- 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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乌鸦传媒淢ost people tell me that same story,乌鸦传媒� says Emily Henderson, partner and general manager of Victoria乌鸦传媒檚 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: 乌鸦传媒淧eople just don乌鸦传媒檛 really give sherry a chance. Typically, their only experience with it is their granny乌鸦传媒檚 sherry, which may have been super sweet, or maybe they tried a sherry that had gone bad.乌鸦传媒�

Emily didn乌鸦传媒檛 know much about sherry herself when Bodega first opened in 2014.

乌鸦传媒淚t was having a bit of a renaissance, so we thought it would be fun to highlight it on our menu,乌鸦传媒� she says. Now a serious enthusiast, Emily sees sherry as a remarkable, regionally specific drink. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 had a bad rap for a long time, but it乌鸦传媒檚 so nuanced and it乌鸦传媒檚 just meticulously made,乌鸦传媒� she says.

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

乌鸦传媒淚 didn乌鸦传媒檛 know anything about sherry until I met Emily,乌鸦传媒� says Chili. 乌鸦传媒淪herry has unlocked a whole new world for me. It乌鸦传媒檚 trained my palate and made food so much more pleasurable.乌鸦传媒�

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Sherry has been produced in southern Spain乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒淪herry Triangle乌鸦传媒� 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 乌鸦传媒� 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.

乌鸦传媒淲e tell them, 乌鸦传媒業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乌鸦传媒檚 blue cheese or dessert, try a Pedro Xim茅nez.乌鸦传媒櫸谘淮�媒�

But there aren乌鸦传媒檛 really any hard and fast rules for pairings, she says.

乌鸦传媒淎 lot of it is individual taste. A fino can be equally great with seafood or a salad.乌鸦传媒�

I乌鸦传媒檓 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乌鸦传媒檛 your grandmother乌鸦传媒檚 sherry.

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

乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 amazing how much they vary from one another,乌鸦传媒� Emily says. 乌鸦传媒淪ome are salty and very dry, while others are so sweet you can pour them over ice cream.乌鸦传媒�

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

乌鸦传媒淭he more you learn about sherry, the more you appreciate it,乌鸦传媒� 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乌鸦传媒檚 sent to age on the coast, has a distinctive briny note.

乌鸦传媒淚f skinny dipping had a flavour, this would be it,乌鸦传媒� 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乌鸦传媒檚 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乌鸦传媒檚 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乌鸦传媒檚 onto Nutty Solera, a medium sherry that tastes a bit like burnt sugar and offers a smooth finish.

乌鸦传媒淲e playfully call this one the 乌鸦传媒榞ateway乌鸦传媒� sherry, because it tastes like maple syrup on pancakes,乌鸦传媒� says Emily. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 great paired with our confit almonds, and also with chorizo.乌鸦传媒�

My next sample is the Hildago Triana PX. Pedro Xim茅nez (or 乌鸦传媒淧X乌鸦传媒�) 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乌鸦传媒檚 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 乌鸦传媒渟olera乌鸦传媒� 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.

乌鸦传媒淭his sherry is like an exclamation point after a meal,乌鸦传媒� says Emily. 乌鸦传媒淚t can also be enjoyed all by itself.乌鸦传媒�

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: 乌鸦传媒淭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.乌鸦传媒�

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