Comments on: Is sherry’s retro image ripe for a makeover? On public radio’s Marketplace

By: Todd Abrams

Todd Abrams — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 14:59:19 +0000

Even with my adventurous palate it took me a couple of times to turn on to sherry. Starting with Tio Pepe Fino was tough, it wasn’t until I had a Palo Cortado that I figured it out. I’m hooked now though.

By: Another Aaron

Another Aaron — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 17:43:20 +0000

I’ll second the recomendation for Tio Pepe, served nice and cold. But again, freshness is key. I brought a bottle with me on a vacation to our cottage, served it with crab cakes and it was delicious. The bottle says it will keep for about a month, but I finished the bottle with another dish a few weeks later and it was definately starting to go. Fresh is key, cold is better, and food makes all the difference.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 01:26:56 +0000

Certainly Tio Pepe is always a nice place to start. San Domingo is good, too, when you can find it. I learned to drink sherry when I was a student in Madrid 20 years ago and if people here and now don’t like, that’s all the more for the rest of us, right? Seriously folks, there’s no better way to transport yourself to a smoky old bar in an ancient Castillian plaza mayor than to drink a small glass of fino and munch on some garlicky olives.

By: Dan

Dan — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 21:20:07 +0000

A lot of it just perception, that whole grandmother thing is way too common – of course part of the problem is that sherry is often left sitting around once opened and goes bad – yet still gets served, both at home and in restaurants. Personally, I love the stuff when it’s fresh (in particular finos and manzanillas), i.e., from a recently opened bottle. We’ve even planned dinners around it, and I’ve done that at other restaurants as well.

http://www.saltshaker.net/20080707/hitting-the-sack

By: Dylan

Dylan — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 23:23:36 +0000

Reworking the perception could be a start. People such as your friend and the tales of his grandmother are a lost cause. There’s no point changing his mind because he can’t. However, in a time where Millennials are just beginning to explore, where much of everything remains new, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have their first impression of Sherry differ from your friend.

By: meagan

meagan — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 06:27:23 +0000

my husband and i had sherry for the first time at a tapas bar in san francisco two days ago. i was curious about it and tried it–both of us loved it! the waiter, an old spanish man, guided us to a few good pours for the dishes we had and they complemented them extremely well. however, i liked the taste alone, too.

i was looking for information and stumbled on this article–interesting! we’ll be looking out for sherry in our home town (austin).

By: Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 08:56:27 +0000

Interesting comment by Ms Drinkwell. A similar thing seems to be happening in London. I went to Kensington Wine Rooms recently and they had a great selection of Sherries to go with their Starter/Tapas menu.

By: caroline

caroline — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:56:29 +0000

I really like the sherries of gutierrez colosia. since I’m in switzerland, I checked if they have a distributor for the states: here you go: http://www.gutierrezcolosia.com/distribuidores_ingles.html
I think Lustau are solid products. I don’t drink wine from the same producer all the time, so why do that with sherry. it’s probably best to try out different brands.

By: CHRIS ROBINSON

CHRIS ROBINSON — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 02:10:59 +0000

Sherry is indeed an acquired taste. And for those who make the effort a whole other world. The sherries from Lustau are first class by any measure and the fino excellent, but probably the most subject to issues like storage and freshness of the bottling. Anyone who has sat by the sea at Sanlucar eating fresh prawns and drinking fresh fino will know what I mean. Those who have any doubt about sherry should go and buy a bottle of a good Palo Cortado, a sherry mid point between a fine oloroso and amontillado. Then tell me your wine palates aren’t aroused. These are great wines swamped by the trend to dry wines, both drinking and press coverage. Do yourselves a favour and try a sherry before a meal. You may, like I do occasionally, drink the stuff through a meal, fitting the food to the wine.

By: salondelvino

salondelvino — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 22:32:29 +0000

In San Francisco, Gitane is the first stop on my Spanish Wine/Food walking tour called TapasWalk. I tell people to try a sip of Fino by itself and then try it again after a bite of Gitane’s Sardinas en Escabeche. Often the first sip makes them grimace (no fruit character, oxidized aromas, low acidity…just what you don’t want in most wines) but after a bite of food the second sip makes their eyes light up and the smiles spread across their faces. Not for nothing is this the original Tapas wine. Context is everything here.

By: Ms. Drinkwell

Ms. Drinkwell — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:06:57 +0000

Well, I don’t know if sherry is going to sweep the nation, but there is a little movement here in San Francisco. I’m beginning to see sherry more often by the glass in certain places, and there is one restaurant in particular called La Gitane that is very devoted to it. They offer 20+ sherries by the glass and a rotating sherry sampler. My guess is that there may be a mini-comeback for the drink spurred by foodie cities like mine. How long it’ll take (or last) is anybody’s guess.

By: Tom Johnson

Tom Johnson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:38:19 +0000

I’m not sure I would haves started with fino. It’s kind of a challenge. I’ve had pretty good luck introducing people to Amontillado, which I think is more accessible.

That said, I don’t know how Sherry makes a comeback. It’s definitely a learned taste, and most people don’t have the will to learn. It also is hopelessly attached to its (perhaps undeserved) effete image.

Still, fashions come and go. Who knows what the future holds? Maybe there’ll be a hit movie where the hero waxes poetic about Sherry, and the next thing you know everybody’s drinking it. It worked for Pinot Noir.

By: mydailywine

mydailywine — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:18:16 +0000

Yep, food is key with sherry. I love a nice fino with olives, hard cheese or small fried fish.

By: IMKarenP

IMKarenP — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:24:45 +0000

I recently completed a 3 day Spanish wine course in which I was exposed to Sherry. I was so pleasantly surprised that I bought a couple of books about the history of Sherry and will be actively searching for it in stores and restaurants. I drink a lot of wine and had all of my misperceptions blown away from a tasting of Sherry. I’m sure others would do the same.

By: Benito

Benito — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:01:48 +0000

I like sherry, but it took me a long time to warm up to it. I don’t know if Port-Madeira-Sherry is the best route, but it can help ease someone into the product.

It might also help to ease in through things like a splash of sherry in soup, or the use of sherry vinegar in a dish…

How much lighter red wine do you have to drink before you can get really excited about a bottle that smells like a barn and tastes like tobacco?