Sherry

Sherry is Spain's most distinctive style of wine. Or rather styles, as sherry can be dry or sweet, translucent or opaque, pale straw or dark amber. But all sherry hails from southern Spain, and bears the mark of barrel ageing. Most sherries are made in the town of Jerez de la Frontera from the Palomino grape. These include Fino, aged under a veil of yeast called "flor" to create a fresh, light dry wine; Amontillado, which begins its ageing under flor but then loses it and oxidizes into an amber coloured wine that smells and tastes of roasted nuts; and Olorosso, aged in contact with the air for a fuller, richer roasted nut character. From the town of Sanlucar de la Barameda, Manzanilla sherry is a lighter, more saline version of Jerez's Fino. And from Montilla come sherries made from the Pedro Ximenez grape, some of the sweetest, richest wines in the world.