Sherry Wine, the Most International Spanish Wine.

According to the Greek geographer, Strabon, the Phoenicians were the ones to introduct the first vine into this region of the Iberian Peninsula. Soon after, consumers and investors alike began to take an interest in Jerez, like the many British families who directed a large part of their business to the region. Today, Jerez is the most international Spanish wine available and one of only three geographical Denominaciones de Origen of sherry in the world.

The production zone for these D.O. Jerez-Sherry and Manzanilla de Sanlúcar de Barrameda is made up of the land in Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chipiona, Trebujena, Rota, Puerto Real, Chiclanda de la Frontera, and certain parts of Lebrija.
While the variety of grape used obviously shapes the characteristics of the wine, the truly defining factor in sherry is its aging process. Each variety of wine aged
has its own series of final aging casks called solera.

The aging of sherry is carried out in American Oak barrels with a 132 gallon (600 Litre) capacity, which are filled five-sixths full to leave an air chaber two fists high so that yeasts can grow and create the veila (protective layer). The barrels are lined up in rows three high. The bottom level is called the solera because of it´s proximity to the floor (¨suelo¨ in Spanish) and holds the oldest wine. From this level, a certain amount of wine is siphoned out for consumption and is replaced with the same amount of wine taken from the second level, or criadera, which in turn is replenished from the row above, the second criadera. This operation is known in Jerez by the term ¨Running the Scales,¨and is usually carried out with implements called the ¨canoe¨ and the ¨sprinkler¨ so that the wine falls into the barrel little by little, like dew, so that the veila will not be damaged.

The system of aging sherry wine is dynamic and plays on the scales of wine from different years. It is an expensive method, but one that allows young wines to take on the fine qualities of old wines.

Sherry wines are differentiated not by year, but by type. There are quite a few types, but we have included five common ones below.
Grape Varieties Used:

Palomino de Jerez (95%), Palomino Fino, Pedro Ximénez (Riesling Variety), Moscatel (found in Sherry produced closed to the sea)