Sherry

Claudio Ponte

As wine club members, you’ve probably chosen your favorite Ponte wines for serving with dinner, whether you are serving chicken, fish, beef or vegetables. You may even have a preference for serving with dessert. When it comes to the cocktail hour, however, you may have experienced a dilemma: do you break out your dinner wine early and risk running out by the time the pot roast is served? Or do you opt for vodka martinis and run the risk of your guests getting a bit too tipsy and falling into a deep sleep before the salad course? Put your worries to rest and pour a glass of Ponte Sherry, one of the worlds’ great fortified wines, and the ideal aperitif.

Originating in a trio of frontier towns in southwest Spain, Jerez (pronounced Her-Reth), Sanlucar, and El Puerto de Santa Maria, Sherry is one of the oldest wines in existence. Many misconceptions about the wine have developed through the ages:

• Sherry is cloyingly sweet (some are, but others are bone dry)
• Sherry is a drink for old English ladies (try telling that one to the young locals in any of Spain’s tapas bars)
• Sherry is just a Christmas drink (ever have chilled glass of Sherry in the hot summer months? Perfect!)

Think of our Sherry as the “front book end” of your wines, to be sipped standing up while discussing the worlds latest issues or the weather with friends and munching salted nuts and olives. The “books” are your favorite Ponte red, white, or rose wines, to be enjoyed with your meal. Finally, our Port is the “back book end”, best with cheese platters and desserts.

You can try our sweet and nutty Sherry in the Tasting Room, as well as the Smokehouse. And the next time you go out for Spanish tapas, by all means, bring along a bottle of our Sherry and pay the corkage fee!