Melvyn Minnaar : Potable pleasures
Would you believe it? Sherry is making a comeback. Set to join the with-it crowd this summer, it’s certain not to go unnoticed by the trendies preparing to party for the end of the millennium.
If vague recollections evoke visions of a pale brownish liquor that mother dribbled into the Christmas trifle and granny offered her Sunday guests, you’re right for then, but sadly ill-informed about now. South Africans are set to follow in the footsteps of their colonial past masters in the renaissance of sherry – the drink that somehow also typifies that bygone era.
The scene would be this: an abiding butler hovers in the hallway as the guests arrive for the grand social event, formally offering preprandial drinks of welcome in egg-cup-size glasses from a silver tray. Executing his ceremonial task (“butler” is derived from the medieval French “bouteillier”, literally, a “bottle man”, in charge of the wine cellar), he’d serve sherry.
But don’t blame the sad reputation of the drink on that silly midget of an Elgin glass. Sherry as an alcoholic beverage is unique, has a long, glorious history and is quite deliciously contemporaneous.
In these post-modern days of reinvention and alternative adventure, it was not unreasonable that the delights of sherry would return for another round of fun – particularly as South African sherry masters are as skilled as the originators of the unique elixir in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
The new movement started in Britain, where sherry is making an enthusiastic comeback. The traditional brown bottle has had its day. Nowadays it is sold in trendy blue and unusually shaped bottles with names such as Dune and Isis. The word “sherry” doesn’t even feature.
The change for sherry came last year when the European Union confirmed that only Spanish sherry may be labelled as such. This gave the drink a boost, and established it in tapas bars as well as supermarkets.
In our fair land, sherry has been produced for many years. In Tulbagh visitors can watch the complicated process and taste the product. Elegantly relaunched recently, Ryk Tulbagh pale dry and medium cream are made from Tulbagh chenin blanc grapes. The pale dry is a non-sweet, fino type, light gold in colour and nutty in character, while the medium cream is an oloroso type, fuller with a subtle sweetness and typical nutty, sherry character.
So surprise your guests and introduce them to a most refreshing and rewarding wine for the new era.