Making Sherry, an old favourite
April, 2004 Filed in: Wine making
Okay, the first image you may get of Sherry is something maybe old Aunt Mabel once really enjoyed. Fancy name for fortified wine many would say. Leave those images aside, Sherry is finding new fans today.
Sherry is best enjoyed as an aperitif, and as such has been said to act as an appetizer before a meal that increases one’s appetite. Frankly, I think the delay in eating while you enjoy the sherry is more the reason for the increased appetite. It is best served slightly chilled.
Sherry is made primarily from the Palomino grape (yep same as the horse). The Palomino grape is known to make questionable quality wine, but its usual low level of sugar and high pH make it an excellent grape for Sherry. Other grapes such as Perdo Ximenz and Muscat can also be used.
Commercial Sherry is fermented much like regular wine, finishing at 11-12% alcohol, finishing quite dry. It is then stored in oak barrels and fortified with a Spanish alcohol known as aguardiente (Winexpert’s Tim Vandergrift calls it Spanish rocket fuel).
After adding the alcohol, a second fermentation occurs which actually lowers the overall alcohol. Sherry finishes with alcohol content of 15-22% depending on the finishing process. Famous Cream Sherries are dark, somewhat sweet and higher in alcohol.
Sherry from kits
Sherry kits, like other dessert wines are produced in 11.5 litre kits (that’s 30 of the small 375 ml bottles). Winexpert’s Sherry kit is a blend of juices and concentrates, that has dark, nutty richness with hints of almonds and hazelnuts. The starting specific gravity of Sherry kits is 1.100, much higher than the typical wine kit. This is because Sherry is a very thick and viscous liquid. Of course having a higher specific gravity means more alcohol potential. Darn!
The three top hints in making Sherry are:
Stir lots
Stir lots more
Stir, stir, stir!
The temperature of the must (the wine mix) should be run a little on the high side versus wine (75-77F, 24-25C). You will see in the instructions there is a sugar feeding required partially through the fermentation which again results in higher alcohol.
Winexpert’s Selection Speciale Sherry kit can either be finished dry or cream-style (sweeter). This can be done by adding or leaving out the F-pack. The Sherry kit should finish with an alcohol content of 14-16%. You can fortify the Sherry by adding alcohol. This additional alcohol will increase the mouth feel of the Sherry. Some disapprove of adding Brandy as they feel it overpowers the Sherry while other rave about their brandy fortified Sherry. Sticklers of maintaining the Sherry taste recommend Everclear or another grain alcohol.
Sherry is best enjoyed as an aperitif, and as such has been said to act as an appetizer before a meal that increases one’s appetite. Frankly, I think the delay in eating while you enjoy the sherry is more the reason for the increased appetite. It is best served slightly chilled.
Sherry is made primarily from the Palomino grape (yep same as the horse). The Palomino grape is known to make questionable quality wine, but its usual low level of sugar and high pH make it an excellent grape for Sherry. Other grapes such as Perdo Ximenz and Muscat can also be used.
Commercial Sherry is fermented much like regular wine, finishing at 11-12% alcohol, finishing quite dry. It is then stored in oak barrels and fortified with a Spanish alcohol known as aguardiente (Winexpert’s Tim Vandergrift calls it Spanish rocket fuel).
After adding the alcohol, a second fermentation occurs which actually lowers the overall alcohol. Sherry finishes with alcohol content of 15-22% depending on the finishing process. Famous Cream Sherries are dark, somewhat sweet and higher in alcohol.
Sherry from kits
Sherry kits, like other dessert wines are produced in 11.5 litre kits (that’s 30 of the small 375 ml bottles). Winexpert’s Sherry kit is a blend of juices and concentrates, that has dark, nutty richness with hints of almonds and hazelnuts. The starting specific gravity of Sherry kits is 1.100, much higher than the typical wine kit. This is because Sherry is a very thick and viscous liquid. Of course having a higher specific gravity means more alcohol potential. Darn!
The three top hints in making Sherry are:
Stir lots
Stir lots more
Stir, stir, stir!
The temperature of the must (the wine mix) should be run a little on the high side versus wine (75-77F, 24-25C). You will see in the instructions there is a sugar feeding required partially through the fermentation which again results in higher alcohol.
Winexpert’s Selection Speciale Sherry kit can either be finished dry or cream-style (sweeter). This can be done by adding or leaving out the F-pack. The Sherry kit should finish with an alcohol content of 14-16%. You can fortify the Sherry by adding alcohol. This additional alcohol will increase the mouth feel of the Sherry. Some disapprove of adding Brandy as they feel it overpowers the Sherry while other rave about their brandy fortified Sherry. Sticklers of maintaining the Sherry taste recommend Everclear or another grain alcohol.