The Wine Lover: Port and sherry demystified

Port and sherry are two wines that are often misunderstood and frequently underappreciated.
They are always fortified, which means that some neutral grape spirits (i.e., brandy) are added to boost the alcohol content and sometimes stop fermentation to keep natural sweetness. Aside from being “Old World” and fortified, however, these wines are quite different.
Port comes from Portugal (what a surprise) and is made from many grape varieties — the most important is Touriga Nacional — most of which are grown on the Douro River. The Douro is also host to a famous region in Spain, Ribera Del Duero.
There are 11 styles of port to my knowledge, and they are all made in slightly different ways. Ruby and tawny are probably the best known. Ruby lasts a few weeks after it’s been opened, and an aged tawny can last up to a year unsealed.
Port is an excellent aperitif and is perfect with many desserts. It can have a great variety of flavors. Some common notes are caramel, brown sugar, walnut, spice, smoke, tar and vanilla. I have even had port that reminded me of crème brulee.
Port is made just like other wine, but it is fortified so that it has both residual sugar and a raised alcohol content. Many local wineries make port-style wines, too. Two notable types are Hunter Hill and Byington. (My wine co-op makes it too!)
Sherry may be one of the most interesting and mysterious wines in the world. It is made in Jerez, Spain, and only Jerez, Spain. Port-style wines are made all over the world, but the sherry process is a little different.
Sherry is made in an ingenious system called a solera, a row of barrels stacked usually four or five high. The youngest sherry is put in the top barrels, with the oldest sherry in the bottom barrels. Over time, the wine is slowly racked down the stack of barrels, so that each row up holds a slightly newer vintage and the oldest ends up at the bottom. Some soleras are more than 100 years old, which means some sherries are made up of more than 100 vintages. Talk about a complex wine!
Sherry is made mostly from the Palomino grape and ranges from dry to quite sweet. It is often good as an aperitif and with seafood dishes — but be careful, as this pairing can go very wrong if you pick the wrong sherry.
Some sherry can last months after being opened, and some, like a Fino or Manzanilla, must be consumed the same day.
Sherry is available at any good wine shop and is usually reasonably priced. Be careful not to buy cooking sherry for normal consumption, though, because it tastes horrible. I learned that lesson the hard way when I was 11.
Experiment with a little sherry or port when you get a chance, and you may find something you didn’t know you liked. Cheers!
• Austin Twohig is a certified sommelier and partner in The Santa Cruz Experience, which conducts winery tours in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Contact him at au****@th********************.com.