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Wrapping up Spain with a Selection of Favorites
Our World Wine Travel writers are wrapping up our virtual visit to Spain in 2021 with everyone highlighting a favorite aspect of the country. Scroll down further in this post for links to all my fellow writers’ favorites. I decided to bring my secret love of “Granny’s favorite” out of the closet. I love Cream Sherry. There, I said it!

What is Cream Sherry?
Cream Sherry is a blend of Oloroso Sherry, which is a dry, oxidative style with PX Sherry. PX is a lusciously rich, sweet style of sherry. If you need a sherry primer, here is an introduction and another one featuring sherry wine pairings. I’m a big fan of Oloroso Sherry at the dinner table. I must admit, I’ve never posted on PX Sherry because I find it just too sweet for my palate, even as a topping for ice cream. As it turns out, tempering the PX sweetness with Oloroso is a combination that works for me.

Why Does Cream Sherry have a Bad Reputation?
Picking on Cream Sherry as “granny sherry” seems to be shorthand for trying to explain why people are reluctant to drink any sherry at all since it seems outdated and old fashioned. After all, who wants to drink what grandmother enjoyed? These articles typically dive into sherry styles and emphasize the dry sherries and why we should be enjoying them. Thus leaving poor old Cream Sherry in the dust.

Spend a Little More
My best advice in regards to Cream Sherry: spend a little more. In my sherry travels, I have tried the $9.95 Cream Sherry from my local Costco. Compromises will be made to hit a $10 and under price point, meaning the dried fruit, nuts, and leather notes will be much less intense and less well defined. For an introductory bottle, think of spending $15-25. Below are a couple of Cream Sherries I have enjoyed immensely and would recommend highly. You can go ahead and call me “Granny”.

What to expect from a Cream Sherry
Eye: Medium brown
Nose: Medium plus intensity aromas of caramel, dried figs, almonds, chocolate, toast, a bit of orange peel. The caramel notes are the first ones noticed with the other aromas just behind. It’s a fortified wine, so expect a little heat on the nose. As the quality and price go up, expect more variety in the aromas and more detail.
Mouth: The wine is sweet and luscious, with pronounced intensity flavors of caramel, chocolate, figs, almonds with orange peel lingering in the finish. The acidity is medium, alcohol is usually 17-20%, body is full with long finish.

Valdespino Isabella Cream Sherry ($20 online)17.5% abv

Lustau Capataz Andrés Deluxe Cream Sherry ($15 online) 20%abv

Ways to Enjoy Cream Sherry
One of the advantages of Cream Sherry is that it is fortified and already oxidized, so you can enjoy a bottle over a period of weeks, even a month or two. Drink your Cream Sherry well chilled. It’s fortified and sweet, so you don’t need a big pour, 3 oz. is very nice. I usually just use a white wine glass. Recently, I found out about Cream Sherry on the rocks with an orange slice, delicious! The slice of orange accentuates the orange rind flavors hidden in the drink.

World Wine Travel Writers Celebrate Spain
Take a look at the links below to discover a few favorites from my fellow writers from our virtual Spain travels. We won’t be having a Twitter chat this month, since the 4th Saturday happens to be Dec. 25. We’ll still be sharing each others posts, so you may notice these on social media.

• Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm is getting in the spirit wIth “Merry Christmas; Let’s Celebrate with Cava“
• Deanna from Wineivore is comparing “Albarino from Monterrei vs. Monterey + Monterey Bay Cioppino“
• Susannah from Avvinare shares “VIlla Conchi Cava + Paella to Celebrate the Holidays”
• Linda from My Full Wine Glass will be “Revisiting tried and true Rioja“
• Terri from Our Good Life shares “5 Great Wines from Spain Perfect for Gift Giving“
• Jeff from Food Wine Click! is confessing “Shh! Cream Sherry is My Guilty Pleasure“
• Martin from ENOFYLZ Wine Blog is “Commemorating Setbacks and Success with Bodegas Tradición Palo Cortado VORS|“
• Gwendolyn from Wine Predator…Gwendolyn Alley will be sharing “5 Garnacha from Spain with Spicy Spanish Pairings”
• Lynn from Savor the Harvest is “Ending the Year with Wine Family Suertes del Marqués in Tenerif“
• Nicole from Somm’s Table will be “Re-introducing Cava!”
• Camilla from Culinary Adventures with Camilla is pairing “Mushroom Soup with Manzanilla Sherry“
• David from Cooking Chat is pairing “Steak with Carrot Top Chimichurri and Spanish Wine“

World Wine Travel Writers Move to the New World in 2022
Looking ahead to 2022, we’ll be moving to the new world with a year long virtual tour through Australia and New Zealand. I hope you’ll continue to follow our adventures!