- Story by Jane Zatylny Photographs by Lia Crowe

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Until recently, I thought I knew everything I needed to know about sherry. I knew my mother occasionally poured herself a small glass to help her sleep. I knew it added richness and depth to my French onion soup recipe. But most of all, I knew I could never enjoy drinking it because it just was too sweet.

I was wrong.

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香蕉视频直播淢ost people tell me that same story,香蕉视频直播� says Emily Henderson, partner and general manager of Victoria香蕉视频直播檚 Bodega Tapas and Wine Bar.

As she sets out several small glasses of sherry and little dishes of almonds, olives, blue cheese and sliced ham, she explains why this fortified wine is so misunderstood: 香蕉视频直播淧eople just don香蕉视频直播檛 really give sherry a chance. Typically, their only experience with it is their granny香蕉视频直播檚 sherry, which may have been super sweet, or maybe they tried a sherry that had gone bad.香蕉视频直播�

Emily didn香蕉视频直播檛 know much about sherry herself when Bodega first opened in 2014.

香蕉视频直播淚t was having a bit of a renaissance, so we thought it would be fun to highlight it on our menu,香蕉视频直播� she says. Now a serious enthusiast, Emily sees sherry as a remarkable, regionally specific drink. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 had a bad rap for a long time, but it香蕉视频直播檚 so nuanced and it香蕉视频直播檚 just meticulously made,香蕉视频直播� she says.

Emily has also converted members of her staff, like bartender Chili Berisoff.

香蕉视频直播淚 didn香蕉视频直播檛 know anything about sherry until I met Emily,香蕉视频直播� says Chili. 香蕉视频直播淪herry has unlocked a whole new world for me. It香蕉视频直播檚 trained my palate and made food so much more pleasurable.香蕉视频直播�

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Sherry has been produced in southern Spain香蕉视频直播檚 香蕉视频直播淪herry Triangle香蕉视频直播� since about 700 AD. The main production towns of Jerez, Sanl煤car de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Mar铆a offer chalky soil and a unique microclimate that is ideal for aging, storing and blending the fortified wine. Naturally occurring yeasts, known as flor, are an essential component of the sherry-making process and impart sherry with its trademark nutty flavour.

There are six different types of sherry 香蕉视频直播� fino, manzanilla, amontillado, oloroso, cream and Pedro Xim茅nez. Most of the paler, drier varieties are made from Palomino grapes, while the sweeter, richer sherries are made from Pedro Xim茅nez and Muscat grapes.

To separate the wheat from the chaff, Emily provides pairing guidelines to her staff to help patrons choose a sherry.

香蕉视频直播淲e tell them, 香蕉视频直播業f it grows, pair with a fino. If it swims, pair with a manzanilla. If it flies, chose an amontillado. If it runs, try an oloroso or a palo cortado. And if it香蕉视频直播檚 blue cheese or dessert, try a Pedro Xim茅nez.香蕉视频直播櫹憬妒悠抵辈��

But there aren香蕉视频直播檛 really any hard and fast rules for pairings, she says.

香蕉视频直播淎 lot of it is individual taste. A fino can be equally great with seafood or a salad.香蕉视频直播�

I香蕉视频直播檓 intrigued as I slowly lift a pale-coloured sherry called Hidalgo Fino Clasica to my lips. I savour its dry, tart-apple notes then pop a plump Cerignola olive into my mouth. The pairing is incredible: the briny, refreshing sherry perfectly complements the buttery flavour of the mild, meaty olive. I know one thing for certain: This isn香蕉视频直播檛 your grandmother香蕉视频直播檚 sherry.

Nor are the dozen or so other sherries Bodega offers by the glass on its drinks menu.

香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 amazing how much they vary from one another,香蕉视频直播� Emily says. 香蕉视频直播淪ome are salty and very dry, while others are so sweet you can pour them over ice cream.香蕉视频直播�

Bodega serves sherry flights of three one-ounce pours so beginners and connoisseurs can compare a range of sherry styles.

香蕉视频直播淭he more you learn about sherry, the more you appreciate it,香蕉视频直播� Emily says.

Both fino and manzanilla sherries are biologically aged in barrels covered by a layer of the flor yeast. Manzanilla sherry, a fino that香蕉视频直播檚 sent to age on the coast, has a distinctive briny note.

香蕉视频直播淚f skinny dipping had a flavour, this would be it,香蕉视频直播� says Emily.

Amontillado is aged under the flor, then exposed to the air, giving it a darker quality and a more complex flavour. Oloroso, palo cortado and Pedro Xim茅nez sherries are called oxidative sherries, meaning that they are all exposed to oxygen. Oloroso sherries are exposed for a longer period of time than other sherries, giving them their dark, rich flavour and higher alcohol content. Palo cortado is a rare sherry that香蕉视频直播檚 blended in a similar way to amontillado and oloroso sherries, while dark mahogany or black sweet sherries are made by fermenting either Moscatel or Pedro Xim茅nez grapes.

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Next up for me though is Lustau Los Arcos, a dry amontillado. This type of sherry is aged entirely under its yeast flor; all of its nutty, yeasty flavour comes from this biological aging process. Smooth, light, soft in tone, Los Arcos香蕉视频直播檚 aftertaste imparts a faint hazelnut flavour that seems to go on for days. It is perfection paired with a single slice of the house Schinkenspeck ham.

Then it香蕉视频直播檚 onto Nutty Solera, a medium sherry that tastes a bit like burnt sugar and offers a smooth finish.

香蕉视频直播淲e playfully call this one the 香蕉视频直播榞ateway香蕉视频直播� sherry, because it tastes like maple syrup on pancakes,香蕉视频直播� says Emily. 香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 great paired with our confit almonds, and also with chorizo.香蕉视频直播�

My next sample is the Hildago Triana PX. Pedro Xim茅nez (or 香蕉视频直播淧X香蕉视频直播�) grapes are sun-dried before fermentation, which gives these sherries their sweetness. PX wines are also blended with other sherries to create medium and cream sherries. I try this elixir with a few crumbs of blue cheese for a delicious riot of salty, sour and sweet flavours. Then Chili appears and offers me a single stewed fig. Its signature sweetness pairs beautifully with the palo cortado香蕉视频直播檚 toffee, prune, raisin, black tea and pistachio flavour notes.

The last taste of the day is the crema de la crema, a 30-year-old palo cortado called Apostoles. Like all sherries, Apostoles is produced in a cascading 香蕉视频直播渟olera香蕉视频直播� system of maturation barrels that blend young wine with old. The young wine feeds the flor, and in this case, each wine that is added to the barrels is at least 30 years old.

香蕉视频直播淭his sherry is like an exclamation point after a meal,香蕉视频直播� says Emily. 香蕉视频直播淚t can also be enjoyed all by itself.香蕉视频直播�

And this is how I experience this precious final glass of sherry. Dry, but smooth as silk, Apostoles offers complex notes of almond, maple, apricot and citrus.

Despite its renaissance in recent years, this distinguished, historic wine remains an enigma, something Emily and her staff are working hard to change. My experience at Bodega has certainly altered my perception of sherry, so much so that I now find myself dreaming about exploring sherry in its birthplace. As 19th-century Spanish novelist Pedro Antonio de Alarc贸n y Ariza once said: 香蕉视频直播淭he destiny of a thousand generations is concentrated in each drop. If the cares of the world overwhelm you, only taste it, pilgrim, and you will swear that heaven is on earth.香蕉视频直播�

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