, if you are up for challenge (and to see whether sherry can tick boxes for you):
- Acquire some snack type food – cured meat (including a charcuterie selection), Manchego cheese, and nuts. Some advocate blue cheese too, but that does not really work here.
- Buy an entry point sherry – ideally palo cortado but any of the drier sherries can work – and get it to about 12°C.
- Pour some into one of your usual wine glasses – not those old fashioned schooners.
- Savour the aromas and then taste a small sample.
- Finally mix the sherry in your mouth with the foods, noting how the flavours of both change – choose the food/sherry combination that suits your palate best.
Good luck.
Gateway Selections.
So, after tasting a number of High Street entry point sherries here are the ones I recommend.
They will help you decide whether sherry is for you and, thus, whether to venture further up the price (and, hence, quality) ladder.
M&S Palo Cortado Sherry (£9 for 37.5cl at M&S and Ocado and 19% abv):
Opening with dried fruit and walnut aromas, it then delivers intense, bruised apple and orange flavours with just a trace of treacle.
These are accompanied by gentle acidity and a long, textured, rich finish that introduces a modicum of sweetness.
Or, alternatively.
Best Palo Cortado Sherry (£7.50 for 37.5cl at Morrisons and also 19%):
With a chestnut colour plus apple and caramel aromas, it features nutty, bruised apple and saline flavours and a long finish.
Coffee, chocolate and sultana influences add richness but there is a lively contrasting freshness too.
If you can’t get Palo Cortado, try this.
Waitrose Blueprint Fino Sherry (£10.25 for 75cl at Waitrose and 15%):
While the darker palo cortado is the best option for autumn drinking, this is my pick as the best of the High Street finos.
Complex to the nose, it offers us crisp, green apple crunch and greengage flavours built into a weighty texture.
That roundedness is tempered by citrus peel acidic tingle and pithy grapefruit influences to provide an alluring cocktail to dance across your taste buds.
Or this – the runner up
Sainsbury’s Dry Fino Sherry (£10.25 for 50cl at Sainsbury’s and also 15%)
While without quite the depth of the Waitrose version, this soft and smooth option is excellent with salted almonds.
It has fresh apple crumble flavours with an engaging citrus edge and the vaguely nutty finish to its lighter body mingles amiably with the muted saline elements on display.
After today’s glimpse of a specialist area, it’s back to a broad sweep of budget (but great value) fare in Monday’s Top Tip selections.
25 responses
What a co-incidence – have just been given a bottle of Gonzalez Byass Leonor 12 anos Palo Cortado for my 71st birthday. Looking forward to it even more!
Now that is a step up – and happy birthday. Unlike fino, palo cortado can stay fresh for a little while once opened for, perhaps, a week or even two. Three simple things can help … Keep it in the fridge, seal it up tightly and keep it upright. However, with versions that good, talk of how long to keep it once opened may be academic!
Thanks – is it worth using a vacuvin stopper to remove the air and prolong its longevity Brian?
Yes it is. Your biggest enemy is air and any system that reduces the amount in the bottle will help. That last word (“help”) is important though – it slows, but does not prevent, oxidation and its success relies on how much air was in the bottle in the first place. As with any system, or none, a bottle two thirds empty will deteriorate faster than one two thirds full.
Sherry is great! The Wine Society fino is a real bargain at £8.95/bot, but so is my favourite, their Romate Fino Perdido at £10.95 – a fino, but with more depth and flavour.
Keep those tips coming Jerry – this is a style of wine that needs much more air time.
Yes, with you on the Romate Fino Perdido. I’ve been through all the Wine Society’s Romate Sherries, all excellent – and such wonderfully evocative labels! Manzanilla with fish & chips? Can’t wait to try this, thanks, Lisa.
Thanks for that Richard – and, once again, for writing the original piece
I’m a huge sherry fan, all types. Another favourite food pairing is fish and chips with a manzanilla or fino. A match made in heaven and makes both styles a year round enjoyment.
We are lucky in Leeds (and York) to have a tapas restaurant called Ambiente that does wonderful sherry flights
Good call Lisa -and another example of sherry’s food-related versatility.
I remember a wedding in Cadiz that had a separate sherry bar – heaven ☺️
I recently bought, randomly at Bratislava airport, a bottle of Tokaj, Szamorodni Dry and it was the surprise of the year so far. Exactly the same oxidative aromas and taste as sherry but the Furmint grape delivered them slightly differently. Highly recommended if you have a chance and are in that part of the world.
Thanks for a great website – big fan
Welcome to the site Brano – and for the kind words. Dry furmint is quickly gaining traction here in the UK and, as you suggest, is also proving a versatile grape.
