NV Hartley & Gibson Manzanilla Sherry 750 ml

- July 31, 2003

Manzanilla is the lightest and dryest of the sherries, more so even than fino (which is the type that is usually meant by the term "dry" sherry). While it is a fortified wine, manzanilla is a wonderful accompaniment to many different kinds of food -- especially those dishes that don't seem to match up well with either reds or whites. In Spain, it isn't generally drunk with meals, but is drunk with tapas, the eclectic mix of snacks and small dishes (many of them quite salty and otherwise intensely flavored) that are eaten in series usually as a late-afternoon meal (dinner is often eaten at 10:00 or 11:00 at night in Spain). I have enjoyed manzanilla with tapas, and started experimenting with it as an accompaniment to meals, figuring that if it goes well with all those tapas dishes, it must be a generally good accompaniment to all kinds of food. In fact, it stands up to the heartiest dishes, and even to those sour foods that are make ordinary table wines taste awful. Here are some dishes that I have found go very well with manzanilla: omelets, salads, artichokes, linguine with white clam sauce or with anchovies, pate de foie gras with those sour little cornichons, knockwurst with sauerkraut, and all kinds of Asian food (especially the spicy kinds like Thai, Vietnamese, Indian and Szechuan). Unlike sweet sherry, manzanilla doesn't keep very well after it is opened. I have found that those vacuum sealers you can get in wine shops work well to keep it fresh tasting. This is important, because as a fortified wine, a little of it goes a long way The Hartley and Gibson version of manzanilla is the best of the brands that I have tasted.