Sherry - Storing and Drinking

Storing and Drinking

Once bottled, Sherry does not benefit from further aging and may be consumed immediately, though the sherries that have been aged oxidatively may be stored for years without losing their flavor. Bottles should be stored upright to minimize the wine's exposed surface area. As with other wines, Sherry should be stored in a cool, dark place.

Fino and Manzanilla are the most fragile types of Sherry and should usually be drunk soon after opening. In Spain, Finos are often sold in half bottles, with any remaining wine being thrown out if it is not drunk the same day it is opened. Amontillados and Olorosos will keep for longer, while sweeter versions such as PX, and blended cream Sherries, are able to last several weeks or even months after opening, since the sugar content acts as a preservative.

Sherry is traditionally drunk from a copita, a special tulip-shaped Sherry glass. Sampling wine directly from a Sherry butt may be performed with characteristic flourish by a venenciador, named after the special cup (the venencia) traditionally made of silver and fastened to a long whalebone handle. The cup, narrow enough to pass though the bung hole, withdraws a measure of Sherry which is then ceremoniously poured from head height into a copita held in the other hand.

Recently, young people drink it mixed with lemonade soft-drink and ice. It is called Rebujito, although it was popular in the Victorian age, known as sherry-cobbler.