Island Life Magazine Ltd February/March 2009 | Page 109

FOOD & DRINK

Tim Flint

life

SHERRY EXPLAINED,
EXPERIENCED AND
APPRECIATED

People are more confused with
Sherry than any other wine,
often keeping a bottle in the
cupboard from one Christmas
to the next and offering it
to Granny. Well, wake up to
the real thing – crisp, dry
Fino and Manzanilla; rich,
nutty Oloroso; and warming,
full, sweet Cream sherry.
They are simply some of the
world’s great wines, and more
importantly, can be incredibly
delicious and extremely
food-friendly.
Most mis-treated of all
Sherry is the Fino. This is
a white wine that should be
served from the fridge and
drunk as any other white wine,
rather than being warm and
oxidized in a cupboard.
Manzanilla is the lighest style
of Sherry, produced in exactly
the same way as Fino, but on
the Spanish coast at Sanlúcar
de Barrameda. This is a
connoisseur’s choice of Sherry,
served in a large glass, icy cold
with light Tapas dishes. This
is the home from work drink I
love the most! The Tapas with
sherry combination came from
King Alfonso 12th , who in
the 1880’s had a glass of Fino
in Cádiz. His Sherry arrived
with a piece of Serrano ham
on top of the glass protecting
it from the sand and wind (top
is tapa in Spanish). Once eaten

with the sherry, the concept of
Tapas had been born.
Amontillado, a medium
sherry, is a