Happy & Healthy

12 things you need to know about sherry

I just came back from Jerez, an area in Spain in which sherry plays an important role. The first thing that came up in my mind is: that’s what my neighbor drinks, and she’s more than double my age. Better yet, she even follows certain sherry diets to help her loose weight. Extremely old-fashioned if you ask me. But I had no idea how great sherry is and that in Spain, it’s a common drink to drink for kids my age. Another thing I didn’t know is how much love, care and craftsmanship goes into making sherry. Hey, why not do something crazy and try making it on your own. But first, I’m going to fill you in on 12 facts about sherry. Who knows, maybe you’ll be sold on the drink and you’ll never order anything else ever again.

• Sherry is a wine, so it should be served in traditional wine glasses.
• There are ten different types of sherry. In other words: there isn’t just one kind of wine. From bone dry, to very sweet, you name it: it exists.
• Sherry is a gourmet wine and a great combination with different dish.
• It’s the perfect wine for the Asian kitchen. Especially when you drink it with spicy dishes.
• Sherry is only allowed to be labeled as a sherry when it comes from a sherry region, known as the sherry triangle. Just like champagne is only allowed to be called champagne if it comes from the champagne region.
• Sherry is NOT only for elderly women. This is an err we make way too often.
• Sherry is a fortified wine, it starts at 15% and goes up to a maximum of 22%. Sounds like a lot, but people drink it just like wine. You’ll just be drunk much quicker.
• Sherry is a drink which is almost 3000 years old.
• Sherry, especially the Fino (a specific type of sherry and also the most accessible), won’t give you a hangover. This is because its base is very natural. Think of it as a green kind of wine.
• Sherry is made of three types of grapes, of which the sherry Palomino Fino is about 90% of its consistency.
• The driest sherry’s are the Fino and the Manzania. They don’t contain any sugars. Well, at least less that 0,1% per liter.
• The sherry diet didn’t just pop out of thin air. If you like a dry white wine, then sherry is the one that contains the least amount of calories.