Manzanilla

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Wine

By Jancis Robinson

Published 2006

  • About

manzanilla, a specially refreshing style of sherry that is made quite naturally in the seaside sherry town of sanlúcar de barrameda. Like fino, it is a very pale, light, dry style of wine that is heavily influenced by flor yeast, but manzanilla is made in the particularly humid, maritime air of Sanlúcar, which tends to result in a thicker layer of flor, a slower maturation process, lower alcohol content, and slightly higher acidity—especially since grapes are often picked slightly less ripe than for fino. As the wine matures, and the flor dies, a manzanilla may develop into a Manzanilla Olorosa and then a Manzanilla Pasada, which is a Sanlúcar equivalent of a fino amontillado. Most manzanilla is now lightly fortified to 15% alcohol. For more details, see sherry.