From The Food Encyclopedia by Jacques Rolland and Carol Sherman
A fortified wine whose name comes from Jerez de la Frontera in the south of Spain, a region planted exclusively with white grape varieties, primarily Palomino. Along with nearby coastal Sanlúcar and Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez produces most of the world's sherry and some say the world's best. Jerez was known as Xera by the Greeks and Ceret by the Romans. By the early Middle Ages, the Arabs called the region Sekeris, and northern Spanish Castilians called it Xeres and later Xerez. By the late 19th century, it had become Jerez de la Frontera, the town marking a cultural divide between the north and south. From the Castilian pronunciation (hare-ETH), British importers called it JER-ez, then JER-ee and finally "sherry." The wine is made in a range of styles, falling into two categories: fino is dry, pale, straw yellow, light and fresh, with a long, crisp finish. An oloroso is sweet, deep amber to warm amber brown, medium- to full-bodied, with sweet wines added, often called a cream sherry. See also sack.