We have holidayed in the wonderful city of jerez for many years, visiting the bodegas of which Lustau, Gonzales Byass and Tradicion with its stunning art collection are favourites. Christmas is a great time to visit with the traditional zambombas street celebrations each weekend in December an incredible experience. Last year I brought back bots of Cristina and Leonor from bodega GB which sustained great memories over the remainder of the winter at home.
At home here in Ireland it is especially difficult to track down a choice of sherries outside Dublin but I have recently enjoyed some bottles from the M&S range, especially their med dry amontillado. Enjoy
Thanks, Pat., for joining the MidWeek Wines Comments section community – you are very welcome. Like Guinness (which never tastes as good as when drinking it in your homeland), many people say how much a visit to Jerez makes the sherry, and the associated atmosphere, markedly better.
La Gitana Manzanilla, discovered it in Spain about 10 years ago…Think Tesco sell it over here..THE BUISNESS.
Another good call – thank you Dick – and thanks too for what I fancy is your first post. Sherry made by Hidalgo (like versions from Lustau) is usually worth seeking out and this is one of theirs. I think Majestic, Waitrose and Laithwaite’s also sell it. Manzanilla – being not only dry but also boasting saline influences – is not everyone’s choice, but those that love it do seem to enjoy that one. Really appreciate your adding it to the mix.
With regard to your recommendation from Morrison, they currently have an offer of 30% off 3 bottles from their best range
I’m with everyone else in the sherry appreciation society. But after a holiday in Sanlúcar de Barrameda sipping a few copitas and feasting on Tortillas de Camarones at the bar, I must admit I’m largely a manzanilla fan. However, during the Wine Society’s 150 year celebrations in 2024 I was bowled over by their strangely labelled half-bottle of ‘Medium-Sweet Oloroso’, which turned out to be a 15-year old dry oloroso with a little PX mixed in after 5 years. An absolute 5-star winner.
That reminded me that at a tasting last year I tried a Cream Sherry, and really enjoyed it. I intended to investigate suitable food pairings, but never got around to it. Just looked into it again and “cheese professor.com” commented …
“ … the somewhat ordinary Bristol Cream Sherry played well with the aged gouda”
“ … The Consejo Regulador recommends pairing it with hard such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Gouda.“
This sounds promising to me. I find that with sweet puddings, especially “sticky” ones, I prefer a light Asti fizz to lighten things. Not that I very often have any wine with pudding. Perhaps worth trying it with blue cheeses as well – as one can with dessert (unfortified) wines. The advantage with sherry is that, with its higher ABV it is more robust than say a Sauternes, so should last longer, as one would only have small servings. Waitrose do a Blueprint Cream Sherry at £10.25, so I feel an experiment coming on! Worst case scenario is that we can have a boozy trifle.
Or even tortillitas – wretched spellcheck.
My favourite sherry style is Palo Cortado ,but as a Xmas treat it is hard to beat a sweet oloroso or PX sherry..
Oloroso is sensational with fresh Parmesan or blue cheese and will add to the enjoyment of mince pies, stollen and Xmas cake.Nuts also.
My brother in law’s Millionaire’s shortbread, which the Scottish side of the family call an Aberdeen nosh up( toffee and chocolate topping), is a scrummy pairing.
As for PX ,dripping it onto plain vanilla ice cream is so passé, go the full calorific hog and use salted caramel ice cream instead.
Ah! Xmas is just around the corner.
Sherry is such an underrated style of wine it’s almost a crime that most people associate it with being granny’s Christmas tipple – some obnoxiously sticky and sweet concoction of questionable provenance hidden at the back of the cupboard until the holidays.
I say almost a crime, that bad image does us Sherry fans a favour, ensuring a ready supply at a great price for world class wines.
Sherry is so versatile, there is a style to go with most courses of a meal. I enjoy fino en rama and Tanzania pasada with fish and shellfish and palo cortado with meat dishes (it’s so good with a good, rich game pot roast). A revelation that was pointed out to me a few years ago was how well Sherry works with spicy food. Fino and manzanilla with fish and oloroso/amontillado/palo cortado with meat. These pairings include a good curry and even a hot chilli con carne, the Sherry stands up to the heat and the textures compliment each other too!
Really good summary, Alistair, and many thanks for providing it in what I think is your first contribution to the Comments section. I am with you about en rama but have yet to try the food partnerships you so warmly commend.
Thanks Brian. I have followed your pages for several years, but always lurked in the background. Although I don’t drink a lot of Sherry, I do enjoy its startling and unique flavours and aromas so I just had to leave a comment with my experiences. I have, however, just noticed autocorrect has changed Manzanilla to Tanzania 😆😅🤣😂
Cheers
Alistair
No need to lurk in the background, Alistair, you have great views on wine that deserve a wider audience – even if autocorrect does mangle your words.