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Muscat, and they must be grown within the triangle formed by the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. (The regulatory council most zealously excludes the American state of California.) This small region has a unique microclimate influenced by the Atlantic Ocean, the Guadalquivir and Guadalete rivers, and the moist, warm winds from nearby North Africa. Probably the most influential factor in developing the character of the grapes is the area’s chalky, almost white albariza soil, which has an unusual capacity for absorbing and retaining air and water.
    Of course, many great wines come from exceptional microclimates and soils. But what sets Sherries apart from all others is the unique process by which they are blended and aged.
    After the grapes are pressed, the “must,” as the pressings are called, is put into huge stainless-steel tanks to ferment for forty to fifty days at a controlled temperature, achieving an alcohol content of 11 to 13 percent. The young wine then goes into 130-gallon American white oak casks (butts), where the aging begins.
    Then comes decision time, when each wine is classified as being suited for transformation into either a dry Fino or a sweeter Oloroso, the two broad categories of Sherry. Finos include Manzanillas and Amontillados, while Olorosos include Cortados and various blends of the very sweet Pedro Ximénez grape. Wines destined to be Finos are fortified (strengthened with added alcohol) to 15 percent alcohol, Olorosos to about 17 percent.
    The reason for the difference is that the flor (literally, flower), a layer of local, naturally occurring yeasts that forms on the surface, cannot survive at an alcohol concentration higher than 15 percent, and all Finos must serve out their aging time under a layer of flor to develop their characteristic lightness and flavor. Olorosos are aged without a layer of flor , allowing air to oxidize them to a darker color, fuller body, and stronger nose. ( Oloroso means fragrant.) Amontillados begin their aging under flor and finish after a flor -killing fortification to 17 percent alcohol.
    During the aging, an intricate blending process unique to Sherries is carried out. Called soleras y criaderas , it consists of running the wine through a stack of butts containing wines of increasing ages. From the oldest, called the solera , one-third of the wine is drawn off for bottling. It is replenished from the next-oldest (the first criadera ), which in turn is replenished from the next-oldest, (the second criadera ), and so on, until the youngest wine butts at the top of the stack are “refreshed,” or filled, with brand-new pressings. ( Criadera comes from the Spanish word for nursery; the criaderas are the upper butts in which the younger wines are nurtured. Solera refers to the stone floor, where the bottom layer of butts holds the mature wine ready for bottling.)
    The complete cycle takes years, with several months of aging time between successive solera bottlings. By this method, the young wines gradually take on the characteristics of the older ones, leading to a consistent product that can retain its unique characteristics over a period of decades.
    And that’s what’s so special about Sherry.
    Part of the process for blending and ageing Sherry. Portions of the younger wines in the upper casks ( criaderas ) are drawn off into successively older, lower casks. Wine from the lowest and final cask (the solera ) is bottled.
    THE FOODIE’S FICTIONARY: Amaretto—an opera by Verdi

                            
Sherry-Browned Chicken with Garlic
                        
    W hen Bob and I visit a friend of ours, the cookbook author Janet Mendel, at her home in southern Spain, she makes this dish for us.
    I use a 12-inch cast-iron skillet for browning the chicken and an Oloroso Seco Sherry, which is a medium Sherry. It makes a lustrous mahogany-colored glaze. Don’t be