Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/490558
22 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } APRIL/MAY 2015 { planet grape } González Byass "Tío Pepe" Fino, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry D.O. ($17.99) Rich, briney, fruity and piercing, this taste of salty sea breeze and lemon drops is unique, refreshing, dry, and lingering. Fino is the lightest, driest, and least nutty of them all. Fino is the finest, I like to say. González Byass "Viña AB" Amontillado Seco Palomino, Jerez- Xérès-Sherry D.O. ($23.99) This is a step up from Tío Pepe Fino Sherry, and a good way to explore the next level. Here there are brisk salty along with caramel oak and yeasty oxidative notes. Serve with Spanish cured meats and cheeses. González Byass "Del Duque" 30 Year VORS Amontillado, Jerez-Xérès- Sherry D.O. ($49.99, 375 ml.) Aged for 30 years, this rich, dry 100% Palomino Sherry offers pungent, intense notes of fruitcake, caramel, honey, rising bread and toasted nuts. Serve with earthy cheeses or with paté de foie on pista- chio crackers or crusty bread. González Byass "Cristina" Oloroso Abocado Palomino–Pedro Ximénez, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry D.O. ($23.99) This Fig Newton–like and intensely nutty medium-sweet Sherry packs a punch. Enjoy with soft cheeses or deli- cate pastries. González Byass "Solera 1847" Cream, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry D.O. ($23.99) This rich sweet cream Sherry (techni- cally an oloroso dulce) is a blend of 75% Palomino and 25% Pedro Ximénez. It is round and velvety with notes of rum raisin ice cream, vanilla bean and chocolate-covered almonds. Enjoy with desserts or a nice cigar. González Byass "Nectar" PX Dulce, Jerez-Xérès-Sherry D.O. Andalucia ($23.99) This dessert Sherry, a younger PX, is ideal for any holiday table with its crowd pleasing notes of dark bitter and sweet milk chocolate, hazelnut choco- late spread and vanilla. NO BAD RAP FOR THE UNDERAPPRECIATED WINE FROM ANDALUCÍA by Catherine Fallis, MS Ace, Goose, Cris— Can Sherry Get Fancy? LET'S FACE IT, THE STATE OF Sherry is a sad one. Producers strug- gle to keep this staid, hand-crafted, under-loved and under-priced product alive. Marketing campaigns fall flat. Label descriptions get more complicated and selections multiply, making data entry and warehouse picking a nightmare. No matter how you sell it, Sherry is not sexy. Australian rapper Iggy Azalea calls for Ace, Goose and Cris in "Fancy." Why not add Tío Pepe? After all, it's the best-selling dry sherry nobody's heard of. "Who that? Who that? That do that, do that?" With no reputa- tion, it can't be uncool. Uncool, non-conformist, like the original ball-capped, bearded, skinny-jeaned hipster, who is being edged out by today's Ubered, Tindered, man- bunned lumbersexual. Rappers went mainstream. Hipsters went mainstream. Why not Sherry? After all, for mixologists especially, Sherry is a blank space, baby, and I'll write your name. Here are a few recommenda- tions from "GB," or González Byass. Sommeliers, take note. These are amazing for coursing out in tast- ing menus and with the $ you save you can pop for the big reds. Mixologists—whatever tickles your fancy, go for it! They are in order from dry to sweet. González Byass Sherries are imported by Vin Divino.