Sherry (pronounced sher-ee)
(1) A fortified, amber-colored wine, originally from the Jerez region of southern Spain or any of various similar wines made elsewhere; usually drunk as an apéritif. Technically, a white wine.
(2) A female given name, a form of Charlotte.
(3) A reddish color in the amber-brown spectrum.
1590-1600: A (mistaken singular) back formation from the earlier sherris (1530s), from the Spanish (vino de) Xeres ((wine from) Xeres). Xeres is now modern-day Jerez (Roman (urbs) Caesaris) in Spain, near the port of Cadiz, where the wine was made. The official name is Jerez-Xérès-Sherry, one of Spain's wine regions, a Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP). The word sherry is an anglicisation of Xérès (Jerez) and the drink was previously known as sack, from the Spanish saca (extraction) from the solera. In EU law, sherry has protected designation of origin status, and under Spanish law, to be so labelled, the product must be produced in the "Sherry Triangle", an area in the province of Cádiz between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and El Puerto de Santa María. In 1933 the Jerez denominación de origen was the first Spanish denominación officially thus recognized, named D.O. Jerez-Xeres-Sherry and sharing the same governing council as D.O. Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The name "sherry" continues to be used by US producers where, to conform to domestic legislation, it must be labeled with a region of origin such as Oregon Sherry but can’t be sold in the EU (European Union) because of the protected status laws. Both Canadian and Australian winemakers now use the term Apera instead of Sherry, although customers seem still to favor the original. Sherry is a noun; the noun plural is sherries.

Sherry Girl (in bold two-copa ‘Sherry Stance’) and the
ultimate sherry party.
Held annually since 2014 (pandemics permitting),
Sherry Week is a week-long celebration of “
gastronomical and cultural events” enjoyed by
the “vibrant
global Sherry community” which gathers to “showcase the wine’s incredible diversity,
from the dry crispness of Fino to the velvety sweetness of Cream.” Although the multi-venue Sherry Week is now
the best known meeting on the Sherry calendar, worldwide, since 2014 some 20,000
events have taken place with the approval of the Consejo Regulador for Jerez-Xérès-Sherry and Manzanilla; to
date there have been more than half a million attendees and in 2024 alone there
were over 3,000 registered events in 29 countries in cities including London,
Madrid, São Paulo, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Auckland and Shanghai. Daringly, the publicity for the 2025
gatherings introduced “Sherry Girl” whose “bold two-copa ‘Sherry Stance’” is
now an icon for the drink. Sherry Girl
is new but dedicated sherryphiles will be pleased to learn the traditional “Sherry Ruta” (Sherry route) remains on the schedule, again in “multi-venue routes offering exclusive pairing experiences”,
described as “not
a typical wine crawl but a triumphant strut with tipples, tastings, and tapas.” For the adventurous, participants are able to
use the interactive venue map to curate their own Sherry Ruta in their city of
choice. The 2025 event will be held between 3-9 November. 
Dry Sack, a sherry preferred by many because of its balance; straddling sweet and dry. Purists tend to the dry finos while sweeter cream sherries are recommended for neophytes.
The
name "sherry" continues to be used by US producers where, to conform
to domestic legislation, it must be labeled with a region of origin such as Oregon Sherry but can’t be sold in the
EU because of their protected status laws.
Both Canadian and Australian winemakers now use the term Apera instead of Sherry, although
customers seem still to favor the original. For the
upper-middle class and beyond, sherry parties were a fixture of late-Victorian
and Edwardian social life but the dislocations of the World War I (1914-1918) seemed to
render them extinct. It turned out however to be a postponement and sherry
parties were revived, the height of their popularity being enjoyed during the 1930s
until the post-war austerity the UK endured after World War II (1939-1945) saw them a relic restricted moistly to Oxbridge dons, the genuinely still rich, Church of England bishops and such although they never quite vanished and those who subscribe to magazines like Country Life or Tatler probably still exchange invitations to each other's sherry parties.
For Sherry and Cocktail Parties, trade literature by Fortnum and Mason, Regent Street, Piccadilly, London, circa 1936. The luxury department store, Fortnum & Mason, used the services of the Stuart Advertising Agency, which employed designers to produce witty and informative catalogues and the decorative art is illustrative of British commercial art in this period.
For the
women who tended to be hostess and organizer, there were advantages compared
with the tamer tea party. Sherry glasses
took less space than cups of tea, with all the associated paraphernalia of
spoons, milk and sugar and, it being almost impossible to eat and drink while balancing
a cup and saucer and conveying cake to the mouth, the tea party demanded tables
and chairs. The sherry glass and
finger-food was easier for while one must sit for tea, one can stand for sherry
so twice the number of guests could be asked.
Sherry parties indeed needed to be tightly packed affairs, the mix of
social intimacy and alcohol encouraging mingling and they also attracted more men for whom the offer of held little attraction. The traditional timing between six and eight
suited the male lifestyle of the time and they were doubtless more attracted to
women drinking sherry than women drinking tea for while the raffish types knew it wasn't quite the "leg-opener" as gin was renowned to be, every little bit helps.

In hair color and related fields, "sherry red" (not to be confused with the brighter "cherry red") is a rich hue on the spectrum from amber to dark brown: Lindsay Lohan (who would be the ideal "Cherry Girl" model) demonstrates on the red carpet at the Liz & Dick premiere, Los Angeles, 2012.

Sherry party planner.
Novelist Laura Troubridge (Lady Troubridge, (née Gurney; 1867-1946)), who in 1935 published what became the standard English
work on the topic, Etiquette and Entertaining:
to help you on your social way, devoted an entire chapter to the sherry party. She espoused an informal approach as both
cheap and chic, suggesting guests be invited by telephone or with “Sherry, six
to eight” written on a visiting card and popped in an envelope. She recommended no more than two-dozen guests, a half-dozen bottles of sherry, a couple of heavy cut-glass decanters and some
plates of “dry and biscuity” eats: cheese straws, oat biscuits, cubes of
cheddar. This, she said, was enough to
supply the makings of a “…jolly kind of
party, with plenty of cigarettes and talk that will probably last until half
past seven or eight.”
Cocktail Party by Laurence Fellows (1885-1964), Esquire magazine, September 1937.
The Sherry party should not be confused with the cocktail party. Cocktail parties in drawing rooms at which Martinis were served often were much more louche
affairs. Note the elegantly sceptical expressions on
the faces of the women, all of whom have become immured to the tricks of “charming men in suits”. For women, sherry parties were more welcoming places.
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