461518 Sat Nov 17 09:33:44 -0800 2007 20 34 Wine 0 3133782 Help Chowhounders! A recipe for the soup I am making calls for adding a "dry sherry" at the end, but I don't know jack about sherry. Can anyone give me some brand specific sherries that are "dry" and not too expensive? Thanks! Sat Nov 17 09:33:44 -0800 2007 113872 diablo 1 3133792 La Ina Tio Pepe La Gitana (a Manzanilla) I seem to recall that there was a recent thread on this, but darned if I can it! Sat Nov 17 09:38:51 -0800 2007 3133782 10985 MMRuth 2 3133823 Thanks MM! I looked for a thread too, but there was none to be found. Sat Nov 17 09:54:07 -0800 2007 3133792 113872 diablo 1 3133920 All three of MMRuth's suggestions are excellent examples of Fino (and Manzanilla) Sheery. However, if you are COOKING with it, I would not waste these high quality wines on the recipe. These are the equivalent of cooking with $100-$200 Bordeaux when your recipe calls for 1/2 cup of red wine. That said, these are clearly more affordable than, say, Château Lafite Rothschild, and you won't bust your budget using any of these, but these wines do not last very long after opening. Try, if possible, to find a half-bottle, simply so as not to waste that much. Alternatively, I would simple pick up an inexpensive bottle of Gallo's Sheffield or Livingston Dry Sherry. Many high-end restaurants use these wines in the kitchen, and they work perfectly. Sat Nov 17 10:34:00 -0800 2007 3133782 28122 zin1953 2 3134010 Thanks, zin :) Sat Nov 17 11:18:12 -0800 2007 3133920 113872 diablo 2 3134684 Heh, zin...I've never seen Gallo nor Livingston Sherry here in SW FL! Only Taylor or Fairbanks...good to know that the Gallo and/or Livingston are okay for cooking, which is my primary use (for Chinese dishes that call for dry sherry, etc.)...but have yet to see them, though their jug wines are in abundance! Sat Nov 17 16:58:11 -0800 2007 3133920 11983 Val 3 3135067 Livingston IS Gallo. So is Fairbanks and Sheffield. Sat Nov 17 21:02:23 -0800 2007 3134684 28122 zin1953 2 3135397 I guess I tend to buy those - or Osborne, which is cheaper - because I enjoy drinking them and if I need to buy some for cooking, I use the amount called for and then enjoy drinking the rest over the next several days. Sun Nov 18 05:02:29 -0800 2007 3133920 10985 MMRuth 3 3135508 Funny. I buy bottles for drinking (usually Tio Pepe) for a few days, then save the remainder (usually in the freezer) for cooking. Sun Nov 18 06:41:07 -0800 2007 3135397 10520 carswell 4 3135539 That's a good tip - thanks! Sun Nov 18 06:54:08 -0800 2007 3135508 10985 MMRuth 3 3135756 Another good brand of Sherry I've used for cooking is Hartley & Gibson. Then again, gone are the days when Lustau is $3.99, and Gallo's line remains fine for cooking -- but I wouldn't want to drink it. H&G is around $8-9 these days. Osborne is around $11-12, Lustau's Fino is around $14-15, and Domecq's La Ina sells for around $15-16+. I DO like Carswell's idea of drinking some of the fresh bottle, then freezing the rest of cooking (as, presumably, the bottle stales). That certainly makes "losing" 2/3 of the bottle more acceptable. Sun Nov 18 08:48:56 -0800 2007 3135397 28122 zin1953 2 3135603 My frugal self actually has to disagree, noteworthily because this particular use -- in soup, added at the end - is not one in which nuances fade. But in general, isn't the point not to "waste" money? Cooking with really good/great wine always helps, the question is what can you afford and/or accept philosophically? But since you can actually get a great - if maybe not "superlative" - sherry for $20, why not? A cheaper bottle will indeed "work fine", but a better wine will make a better soup. I do agree that you'd want to avoid a fino unless you plan to drink the rest soon (or have space for it in your freezer), but anything with 17.5% ABV or higher will have a nice, long post-opening shelf life. Manzanillas may, I don't know; amontillados do and work well in soups. I'd avoid anything sweeter than that unless you specifically want noticeable sweetness in the dish. Sun Nov 18 07:32:47 -0800 2007 3133920 11980 MikeG 3 3135735 If anything, Manzanillas have a shorter shelf life than Finos. Sun Nov 18 08:38:16 -0800 2007 3135603 28122 zin1953 1 3134656 I bought a bottle of Savory&James Deluxe Dry Sherry Fino last night for a soup that I'm making and it is not bad at all...label says "Jerez" "Product of Spain" which I believe makes it more bona fide than some label such as Fairbanks or Taylor...I was suspicious of the name which isn't Spanish at all, but for $10.99, it seemed like an upgrade from Fairbanks or Taylor! Sat Nov 17 16:48:07 -0800 2007 3133782 11983 Val 2 3135079 TRUE Sherry does indeed originate from Jerez in Spain. However, in the same way that sparking wines are made all over the world, and not just in Champagne, so too are wines made in the style of "true" Sherry outside of Jerez. The best know non-Spanish examples come from California and South Africa. These are sometimes good for drinking, but certainly good for cooking. Sat Nov 17 21:09:23 -0800 2007 3134656 28122 zin1953 1 3135430 Hey all, I found a bottle of Gallo's at the local liquor store for only $5.00. Worked perfectly for the Cream of Mushroom soup I made. Thanks for your help everyone! Sun Nov 18 05:35:57 -0800 2007 3133782 113872 diablo 1 3135707 The Sherry I ALWAYS use for cooking is Lustau Los Arcos (it is an Amantillado) Not too expensive. Very good. Awesome for cooking. I've gone through so many Sherries for cooking and this is my clear favorite. Sun Nov 18 08:24:08 -0800 2007 3133782 50041 whiner 2 3136124 Agreed. I use this exact same one too. I've never gone back to another one. Also great for soaking dried chanterelles. Sun Nov 18 11:33:49 -0800 2007 3135707 97069 mengathon 2 3136421 Most recently I "splurged" on one of their less expensive almacenista amontillados for general use purposes, but I'll add a third for the Los Arcos - in NYC, it's quite inexpensive for the quality, around $10-ish IIRC? Sun Nov 18 13:40:35 -0800 2007 3135707 11980 MikeG 1 3139480 As above posters have suggested, Amontillado. Lustau Los Arcos is my avourite, but not always available, in which case I get the Savoury & James Amontillado. Mon Nov 19 13:20:46 -0800 2007 3133782 91415 hungry_pangolin 2 3140606 If you run into Montilla amontillado, give it a try, you might be surprised. The word amontillado is a derivitive of Montilla, and while not in the sherry triangle, is located nearby in Cordoba. Mon Nov 19 18:56:49 -0800 2007 3139480 22801 bkhuna