A Spanish guest asks for "a proper Fino, very cold, with the almonds." You reach for the dusty bottle of sherry that has been open in the pantry for three months. Do not. Fino is effectively a white wine — it is a living thing, it is bone dry, and it goes stale as fast as any Chardonnay.
What sherry actually is
A fortified wine from Jerez in southern Spain. A dry white base wine, mostly from the Palomino grape, has neutral grape spirit added to raise its alcohol. What happens next depends on one decision, and that decision creates two families.
Biological ageing: the flor
If the wine is fortified to around 15%, a film of living yeast called flor grows on the surface. Flor does two things: it protects the wine from oxygen, keeping it pale and fresh, and it feeds on the wine, giving a distinctive saline, yeasty, bready, green-apple character.
Oxidative ageing
If the wine is fortified higher — around 17% — the flor cannot survive. The wine ages in contact with oxygen, going deep brown and developing walnut, toffee, coffee and dried fruit flavours. It also concentrates as it evaporates.
The solera, in principle
Sherry is not a vintage wine. It is aged in a solera: a system of stacked barrels where a portion of wine drawn for bottling comes from the oldest stage, which is topped up from the next-oldest, and so on. The effect is fractional blending — every bottle is a blend of many years, and the house style stays consistent. That, in principle, is all you need to explain to a guest.
The styles
| Style | Ageing | Colour / sweetness | Serve |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fino | Biological (flor) | Pale, bone dry, ~15% | 6–8°C, fresh bottle, with olives, almonds, jamón |
| Manzanilla | Biological, aged in coastal Sanlúcar | Pale, bone dry, notably saline | As Fino; superb with seafood |
| Amontillado | Biological, then oxidative | Amber, dry, nutty | 12–14°C; consommé, poultry, hard cheese |
| Oloroso | Oxidative from the start | Deep brown, dry, rich, walnut | 12–14°C; red meat, game, oxtail |
| Palo Cortado | Rare; starts biological, loses flor | Between Amontillado and Oloroso | 12–14°C; a treat for the enthusiast |
| Cream | Oloroso sweetened | Brown, sweet | Chilled; the classic crowd-pleaser |
| Pedro Ximénez (PX) | Sun-dried grapes, oxidative | Almost black, intensely sweet | Chilled; over vanilla ice cream |
The rule that matters most on board
- Fino and Manzanilla are perishable. Refrigerate them and use them within a few days, exactly like a white wine.
- Amontillado, Oloroso and PX are already oxidised — they keep for weeks, even months.
Onboard Notes
- Fino served cold with salted almonds is one of the great aperitivo moments. Serve it in a white wine glass, not a thimble.
- PX poured over vanilla ice cream is a dessert that costs almost nothing and always impresses.
- If a guest says "sherry" and pulls a face, they mean sweet Cream sherry. Offer a chilled Fino and watch them change their mind.