Sherry vinegar () is a gourmet wine

vinegar Vinegar () is an aqueous solution of diluted acetic acid and trace compounds that may include flavorings. Vinegar typically contains from 5% to 18% acetic acid by volume. Usually, the acetic acid is produced by a double fermentation, converting ...

made from

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

. It is produced in the Spanish province of

Cádiz Cádiz ( , , ) is a city in Spain and the capital of the Province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. It is located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula off the Atlantic Ocean separated fr ...

and inside the triangular area between the city of

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

and towns of

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

and

El Puerto de Santa María El Puerto de Santa María (), locally known as El Puerto and historically in English as Port Saint Mary, is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain located on the banks of the Guadalete River in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. , the c ...

, known as the "sherry triangle". In the USA, to be called ''vinagre de Jerez'', by law the sherry vinegar must undergo ageing in American oak for a minimum of six months, can only be aged within the "sherry triangle" and must have a minimum of 7 degrees

acidity An acid is a molecule or ion capable of either donating a proton (i.e. hydrogen cation, H+), known as a Brønsted–Lowry acid, or forming a covalent bond with an electron pair, known as a Lewis acid. The first category of acids are the ...

. Most sherry vinegars are aged using the same

solera Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many yea ...

system as the sherry wines and Brandy de Jerez. The production and quality of sherry vinegar is monitored and controlled by the Consejo Regulador and sherry vinegar has its own

Denominación de Origen In Spain and Latin America, the (; )In other languages of Spain: * Catalan: (). * (). * (). is part of a regulatory geographical indication system used primarily for foodstuffs such as cheeses, condiments, honey, and meats, among others. ...

and

protected designation of origin The protected designation of origin (PDO) is a type of geographical indication of the European Union aimed at preserving the designations of origin of food-related products. The designation was created in 1992 and its main purpose is to designat ...

(), which is protected by Spanish and EU law. The only other vinegars with similar protected designation of origin are "Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale" from Modena and Reggio Emilia in Italy and " Condado de Huelva" and "Montilla-Moriles" in Spain. DO Vinagre de Jerez

Age Categories

*''Vinagre de Jerez'' has a minimum of 6 months aging in wood. *''Vinagre de Jerez Reserva'' has a minimum of 2 years aging in wood. *''Vinagre de Jerez Gran Reserva'' is a new category with a minimum of 10 years aging in wood.

Styles

The style of sherry vinegar depends mainly on the grape variety used to produce the wine it is made from. *''

Palomino Palomino is a equine coat color, genetic color in horses, consisting of a gold coat and white mane (horse), mane and tail; the degree of whiteness can vary from bright white to yellow. The palomino color derived from the breeding of Spanish hor ...

'': Most sherry vinegar is produced from wines which were made from the Palomino grape. The wine being used to produce the vinegar can be young wine or can be a wine which has already aged. *'' al Pedro Ximénez'': Wines produced from the

Pedro Ximénez Pedro Ximénez (also known as PX and many other variations; Andalusian Spanish, Andalusian pronunciation ) is the name of a white Spanish wine grape variety grown in several Spanish wine regions but most notably in the (DO) of Montilla-Moriles. ...

grape are usually sweet, often very sweet, and consequently the vinegars produced from these wines are usually sweeter than other sherry vinegars or at the very least have a sweet raisin nose. Sometimes Palomino vinegars are sweetened with the addition of a small amount of

wine (residual alcohol can not be more than 3%). *''

Moscatel Muscatel ( ) may refer to any type of wine made from muscat grapes. In the United States, however, “muscatel” normally refers only to fortified wine made from these grapes. Fortified muscatel became popular in the United States at the end o ...

'': Small amounts of sherry vinegar are produced from the

grape.

Uses

Sherry vinegar is used extensively in both Spanish and French cuisine. In 2008 France was the largest market for sherry vinegar.

Vinaigrette Vinaigrette ( , ) is made by mixing an edible oil with a mild acid such as vinegar (acetic acid) or lemon juice ( citric acid). The mixture can be enhanced with salt, herbs and/or spices. It is used most commonly as a salad dressing, but can ...

made from sherry vinegar is particularly flavourful compared to vinaigrette made from standard wine vinegar and matches well with many foods. In

a traditional dish is "Riñones al Jerez": lambs kidneys with a sauce made from sherry wine and sherry vinegar. The best sherry vinegars have a deep, complex flavour and enhance the flavours in soups, stews, sauces, casseroles and dressings.

History

Vinegar from sherry has been around since sherry was first produced in and around Jerez. In the sherry bodegas wines which had undergone acetic fermentation and turned to vinegar were considered failures, however since the 1950s winemakers started to view sherry vinegar as a product in its own right and now even encourage it. They also began to carefully age their vinegars in the same way as their wines and brandies. Barrels of Sherry developing into vinegar are always quickly removed from the ''bodega'' to prevent other casks turning into vinegar. Any barrels which have contained vinegar cannot be used to store wine again due to the risk of acetic fermentation. In the past the vinegar was given away to staff and family or sold at the bodega door. Some barrels were stored separately and often forgotten about. These vinegars, many over 50 years old, are now being re-discovered.

References

* *

External links

Consejo Regulador

(Andalusian regional law protecting sherry Vinager) * [http://www.boe.es/boe/dias/2009/04/13/pdfs/BOE-A-2009-6156.pdf Resolución de 24 de marzo de 2009, de la Dirección General de Industria y Mercados Alimentarios, por la que se concede la protección nacional transitoria a la Denominación de Origen Protegida "Vinagre de Jerez"] (Spanish national law protecting sherry Vinager) {{portal bar, Food Sherry, Vinegar Andalusian cuisine Vinegar, Sherry