Great sherry tasting 2014
15 September 2014 by Catherine Holdsworth in Sherry, Wine and spirits
Today is the Great Sherry Tasting 2014, run by the Sherry Institute, where sherry connoisseurs will be readying themselves to test the bouquets of their favourite wine, and perhaps discover a few new ones with delectable palates.
In just over two months’ time, the long-awaited sixth edition of Julian Jeffs’ Sherry will be available, and you’ll be able to learn all about the history of this rather underrated wine. But if you can’t wait until then, and in case you missed out on tickets to the Great Sherry Tasting and fancied giving it a go at home, we’ve got some advice on the best way to serve your sherry.
Like all wines, sherry’s raison d’être is to give pleasure. And like all great wines it gives pleasure in complex ways appealing to all the senses. As soon as it is poured into a glass it shows its colour and clarity. A lot can be learned simply by looking at it. Then comes its appeal to the nose. The bouquet of a good sherry strikes the nose while it is being poured into the glass, sometimes even from the next room. The nose is a major organ of tasting, receiving the first sensations. For this to happen the wine needs room for the volatile compounds to collect and concentrate above its surface, contained in the space defined by the glass, which should therefore taper in towards the top and be big enough for the wine only to occupy about a third of it. The little thimbles sold as ‘sherry glasses’ with the wine filled to the brim do not give it a chance. Apart from the bouquet ascending to the nose, the colour and viscosity can be appreciated. These features reveal the character of the wine and lay the foundations for the pleasure it can give in the mouth. There is a difference between aroma and bouquet. The aroma is the smell of a young wine, while the bouquet develops with age as the wine matures, giving a complexity that can be immense, subtle and complex.
Chin, chin!
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