Edited by Aj
Sherry is one of the few wines that can be both the driest thing on a restaurant menu and the sweetest, and both versions come from exactly the same region in southern Spain. That single fact surprises most people, because sherry has spent decades being filed under “sweet old-lady drink” by drinkers who’ve never actually tried the full range. It’s a reputation the wine has not earned.
The truth is that sherry is one of the most varied and food-friendly wine styles on the planet, and it’s well worth seeking out in bars and restaurants across New Zealand. If you’ve walked past it on a list because you weren’t sure what you were ordering, this guide is for you.
Sherry Starts Here: The Basics of How It’s Made
Sherry is a fortified wine, which means a neutral grape spirit is added to the base wine at some point during production. This raises the alcohol level, usually to somewhere between 15 and 22 percent, and it helps stabilise the wine so it keeps longer once opened. All sherry comes from the Jerez region in Andalusia, in the hot, chalky south of Spain. The three main grape varieties are Palomino (which makes almost all dry styles), Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel.
What makes sherry genuinely unique is a system called the solera. Rather than bottling wine from a single year, producers blend younger wine with progressively older wine through a series of barrels stacked in rows. Wine for bottling is drawn from the oldest row, which is topped up from the next oldest, and so on, with new wine refreshing the youngest row. This means every bottle of sherry is a blend of many different vintages, giving it a consistency and complexity that’s hard to replicate anywhere else.
Another key concept is flor: a layer of naturally occurring yeast that forms on the surface of some sherries as they age. Flor protects the wine from oxidation and gives fino and manzanilla their distinctive pale colour and sharp, savoury character. When flor dies off or is absent, the wine oxidises slowly in barrel and deepens in colour and flavour. That’s how you get the richer, nuttier styles like amontillado and oloroso.
Three Things People Get Wrong About Sherry
Myth 1: Sherry is always sweet. This is the big one. Fino, manzanilla, and dry oloroso are all completely dry sherries with no residual sugar to speak of. Fino in particular is searingly dry, with flavours of green olive, almonds, and wet chalk. It’s closer to a crisp white wine in feel than anything cloying. The sweet versions, like Pedro Ximénez and cream sherry, are genuinely sweet, but they’re only part of the story.
Myth 2: Sherry keeps like regular wine. It doesn’t. Because fino and manzanilla are aged under flor and bottled at lower strength, the lighter styles are more perishable than people expect once opened. Fino and manzanilla should be treated like a fresh white wine: keep them cold, finish them within a few days. Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez are more robust and will hold for several weeks in the fridge. Don’t leave any style sitting open on a shelf at room temperature.
Myth 3: Sherry is only for sipping on its own. Wrong in both directions. The dry styles are brilliant food and drink matches, especially with salty, fatty, or umami-forward food. Fino with jamón ibérico or fresh oysters is one of those genuinely great combinations. And sweeter sherries work beautifully drizzled over vanilla ice cream or alongside aged cheeses. Some bartenders are also using sherry in cocktails as a lower-alcohol, flavour-packed alternative to spirits.
Reading the Label Without Guessing
Sherry labels use style names rather than grape names, which is different from most wines. Here’s what the main terms mean:
- Fino: Pale, bone-dry, aged under flor. Serve cold.
- Manzanilla: Like fino, but aged in the coastal town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. Often has a faint sea-salt quality.
- Amontillado: Starts as fino, then loses its flor and oxidises. Nutty, amber and dry. Sweetened versions are labelled Medium.
- Oloroso: Aged without flor from the start, fully oxidised. Deep mahogany, rich, dry, walnut and dried fruit flavours.
- Palo Cortado: Rare and hard to categorise, somewhere between amontillado and oloroso. Worth seeking out.
- Pedro Ximénez (PX): Made from sun-dried PX grapes. Jet black, extremely sweet, tastes of figs, raisins, and dark chocolate.
- Cream sherry: Usually a sweetened blend of oloroso. This is the style most associated with the old-fashioned reputation.
The word en rama on a fino or manzanilla label means the wine has been minimally filtered, giving it more texture and complexity. Worth looking out for.
How to Actually Taste Sherry Properly
Serve fino and manzanilla in a standard white wine glass, cold, from the fridge. Don’t use those tiny traditional copita glasses unless you specifically want to. A regular wine glass lets the aromas open up far better.
With fino, look for: pale gold colour, a slightly yeasty, bread-dough aroma, then green almond and saline on the palate. With oloroso, expect deep amber, roasted nuts, leather, and dried orange peel. Pedro Ximénez pours almost black and coats the glass. Smell it before you taste it: you’ll get molasses, dried fig, and something close to espresso.
Temperature matters more with sherry than with most wines. Too warm and a fino tastes flat and slightly unpleasant. Too cold and a PX becomes almost viscous. Around 7 to 10 degrees for dry styles, 12 to 14 for the richer ones.
Five Sherries Worth Starting With
- Tío Pepe Fino: The benchmark. Produced by González Byass, it’s the fino that appears on more lists and more shelves globally than any other. Dry, sharp, and completely reliable.
- Hidalgo La Gitana Manzanilla: From Sanlúcar de Barrameda, this is fresh and saline with a real coastal character. Excellent with seafood, which makes it a natural fit for New Zealand dining.
- Lustau Amontillado Los Arcos: A great introduction to the oxidative styles. Nutty and dry, with enough complexity to make you slow down and pay attention.
- Lustau Oloroso Almacenista: Lustau’s almacenista range sources sherry from small individual producers. This oloroso is rich and walnut-forward without being heavy.
- Toro Albalá Don PX: Strictly a Montilla-Moriles wine from Córdoba rather than a sherry, but Toro Albalá is one of the most respected Pedro Ximénez producers in Spain. Pour a small amount over good vanilla ice cream. You’ll understand immediately.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is sherry a wine or a spirit?
It’s a wine, specifically a fortified wine. Grape spirit is added during production to raise the alcohol level, but the base is always fermented grape juice. It’s made and regulated under the same framework as other wines, not as a spirit.
How long does an opened bottle of sherry last?
It depends on the style. Fino and manzanilla are the most delicate and are best finished within three to five days of opening, kept in the fridge. Amontillado and oloroso will hold for two to three weeks refrigerated. Pedro Ximénez, because of its high sugar content, keeps the longest, often a month or more.
Can you cook with sherry?
Yes, and it’s genuinely useful in the kitchen. Dry fino or manzanilla works anywhere you’d use a dry white wine in a sauce or with seafood. Oloroso adds depth to slow-cooked meat dishes. Just avoid anything labelled “cooking sherry” in the supermarket, which often contains added salt and tastes nothing like the real thing.
Where can I find sherry in New Zealand?
Specialist wine shops and good bottle stores in Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch tend to carry a reasonable range, particularly the major names like Tío Pepe and Lustau. Spanish restaurant lists are often a reliable starting point, and you’ll sometimes find good pours at bars that take their wine lists seriously. Spiritly covers the New Zealand drinks scene regularly if you want to keep across what’s being poured and reviewed.
