Not your granny's sherry

It's an often underestimated drink, but sherry can be enjoyed with food as well as on its own, writes JOHN WILSON

SHERRY MAY well be the best value wine in the world. Some of the very best examples are available at incredibly low prices. It is always sold ready to drink, and should be drunk as soon as possible. Once consumed only by a small coterie of sherry geeks or by elderly spinsters, sherry has now become highly fashionable in certain quarters.

Sherry is a fortified wine. It starts out life as a standard dry wine, made from the Palomino grape variety, grown on the chalky white albariza soils around Jerez in southern Spain. A small amount of grape brandy is then added to bring the wines up to 14.5% alcohol or more. It is then introduced to an elaborate system of ageing known as the solera. In its simplest form (and it is a very complicated system) the young wine is added to the bottom of a pyramid of barrels, all three-quarters full of sherry. As the oldest wine at the top is drawn off for sale, the younger wines are added to the next tier on the pyramid, and so on upwards.

Sherry is therefore a blend of many vintages, some a decade old or more. The magic ingredient is flor, a film of foaming dead yeast cells that forms on the top of the wine. Flor protects the wine from oxidation, and gives sherry its unique yeasty, savoury tang. There are three basic categories of sherry, all very different in flavour and style.

Fino

The classic aperitif sherry, aged under a cloak of flor, fino is pungent and sharp, yet delicate, with a bone-dry finish. Manzanilla is a fino that has been aged in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Here the flor grows more vigorously, and the resulting wines are finer, racier and even drier than a fino. A manzanilla has been variously described to me as “the ballet dancer of wine” and “the vinous equivalent of an oyster”.

Amontillado

An amontillado starts out life as a fino, but is left in barrel for a protracted period of time. After a few years, the flor dies out, and the sherry begins to slowly oxidise, taking on an amber colour, and wonderful nutty flavours, but still retaining the lovely tangy bite of a fino.

Oloroso

An oloroso is aged without the benefit of flor. They tend to be darker, more powerful and richer, although most are still bone dry. Some are aged for a century or more.

A Palo Cortado is a rare style of sherry, something of a cross between an oloroso and an amontillado. Both oloroso and amontillado are naturally dry, but some are sweetened to offset the high acidity. The sweet versions can be incredibly good. Cheap amontillado bears little resemblance to the real thing, and no true sherry-drinker would touch a cream sherry.Pedro Ximénez or PX is a sweet sherry made from grapes of the same name that have been dried in the sun. Locally, a small glass is poured over a scoop of vanilla ice cream to create a memorable dessert.

We tend to think of sherry as something to drink before a meal, or occasionally afterwards. But it is remarkably versatile with a range of foods, and can be drunk throughout a meal. Fino sherry should be treated like a white wine, served chilled and drunk within a day or two of opening. A glass of Manzanilla or Fino served with tapas is one of the best ways imaginable to start a dinner. Both go perfectly with a wide range of nibbles, but I like to drink it Spanish-style with a few olives, toasted salted almonds, jamon, manchego cheese, or tortilla. Alternatively it is excellent with all types of seafood, especially prawns, or smoked mackerel and salmon, fried fish or sashimi. I find it works really well with tapenade too, as well as the local classic of lamb’s kidneys with sherry.

Sherry is one of the few wines to go well with soup. A fino will go nicely with a bisque or gazpacho; amontillado with a consommé.

Amontillado also goes well with pâtés and foie gras as well as white meats and oily fish. With an oloroso, try game or red meats, or best of all, a plate of walnuts and hard cheese. I also find oloroso and amontillado stand up well to blue cheese.

Because of its intense, robust flavour, sherry is great used in cooking, giving wonderful subtle underlying notes. Jerez also produces some excellent sherry vinegar.

A few tips on buying good sherry. Try to shop somewhere that has a fast turnover of stock. Fino that has been lying around too long can taste a little dull. Try to avoid the very cheapest sweet amontillados and cream sherries. A dry sherry costs around the same price and will be immeasurably better. Once you have opened your bottle, don’t leave it around too long. Like any wine it will start to lose its freshness and flavour after a few days. This is particularly true of finos.

TWO UNDER €12

Marks Spencer Manzanilla, 15%, €8.29Several of the multiples now offer good sherry at very reasonable prices. The Marks Spencer Manzanilla is great value at this price. It is a fresh, crisp, dry wine with light, tangy fruits. Stockist: Marks Spencer

Tesco Fino Sherry, 15%, €9.79Not quite as good as the Tesco Finest Fino, which seems to have disappeared from the shelves, but a pretty decent rounded, light, dry sherry. Stockist: Tesco

Manzanilla Juncal, Garvey, 15%, €5.99 for a half bottleSuperquinn has made a great effort with its fortified wines recently, and have a couple of excellent sherries, including the above wine. Fresh light and crisp, with real depth and intensity, this half-bottle is a great introduction to sherry at a very reasonable price. Stockist: Superquinn

Fino Tio Pepe, Gonzalez Byass, 15%, €12.99-€13.99My dad loved a glass of fino before lunch on Sunday, so this was almost mother's milk to me. Available in virtually every shop and supermarket in the country, this is one of the great sherries, and brilliant value for money. The same company also produces several stunning sherries at the top end, including the Matusalem Sweet Oloroso, Amontillado del Duque, and Dry Oloroso Aposotlés. Tio Pepe has an elegant nose with subtle almonds and yeast. The palate is fresh and full of citrus, with almonds again, and a bone-dry finish. No fridge should be without a bottle. Stockists: Widely available

Dry Oloroso Rey Fernando de Castilla, 19%, €32 for 500mlAn exceptional wine, with intense, complex flavours of walnuts and citrus peel, finishing bone dry. Savour it with a plate of walnuts and some firm cheese. Stockists: 64 Wine, Glasthule; Searson's, Monkstown.

Dry Amontillado Los Arcos, Lustau, €9.95 for a half bottleA very fine dry amontillado with woody aromas and a palate of grilled nuts, burnished wood and raisins. Stockists: Mitchell Son, chq and Glasthule; McCambridge's, Galway; Sweeney's, Glasnevin; Brechin Watchorn, Ranelagh; Cases Wine Warehouse, Galway; La Touche Wines, Greystones, Co Wicklow.

Whiskey masterclass

The Mansion House in Dublin will host Whisk(e)y Live today. This event will feature whiskies from around the world, with a particular focus on our own. There will be whiskey masterclasses presented by experts, as well as a tasting hall. Tickets are €45 for a full day, €35 for a half-day.