SHERRY-Wonderful Wine Selections Produced by the Barbadillo and Valdespino Bodegas

Sherry needs to be one of your favorites if you love natural wine that is the pure expression of a place where delicious wines are carefully fermented.

Flor is the veil or thin layer of indigenous yeast cells that forms on top of biologically aged sherry wines. Without flor and the ambient yeast used in lofty, cathedral-like bodegas, the wines we know as Sherry would not even exist. Adding to the mystery of these unique and special wines, the conditions needed to maintain these yeasts are so precise that they cannot survive outside of the microclimate of the Sherry Triangle, an area in the province of Cádiz in southwestern Spain.

To create Sherry, a base wine is fermented either using spontaneous or indigenous yeasts. It is then decanted into barrels where the delicate, thick and wrinkly layer of yeast begins to form. The winemaker then has the important decision to either let it form to protect the young wine from oxygen or fortify the base wine to let the wine age in contact with the air around it. As the Sherry is then left to age, these wines develop flavors of fresh or toasted nuts, chamomile flowers, salty sea air from the nearby Atlantic, hints of sourdough bread and some even develop the deep, rich tastes of dates and tobacco. Through the complex and unique process, Sherry develops its intense flavors endearing it to wine drinkers that are looking for something a little different.

Here are two historic Sherry houses that our readers should know about!

Barbadillo-Founded in 1821, Barbadillo is currently the largest producer of Manzanilla and one of the biggest producers of Sherry as a whole. Based in the coastal city of Sanlucar de Barrameda, the Barbadillio family has established themselves as one of the key players in the Sherry trade over their span of six generations of family ownership. Learn more about Barbadillo and their wines by visiting https://www.barbadillo.com/en/.

Valdespino-It is one of Sherry's oldest and most traditional bodegas. Its earliest records date back to 1430, with their Sherries made from single vineyards of Palomino Fino and barrel fermented in used oak, often for longer than the DO average, giving their wines an additional level of complexity, texture, and concentration. Learn more about Valdespino and their wines by visiting https://polanerselections.com/producers/valdespino/.

To shop for Sherry wines, you can visit: https://www.sherrywines.us/

Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Producers

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