Sherry Wine Made Simple: A UK Beginner’s Guide for 2026

Sherry has a reputation problem. For a long time it was the drink your grandmother kept in a dusty bottle for Christmas, served warm in a tiny glass with a slice of fruit cake. That image still lingers and it’s keeping a lot of people away from one of the most interesting wines in the world. 

This is a friendly UK beginner’s guide to sherry for 2026. We’ll demystify the styles (Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, Oloroso, Palo Cortado, Pedro Ximénez), explain what each one tastes like and when to drink it, and answer the questions we hear most often in the shop. By the end you’ll know enough to walk into any sherry list and order with confidence. 

We’ve put it together drawing on years of helping customers at The Fine Wine Company, many of them in for their first proper bottle and a quick chat about what to do with it. Sherry rewards a small bit of curiosity. Once you understand the styles, the rest is just enjoying the bottle. 

What is sherry, exactly? 

Sherry is a fortified wine made in a small triangle of vineyards in Andalucía, in the south of Spain. The wine is fermented like any white wine, then strengthened with a small amount of grape spirit, and aged in barrels sometimes for years, sometimes for decades. 

What makes sherry unique is the ageing. Some sherries are protected during ageing by a layer of natural yeast called flor, which keeps the wine pale, fresh and dry. Others are aged in contact with oxygen, which turns them dark, nutty and savoury. A few extraordinary bottles do both. That single decision  flor or no flor creates almost the entire range of sherry styles. 

There are also sweet sherries, made from sun-dried Pedro Ximénez grapes that are concentrated almost to a syrup. Most of our sherry range covers the dry styles (which is where most of the interesting drinking is) and a couple of the great sweet ones for after dinner. 

The six styles of sherry, simply explained 

A customer came in last week convinced she didn’t like sherry. Her grandmother had served Cream sherry warm out of a cupboard at Christmas, and that’s the only sherry she’d ever tasted. We poured her a chilled glass of Fino with a few salted almonds. By the end of the conversation she’d bought a bottle, plus a small half of Pedro Ximénez to try over ice cream that weekend. 

Sherry isn’t one wine. It’s six (sometimes seven). Here are the styles, lightest to richest. 

Fino 

Fino is the gateway sherry. Pale straw in colour, completely dry, with a fresh, salty, almond-and-bread character that comes from ageing under flor (the protective layer of yeast). The yeast keeps the wine fresh and protected from oxidation, which is why a Fino tastes nothing like the dark, sweet sherry most people picture. 

Drink it well-chilled, in a regular white wine glass, with anything salty or briny, olives, almonds, anchovies, jamón, fresh seafood. It’s the classic pairing for a Spanish tapas evening at home. Lustau La Ina Fino is one of the most respected examples and a brilliant place to start. 

Manzanilla 

Manzanilla is Fino’s coastal cousin, made only in the seaside town of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The Atlantic air gives it an extra saline edge and a real sense of seaside in the glass. Slightly lighter and fresher than Fino, often described as tasting of the sea. 

Manzanilla is wonderful with shellfish, oysters, prawns, dressed crab, and light seafood pasta. Serve well-chilled. Like Fino, drink it the day you open it; both styles fade quickly once the bottle is uncorked. 

Amontillado 

Amontillado starts life as a Fino, but at some point the layer of flor dies, and the wine begins ageing in contact with oxygen. The result is something extraordinary: the freshness of the Fino is still there, but with a warm, nutty, hazelnut depth and a dry, complex finish. 

Serve at a cool cellar temperature (around 12°C) in a regular white wine glass. It pairs beautifully with mushroom risotto, roast chicken, jamón ibérico and aged hard cheeses. Valdespino Tio Diego is a small, family-made example with serious depth and a brilliant introduction to the style. 

Oloroso 

Oloroso is the dark, brooding side of dry sherry. Made without any flor influence, pure oxidative ageing in barrel, it develops a deep amber-mahogany colour and intense flavours of walnut, leather, caramel and dried fig. Despite the rich aromas, traditional Oloroso is bone dry. 

