Quick question – what’s the least known and least expensive of the world’s great wines? The answer is Sherry! From bone dry to super sweet there’s a Sherry for every occasion, especially Christmas. Sherry is a fortified wine from Jerez, a magical city of 3,000 years history and tradition that’s located in southwestern Spain. In fact, the Jerez-Xeres-Sherry D.O. wine region is the southernmost wine region in Europe. From the sun-baked white soils of the Sherry Triangle, a wine growing area that is bordered by the three ancient city-towns of Jerez, Sanlucar and El Puerto, comes some of the world’s most intriguing and distinctive wines. The special solera system of aging wines of different vintages in American oak casks for a minimum of three years and sometimes for over 100 years, results in wines that are truly unique in the world. Whether you’re a wine expert or beginner, you are sure to find something beautiful in a glass of Sherry. Experts will appreciate the clarity, exuberant bouquet, intensity, complexity and long finish of good Sherry wines, while the beginner may just understand this is something new and delicious.
But why is Sherry perfect for Christmas? From the bone dry Manzanilla and Fino Sherries, to the rich deeply colored and flavored Oloroso to the off-sweet, sweet and super sweet progression of Medium, Cream and Pedro Ximenez Sherries, Sherry offers a solution for almost any occasion or food during the holiday season. Whatever you do or how you celebrate, there’s a Sherry for you. When you awake to find what Santa may have left for you under the Christmas tree, try a sweet Cream Sherry on the rocks with a slice of orange. Whether you have been “naughty or nice” and Santa has bequived upon you a bevy of gifts, or just a stocking full of coal, you’ll still enjoy the smooth creamy elegance of this Sherry. Before your Christmas lunch or dinner try the quintessential aperitif, a dry Fino or Manzanilla. These two golden yellow colored wines are the perfect way to stimulate your appetite and prepare you for the substantial meal to come. When the roasted turkey, or goose, or other substantial fare served on Christmas arrives I suggest a sophisticated Amontillado or robust Oloroso to augment and embellish your meal. When dessert arrives, there’s no better way to savor holiday sweeties than with a glass of Moscatel or Pedro Ximenez Sherry. These sweet, dark amber colored wines offer a combination of sweet fruit and a clean and refreshing finish. Not only will they make your dessert taste better but they will facilitate your digestion of the heavy Christmas feast.
If I have convinced you that a Sherry Christmas is the perfect way to celebrate this important holiday, then allow me to suggest some terrific Sherries that are available in Shanghai. When chosing a Sherry the most important starting point is the producer. Many of the best producers still do not have importers in China, but you will find top producers like Lustau, Williams & Humbert, Gonzalas Byass and Domecq. My personal favorites to help make this Christmas especially memorable are Lustau Deluxe Cream Capataz Andres Solera Reserva cream to enjoy in the morning with a slice of orange, Gonzalaz Byass, Tio Pepe Fino or Domecq La Ina Fino as you aperitif before lunch or dinner and the Williams & Humbert, Dry Sack Medium Dry and Gonzalez Byass, Solera 1847 Oloroso Dulce to enjoy with your Christmas meal. For dessert, I suggest the Domecq Pedro Ximenez Vina 25 or Lustau Pedro Ximenez San Emmillio Solera Reserva . Another fine idea, on Christmas Eve before going to bed instead of leaving Santa a glass of milk give him a glas of Sherry. I am sure this will make him even more jolly. Finally, I’d like to wish all Shanghai Daily readers and staff a very Sherry Christmas!
