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Sun, 31 Dec 2006 12:12:14 -0800
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Just received this very informative and interesting post.  It doesn't mention that Bristol Cream is gluten free, but will interest those who like a full explanation.

Jessie

http://www.harveys-usa.com/about_sherry_made.html

How Sherry is Made


Sherry owes its character and finesse to a complex fractional blending system, known as a solera. While winemaking begins much like other table wines of the world, the wine is then fortified with grape brandy or spirit and enters a solera for years of aging. 

Harvest & Crush
Harvest begins in September and may last a month. Sugar content alone is the picking criteria. Minimum sugar for the Jerez Denominacion de Origen is just over 19%, while Jerez Superior is over 21% sugar. Typically, the grapes are harvested at 23-24% sugar.

The best sherries, especially Finos, are made from the free run and light press juice from grapes grown in the best vineyards; that is, those with the special, chalk white calcareous soil called albariza. After crushing, the juice, or mosto, is fermented in temperature controlled stainless steel tanks at about 80¼ F. Ninety percent of the sugar is consumed in the first three days. 

Fortification
After five to seven days of fermentation, the wine is dry and the primary, alcoholic fermentation ceases. It is now that the methods peculiar to sherry come into play. While still in the tank, the wine is assessed for delicacy before having its alcohol content fortified with spirit. The level of fortification depends on this first of many classifications - fino (light and delicate) or oloroso (heavy and full). 

All finished sherry styles - Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso and Cream - are derived from these two basic sherry classes. Once the first classification is made, the new wines are called añadas, or "wines of the year" and are then placed in the large American oak "butts" (casks) of 132 gallons. 

Bodegas
After fermentation, the mosto is transported to large, warehouses known as bodegas for aging. These whitewashed, cathedral-like buildings shield the wine from the summer heat, allowing for the slow maturation process that is key to the character and consistent quality of sherry. Harveys bodegas are some of the most impressive in Jerez, and cover a large area in the center of the town.

Maturation
About this time, another phenomenon peculiar to sherry takes place. In certain barrels, the living yeast that had fermented the wine begin to take another (aerobic) metabolic pathway, forming a waxy coating on their cell walls and floating on the surface of the wine, becoming visible as a white layer about half an inch thick. Because the yeast is seen to "bloom" on the surface of the wine, it is known as "flor," Spanish for flower. If permitted to grow, flor imparts a tantalizing, yeastiness to the wine.

      .
     Finos are aged under a layer of flor, protected from air.
     
      .
     Olorosos are not aged under flor and are fortified to a strength that kills the flor. They mature with exposure to air.
     

The character and quality of sherry, like that of Champagne, depends heavily on maturation, with the initial winemaking secondary. Also, like Champagne, the young wines are so harsh that most of the initial grading of the raw material is done by the nose instead of tasting. 

As wine in the bodega begins to develop, its progress is monitored and its qualities classified by the capataz (cap-a-tath), an expert cellarmaster who manages the maturation of the sherry. Most sherries, even the pale Finos, are matured for at least five years before being bottled. Once bottled, the sherry is ready to drink. 

The Solera System
Sherries are matured using the solera, a system of fractional blending, consisting of a number of groups of butts known as criaderas (nurseries). The wines in each criadera are of the same type and relative age. While working their way through the system, younger wines "refresh" older wines and older wines "educate" young ones. A phenomenon occurs in which the entire blend takes on the desirable qualities of the older wines. 

Fully matured wines for bottling are drawn from the oldest (bottom) level and then replenished from the younger layer above, with the youngest wines residing in the top layer of casks. No matter how many times the wine moves within the solera, no more than one third may be removed in a given year. The system is fed from the stocks of young añada wines. This method maintains a consistent high quality and style for each type of Harveys sherry. 

Fino 
Fino sherries mature under a layer of yeast known as flor. Flor forms a protective shield over the wine so it does not oxidize and turn brown. Flor metabolizes oxygen and glycerin. Since glycerin is oily, Finos lose their body, making them perfect aperitifs. The flor layer adds its own aromas and flavors to the fresh apple flavors of the Palomino grape, such as yeasty bread aromas and hints of earthy spiciness. Wines destined to become Finos are fortified to around 15.5%; anything higher would kill off the flor layer and change the style of wine.

Butts of Fino are filled partially, to about 9/10 capacity, so the flor layer is supplied with oxygen. Flor would eventually die on its own and must be kept alive by the capataz for the next four to five years by continually replenishing the butts with younger wines that supply needed nutrients. 

Manzanilla
Where a Fino-type wine is aged also influences its final character, because climate affects the thickness and intensity of the flor layer. Flor grows thicker at lower temperatures and higher humidity. Finos aged in the cooler coastal region of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, which develop a thicker, even layer of flor, are more delicate, with an unusual salty tang, and are given the name Manzanilla (mon than EE ya). 

Amontillado 
To create Amontillado (ah moan tee YAHD oh) a mature Fino is allowed to lose its flor, either by not replenishing or by additional fortification to a higher alcohol level, which will kill the flor layer. Now exposed to air, the pale Fino then oxidizes into a nutty, richer, amber colored sherry as it is further aged in cask.

Oloroso
Wines destined to become rich, mahogany-colored oloroso style wines are fortified to a higher strength of around 18% to prevent the formation of flor. Most Olorosos are sweetened before bottling with Pedro Ximénez, or are used as the base wine in the even sweeter Cream sherries. Cream sherries are generally Oloroso wines, sweetened with Pedro Ximénez wine before bottling. In order to assure a steady supply of high quality "PX," Harveys is one of the few remaining producers to maintain its own solera for maturing this special sweetening wine.

Harveys Bristol Cream is unique in that it is blended from four different sherry types - Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez from nearly 50 different solera systems, then placed in a final "shipping" solera, which allows the newly blended sherries to marry together. This special solera simulates the long sea voyage to Bristol, England, now that the wines are matured and bottled in Spain. The wine is an average of 8 years old at the time of bottling.

 

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