Serve at room temperature or just slightly cool. It’s wonderful with charcuterie, game, hard cheeses, mushroom dishes and slow-cooked stews. A small pour goes a long way. Oloroso is far more concentrated than a Fino. 

Palo Cortado 

Palo Cortado is the rarest style and the one sherry lovers get most excited about. It begins as a Fino but loses its flor early; from then on it ages oxidatively like an Oloroso. The result has the elegant nose of an Amontillado and the rich palate of an Oloroso, a category of one. 

Drink it slowly. Serve cool, in a regular wine glass. It’s a contemplative drink at its best on its own, with quiet conversation, not battling against food. 

Pedro Ximénez (PX) 

Pedro Ximénez (or PX, if you can’t quite get your tongue round it) is sweet sherry at its very best. Made from sun-dried Pedro Ximénez grapes, the wine is dark, glossy and treacly, with intense flavours of raisin, dried fig, dark chocolate and coffee. Some are so concentrated they’re almost a syrup. 

PX is a proper after-dinner drink. The classic move is to pour it over good vanilla ice cream and the contrast is one of the great desserts. It also pairs with blue cheese and dark chocolate. Valdespino El Candado is a beautifully made small-bottle PX to start with. 

You’ll also see Cream and Medium sherries on UK shelves. These are sweetened blends, popular with older British generations and traditional at Christmas. Generally less interesting than the six styles above, but worth knowing they exist. 

How to drink and serve sherry at home 

Three small things make a big difference. 

Temperature. Fino and Manzanilla want to be properly cold (6 to 8°C). Amontillado and Palo Cortado are best slightly cool (around 10 to 12°C). Oloroso and PX are happy at room temperature, or just a touch below. 

Glassware. Skip the tiny copita glasses if you can. They look traditional but they don’t let the aromas develop. A regular small white wine glass gives you everything that’s in the bottle. 

Pour size. Sherry is concentrated. A 75ml pour is plenty and about half what you’d pour for a regular white wine. A bottle of Fino easily covers six to eight servings. 

One more practical bit. Once opened, a bottle of dry sherry (Fino, Manzanilla) is a delicate thing. Drink it within a week and keep it in the fridge. Amontillado, Oloroso and PX are far more robust and will keep for several weeks once opened. PX in particular is virtually indestructible. 

Common questions about sherry 

Is sherry actually wine? 

Yes. Sherry is a fortified white wine from the Sherry Triangle in Andalucía, southern Spain. It is fermented like any other wine, then strengthened with a small amount of grape spirit and aged in a barrel. 

Should sherry be served chilled? 

It depends on the style. Fino and Manzanilla should be properly cold (6–8°C). Amontillado and Palo Cortado are best slightly cool. Oloroso and Pedro Ximénez are fine at room temperature. 

What food goes with sherry? 

Different sherries pair with different foods. Fino and Manzanilla suit seafood, olives and tapas. Amontillado pairs with mushrooms, jamón and aged cheeses. Oloroso works with charcuterie, game and stews. Pedro Ximénez is the classic match for blue cheese and vanilla ice cream. 

How long does sherry keep once opened? 

Dry sherries (Fino, Manzanilla) are fragile once opened. Drink within a week, kept in the fridge. Amontillado and Oloroso will keep for several weeks. Pedro Ximénez is the most robust and can keep for months. Always reseal tightly and store somewhere cool. 

What’s the easiest sherry to start with? 

A chilled Fino with salty snacks like olives, almonds or jamón. If you prefer sweet wines, a small bottle of Pedro Ximénez over vanilla ice cream is unbeatable. 

A final thought 

Sherry has been quietly reinventing itself for the past few years, and it deserves the comeback. There isn’t another wine in the world that gives you so many distinct styles for the same money from a bone-dry Fino with seafood to a treacle-rich PX over ice cream, all from the same small corner of Spain. 

If you’d like to explore further, our wider Port and fortified wines range covers the lot : sherries, Ports, Madeiras and the rest. We’re an independent shop in Portobello, Edinburgh, and we ship across the UK. Please drink responsibly.