This past summer I had the pleasure of spending a couple of days in the town of Jerez in the sun-drenched southwestern Spanish region of Andalusia. Forget the fact that I love sherry, that Andalusian hospitality is supreme (where else in Spain do your receive a free tapa with any beverage (beer or wine) at a bar?!), and the people as warm as the climate in August. The time spent was, beyond the immediate family, in the company of the charming and charismatic Beltran Domecq, the ‘last’ of the wine producing Domecq clan that gave us sublime sherries, forever before being sold and subsequently made redundant at the bodega that they birthed- a modern day tragedy played out so often in today’s quick paced and profit conscious world.

Sherry (and dining with it) is a cultural icon of this area. Though there are robust tapa cultures in Madrid, Barcelona, and San Sebastian, the foundation is Andalusia. According to the heralded culinary tome, The Joy of Cooking, the first tapas were the slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian bars used to cover their copitas (glasses) between sips as a practical measure meant to prevent fruit flies from hovering over the sweet sherry. Traditionally the meat was ham or chorizos, both of which are very salty and stimulate thirst. Noting this phenomenon, which resulted in more sherry sales, bartenders and restaurant owners began creating a variety of snacks to serve (and grow their sales of sherry) and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward to 2011 and Beltran and I noted how few local people, Andalusian Spaniards, were conquering sherry in the neighborhood bars. Yes it was hot and a cool beer (caňa) or soda is refreshing but what about those copitas or bottles of chilled Fino or Manzanilla sherry that I recalled from previous visits? Sigh, even in its native home, fewer and fewer people are drinking the local beverage. Too bad, as it’s so good with food, often lighter in ABV than many modern day steroid table wines, and traditionally relevant. My good friend Steve Olson, along with the Wines From Spain, does an admirable effort in the states with their collective sherry and food efforts but alas, like the polar bear in a time of global warming, it appears only to be staving off the inevitable for so long. Sherry is on the endangered species list and unless you want to see if vanish, you need to do your share.

Besides drinking more, enjoy it with food. Whether a simply plate of salted marcona almonds with paprika (pimentón) or flash grilled tuna served with onions and olives….you’ll find magic at table. Or you could try and track down a copy of Beltran’s amazing book which includes a section on pairing sherry with food: El Jerez y Sus Misterios: Cata y Degustación (published by EH Gatstronomia). In any case, help sherry stave off the real possibility of becoming extinct.

Love Sherry like me?