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topped up with the following year's
wine production, and this process is
repeated year after year. This 'trickle
down' process of repeated blending
is called the 'solera', and it means that
in every bottle a tiny part of the liquid
will be hundreds of years old.
Sherry houses are rightly proud of their
soleras. Not only do they smooth out vintage
di erences with their repeated mixing, but
they also give the wineries their house style,
developed and re ned over the decades, or,
in the case of Tio Pepe, centuries.
Ripe for mixing
González Byass, which has been operating
since Manuel María González began making
wine in the 1830s, has had longer than most
to establish its style. González was helped by
his uncle José, who worked long and hard to
create a solera of great no. González used
to call it the 'Solera de Tio Pepe' - Uncle Joe's
Solera. And it was his work (and his name) that
went on to create what Jeremy Clarkson might
call The Most Famous Sherry… In The World.
But it's not all about the top-end - or even
neat sherry. One of the aspects of the Feria
in Jerez is that sherry is qua ed, not analysed;
enjoyed, rather than treated with chinstroking
reverence. And it's certainly true that
bartenders in the UK are starting to nd ways
of mixing it beyond its essential role in any
Bloody Mary worth its celery salt.
"The Tiojito is super-refreshing and
certainly suited to hot weather," says Sam
Clements, head bartender at Mark's Bar, Soho.
"For the summer I've experimented further
with no in cocktails, working towards
something really refreshing. I've found that
the dry nos accompany gin and citrus
very well, so I'm looking to combine these
into something simple, with a little twist. At
the end of the day I certainly don't want to
mask the avour of Tio Pepe!"
I
f you ever go to the giant 'ferias',
or fairs, in Andalucia (Jerez and
Seville are reckoned to be the
best) then two things will strike
you. First, the assault on the
senses that comes with nonstop
amenco music and brightly
coloured, swirling dresses; second, everyone
is drinking sherry.
Bottles of Tio Pepe (and its famous 'bottle
guitarist' logo) are everywhere, and the stu
ows like water during the celebrations. It
adds tang to the twang of guitar strings; a
bone-dry, citrusy zip that seems the very
essence of the rolling chalk hills outside Jerez,
from where it originates.
The vineyards here - splashes of green on
the dust-and-ochre landscape of southern
Andalucia - are planted with the Palomino
grape. Don't worry if you haven't heard of it,
it hasn't gone global for the simple reason
that it is a variety with the personality of a
Mondeo-driving accountant. But what it
lacks in avour, it makes up for in tanginess
- and this, not avour, is what's needed to
make good sherry.
All about the fl or
The key thing about sherry, particularly no
sherry, is that its avour doesn't really come
from the grapes, but from yeast. After the
white wine is made, it is left in barrel, where a
layer of frothy white yeast ( or) forms on the
surface. If you crossed your Pinot Grigio with
Guinness, this is what it would look like.
OK, so it's not exactly photogenic, but the
or is central to what sherry is all about: it
devours all the sugar in the wine, making it
super-dry in the process, and it gives sherry
its characteristic bready, tangy avour.
It's more complicated than this though.
Sherry is made by blending the wine of many,
many years together. When wine is taken
out of a barrel to be bottled, the barrel is IN JEREZ SHERRY IS QUAFFED, NOT
ANALYSED; ENJOYED, RATHER THAN
TREATED WITH CHIN�STROKING REVERENCE
Do It Yourself:
Two to try at home
BEGINNER: The Tiojito
With summer approaching, we can all do with a few
more interesting long drinks in our repertoire, and Tio
Pepe's take on the classic Andalucian rebujito is easy,
fun and di� erent.
Just mix 100ml of Tio Pepe over ice with
100ml of lemonade, add a slice of lemon
and a couple of sprigs of mint, and you
have the authentic long drink of an
Andalucian summer
ADVANCED: The Young Cuban, by
Ally Martin, Peg + Patriot
Fino contributes a wonderful note of
freshness to any drink that you add it to,
especially a sour. In this drink, the sherry
really plays on the fresh, almost savoury
quality of the dill and makes for a lovely
fresh summer drink.
50ml Bacardi Carta Blanca
20ml lemon
15ml orgeat
10ml Tio Pepe
4 sprigs of dill
Shake and
double
strain into
a cocktail
glass
lacks in avour, it makes up for in tanginess
- and this, not avour, is what's needed to
The key thing about sherry, particularly no
sherry, is that its avour doesn't really come
white wine is made, it is left in barrel, where a
layer of frothy white yeast ( or) forms on the
surface. If you crossed your Pinot Grigio with
OK, so it's not exactly photogenic, but the
devours all the sugar in the wine, making it
super-dry in the process, and it gives sherry
It's more complicated than this though.
Ally Martin, Peg + Patriot
Fino contributes a wonderful note of
freshness to any drink that you add it to,
especially a sour. In this drink, the sherry
really plays on the fresh, almost savoury
quality of the dill and makes for a lovely
fresh summer drink.
50ml Bacardi Carta Blanca
20ml lemon
15ml orgeat
10ml Tio Pepe
4 sprigs of dill
Shake and
double
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