>sherry--when it sizzles!>>

So David and I just finished watching Paris When It Sizzles, one of our Ms. Hepburn's less famous films. It was... well, it didn't sizzle; and if our Audrey wasn't in it, it probably would have petered out. Anyway, it was supposed to have some good costuming in it and it did contain a couple of quite nice marcjacobsesque looking numbers (one in white, one in pink)...

Last night was session four of my Wine Essentials class and session four was: Wines of Spain. At first I thought to myself, "Oh drab, it's going to be a repeat of Italy." But to my pleasant surprise the first (and last) tasting was of a sherry!

Now after my old fashioned cocktail and before my Scotch kick, I went through a period of I'm going to try everything I've never had kick. This included everything from Campari to Pernod to (both yellow and green) Chartreuse. (Bartenders must really have loved me during this period... I would sit at the bar and ask them to tell me about every and any liquor I was curious about and how it was normally served.)

Anyway, to get to my point: I got around to trying almost everything I wanted to try and learn about (although I think I never did get around to trying Fernet Branca) except for brandy, cognac and sherry. So, you can imagine my pleasant surprise last night when I learned our first tasting was going to be of a sherry.

First of all, I didn't even know that sherry was a type of wine. All I knew was that ladies always offered it to their guests in old fashioned movies. The first sherry we tasted was a Manzanilla Jerez (Jerez, pronounced herr-eth, is the appropriate name for sherry), La Gitana, Bodegas Hidalgo NV from southern Spain ($22).

The La Gitana offered to be a bit perplexing at first. It looked young, yet it smelled old. It had a nice bouquet of old fruit and wood, yet it was light in your mouth. After our initial swirl, smell and a taste, I have to say that I didn't like it.

But after a nibble of some freshly toasted and salted almonds, the La Gitana seemed not only completely appropriate, but elegant as well. Next, we tried it with some anchovies, which also turned out to be a lovely match.

In short, this Jerez is very good for foods that usually don't pair well with wine.

The second sherry we had was a Matusalem Oloroso Dulce Muy Viejo, G. Byass ($60). This sherry is made using Pedro Ximénez grapes and it has a very deep, dark color and a wonderfully rich smell. It's pretty intense on the palate, hence some may want to treat it as a "sipping wine."

It went nicely with the Manchego cheese we had in class, but I think any hard cheese with a little salt in it would do. (You'd want to shy away from serving it with any super sweet desserts though. If you're going to go that route, something like a fig or nut tart would would be best.)

So that's my sherry/jerez summary for you. I'd like to have a little cocktail party with the La Gitana and some almonds & anchovies, and then the Matusalem and cheese for dessert. But it's probably best I wait until I have a second course figured out (I'm thinking something along with champagne...).

And some >add'l notes:>> If you're a steak eater, try Ribera del Duero, Condado de Haza 2006 as a pairing. Aggressive tannins and a moldy, papery smell. If the tannins are too much for you, some Gorgonzola crumblings on your steak would remove them. Cafeteria (7th & 17th) serves a nice one for $20.