Drink

En Rama Sherries Are a Gateway to the Changes Happening in Jerez

September 19, 2024

Last October, I had just sat down for lunch in the Spanish seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and sweat was already dripping down my back. But as our dishes arrived—first a tuna-topped salad and then langoustines—out came a bottle of manzanilla en rama, burrowed in a bucket of ice. The cool, sea-scented sherry had been extracted from barrels only a few weeks before and paired like a dream with the heat and a platter of grilled red mullet. 

Each spring and fall in Jerez, when the flor in sherry bodegas is at its most active, producers bottle en rama sherry, minimally filtered wines that harken back to older production methods. These limited, minimal-intervention runs capture terroir, weather, and a freshness drinkers won’t find in other bottles. For this week’s feature, I spoke with four wine professionals/en rama enthusiasts about what makes the category so special, how they get bottles onto guests’ tables, and why en ramas are a gateway wine to bigger changes happening in Jerez. Read it here. 

 

 
Caroline Hatchett
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