Oily, nutty, salty, an acquired taste… what could possibly satisfy these qualifications? Sardines, definitely. Olives, for sure. A wine? Usually, the flavor descriptors for a wine include berries and baking spices, never venturing further down the savory path much past leather and tobacco. A very specific wine, however, meets the requirements: manzanilla sherry. All sherry comes from Jerez, a piece of Andalusia in the southwest corner of Spain. All sherry, with the exception of a dessert sherry called Pedro Ximenez, is made from an unremarkable grape called Palomino. While it may seem odd, the choice of a neutral and downright boring grape is what makes sherries so special. By starting with a blank slate as a base wine, the unique process by which sherries are made can shine. First in line to enjoy the spotlight on the Palomino stage is the soil. While some parts of Jerez have barro (clay) [...]