1960 The U K B G Guide to Drinks (3 rd edition revised)

Part in

SECTION VII

SHERRY

This is the name for a wide range of wines which come from the Jerez (pronounced Hereth) district in Southern Andalusia, Spain, of which the port of shipment is Cadiz. Sherry has been known in this country from the time of Sir Francis Drake and Hawkins, who first brought the local wine to England and called it Sack. This was later altered to Sherris-Sack, due probably to the mispronuncia tion of Jerez. This too was later amended to Sherris Wine and eventually Sherry. Sack is the drink written about by William Shakespeare, this no doubt added to its popularity. The reason why the district around Jerez is chosen to produce these wines is because the soil in that part is considered to be more suitable than any other in Spain or the rest of the world. This soil is called locally Albariza, (very chalky, which produces the best wines), Barros, (a clayey soil, producing larger quantities of good wines), and the Arenas(which gives larger quantities of average quahty wines). Only one other area than the Jerez area has Albariza soil and that is at Montilla, near Cordoba in Central Spain, which gives a Montilla wine. All the grapes grown here are white. The Palomino and the Albillo produce the better types of Fino wines while the Mantip de Pilar and the Mantuo Castellano produce the average types. For the sweet wines the famous Pedro Ximenez grape is used, named after the man who introduced it to the country and sometimes called PX. The wine after it has undergone its first and second fermentation, is classified into either Fino's or Oloroso's, the Fino's being light and the Oloroso's being heavier. Brandy is added to the wine when it is classified, according to its classification depends the amount of brandy it will receive ; the Oloroso'.s receiving more than the Fino's.

183