Fino sherry

Fino is a dry white wine made from Palomino grapes, produced within the protected designation of origin Jerez-Xérès-Sherry. The Consejo Regulador, the organisation that safeguards the designation, describes fino as a wine that is fortified to 15 percent alcohol and then matures under a layer of yeast: the velo de flor.

In the technical data, the Consejo states an alcohol content between 15 and 18 percent, with 15 percent as the usual value. Maturation takes place in casks of American oak and lasts at least two years. Producer Lustau adds that its fino is made exclusively from the free-run must of palomino, the juice that runs from the grapes without pressing.

The flor protects the wine from oxygen. It is a layer of yeasts floating on the wine in the cask. The Consejo Regulador calls this biological ageing decisive for the character of fino and manzanilla. To give the flor room, the 600-litre casks are filled to only about 500 litres, with 'two fists' of air above.

Under the flor the wine changes. According to Lustau, the yeast converts alcohol into acetaldehyde and also consumes glycerol, oxygen, sugar and acids. This produces a different kind of wine than with oxidative ageing, where the wine does come into contact with oxygen.

Fino matures in rows of casks stacked on top of each other. The bottom row is called the solera and contains the oldest wine; the rows above are the criaderas, numbered by age. A portion is periodically drawn off from the solera, the saca. That portion is topped up with wine from the next criadera, the rocío.

The whole process of drawing off and topping up is called ‘correr escalas’ in Jerez. In this way younger wine is continually blended with older wine. The specification of the designation requires sherry to mature for at least two years. According to the Consejo, 3 to 5 percent of the wine in the cask evaporates each year.

Fino and manzanilla are both dry palomino wines that age under flor. The difference lies in the location: according to the Consejo Regulador, manzanilla is made and aged entirely in bodegas in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. For manzanilla the Consejo gives an alcohol content of 15 to 17 percent, usually 15.

Amontillado starts out as fino, under flor. Then the flor disappears and a second, oxidative ageing follows, in which the wine does come into contact with oxygen and becomes darker. Amontillado has 16 to 22 percent alcohol and, according to the Consejo, is served at 12 to 14 degrees, warmer than fino.

Serve fino chilled. The Consejo Regulador gives 6 to 8 degrees for fino and recommends an ordinary white wine glass with a generous bowl, instead of the small sherry glass, the copita. As dishes with fino, the Consejo mentions tapas such as olives, nuts and Iberian ham, and fish and shellfish.

According to the Consejo, an opened bottle of fino keeps for up to a week, provided it is properly closed and kept in the fridge. Fino and manzanilla always belong in the fridge. Store unopened bottles upright, in a quiet, dark place without big temperature swings.

There are currently 7 bottles of fino sherry in the shop, all from Spain. You will find the Tio Pepe Fino, the Domecq Dry Fino and the Sandeman Fino Sherry. From Osborne, both the Osborne Fino Quinta Sherry and the Osborne Sherry Fino are on the shelf. Also the P. Rodriquez e Hijos Fino Seco and the Valdespino Fino 'Inocente' Single Vineyard.

Would you like to know how these bottles differ, or are you looking for a fino to go with tapas? Call or drop by ’t Bockje at Brink 2 in Bathmen.

The shop is at Brink 2 in Bathmen. Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.00 to 18.00 and Saturday from 09.00 to 17.00. For advice, call 0570 541 278 or email info@bockje.nl.