Not your grandma’s wine

Sipped any sherry recently? I’m guessing your answer is no, since most Americans tend to think of sherry as either as an overly sweet wine sipped by little old ladies or as a cooking wine – and therefore avoid it like the plague. Sherry is, without a doubt, misunderstood and underappreciated. “It’s one of the classic wines of the world,” said Patricia Wamhoff, certified wine educator, advanced sommelier and a big fan of sherry. “Like Champagne or Port, it’s unique to the place where it’s made. But because it’s been around forever, it’s been overlooked by consumers under the age of 40.” Sherry is a fortified wine made in the province of Cadiz in southern Spain. It’s made from white grapes, but the aging process determines its final color, which can range from pale golden to dark mahogany. Much of the confusion about sherry stems from the fact that there are many different styles and flavor profiles, from dry to sweet. Fino is the most common and also the driest and lightest in color; it has a salty, almost briny tone, with hints of nuts. Manzanilla is simply another type of fino, but from a more specific geographic area. Amontillado usually has a slightly higher alcohol percentage than that of fino and is allowed to oxidize in the aging process, resulting in a darker hue and a slightly more intense flavor. Oloroso sherry is aged oxidatively for considerably longer than the minimum three years – often 15 years or more – and is sometimes blended with Pedro Ximénez wine, the darkest and sweetest type of sherry, to create a sweet wine. Oloroso sherries tend to be very nutty and sometimes raisin-y. I don’t expect sherry to become your go-to wine for sipping on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and a movie, but let’s give it its due. The wide variety of styles allows sherry to pair beautifully with food, particularly cheeses, cured meats and olives. Dry sherries, said Wamhoff, are the perfect accompaniment to food because “they’re crisp, dry and [have] acidity, and acidity carries the flavor of the food.” Blue cheeses pair nicely with a dry fino, for example, and a sweeter oloroso with a flan. Be sure to serve your fino and other dry sherries chilled; oloroso and other sweet styles can be served closer to room temperature. Good sherry is readily available on liquor store shelves in St. Louis – it’s even offered in half-bottles. Or stop into Guido’s or Modesto on The Hill or Barcelona in Clayton to learn more. The tapas restaurants offer multiple types of sherry by the glass, so it’s easy to sample the different styles, which are designed to pair well with Spanish cuisine. Your server should be able to help you create a great food and sherry pairing that really demonstrates what this wine can do. Enjoying wine, in my mind, is all about new experiences and evolving your palate; sherry would make a great addition to any oenophile’s cellar. Certified sommelier Chad George is general manager at Eclipse Restaurant at The Moonrise Hotel.