WHAT TO DRINK INSTEAD OF SHERRY
Five wines similar to Sherry, and a tasting game to find your favourite.
THE SHORT ANSWER
If you like Sherry, try these five wines: Montilla-Moriles for Sherry's near-identical inland neighbour at lower prices, Vin Jaune from the Jura for France's nutty, flor-aged cousin, dry Madeira for the same savoury intensity with searing acidity, Marsala in its proper dry style for Sicily's overlooked fortified wine, and Tokaji Szamorodni for Hungary's flor-aged answer from the other side of Europe.
Five wines to try if you like Sherry:
- Montilla-Moriles (Andalucía, Spain): the inland twin (£10 to £25)
- Vin Jaune (Jura, France): the French flor wine (£25 to £50)
- Dry Madeira (Madeira, Portugal): tangy and immortal (£15 to £35)
- Marsala Vergine (Sicily, Italy): the savoury Sicilian (£15 to £30)
- Tokaji Szamorodni (Tokaj, Hungary): the eastern cousin (£15 to £30)
THE MAP
| Montilla-Moriles | Vin Jaune | Dry Madeira | Marsala Vergine | Tokaji Szamorodni | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweetness | Dry to very sweet | Bone dry | Dry to medium | Dry to sweet | Dry or sweet |
| Body | Light to full | Medium | Medium | Medium to full | Medium |
| Nuttiness and oxidation | High | High | High | High | High |
| Closest match to Sherry | The twin | The flor cousin | The tang | The savour | The surprise |
| Price band | £10 to £25 | £25 to £50 | £15 to £35 | £15 to £30 | £15 to £30 |
| Best occasion | Aperitif, tapas | Cheese, comté | Soup, savoury | Sip or sauce | Aperitif onward |
QUICK LEGEND
If you want something almost identical to Sherry for less money: go Montilla-Moriles.
If you want the nutty, oxidative magic in a still French wine: go Vin Jaune.
If you want savoury intensity sharpened by searing acidity: go dry Madeira.
If you want to rediscover a fortified wine the world forgot: go dry Marsala.
If you want a flor-aged surprise from eastern Europe: go Tokaji Szamorodni.
WHAT CONNECTS THESE WINES
Sherry is the most misunderstood great wine in the world, and the most undervalued.
Say the word and most people picture a sweet, sticky drink in a dusty bottle at the back of a cupboard. The truth is almost the opposite. The finest Sherries, Fino and Manzanilla, are bone dry, pale and electric, aged under a living film of yeast called flor that gives them a savoury, saline, almost briny tang. Amontillado and Oloroso add nutty, oxidative depth. Palo Cortado walks the line between them. Only at the very end of the range, with Pedro Ximénez, does Sherry turn intensely sweet. A cold glass of Fino with olives and salted almonds is one of the great aperitifs on earth, and it costs less than almost anything of comparable quality.
What unites the five alternatives here is that savoury, nutty, oxidative character, and the food-changing power that comes with it. Some are aged under flor, like Sherry. Some get their depth from deliberate oxidation. All of them taste of something other than simple fruit: of almond, hazelnut, sea air, dried apple, bruised orchard fruit and a savoury tang that makes your mouth water. And like Sherry, most of them are absurdly underpriced for the complexity they offer.
These are versatile wines. The dry styles are aperitifs and brilliant with savoury food, from cured fish to hard cheese to a bowl of soup. The sweeter styles belong at the end of the meal.
Serve the dry styles properly chilled, the sweeter ones lightly chilled, and always in a decent-sized glass so the aromas have room.
THE FIVE WINES
1. Montilla-Moriles, the Inland Twin
The closest wine to Sherry on earth is the one made just up the road and rarely mentioned.
Montilla-Moriles lies inland from Jerez, near Córdoba in Andalucía, and makes wines by almost exactly the same methods: flor-aged Fino styles, nutty Amontillado and Oloroso styles, and intensely sweet Pedro Ximénez. The key difference is the grape and the climate. The hotter inland sun ripens Pedro Ximénez so fully that many wines reach their strength naturally, without fortification. The flavours, though, will be instantly familiar to any Sherry lover: saline almond in the dry styles, walnut and dried fig in the aged ones, pure raisin and molasses in the sweet. It is, in effect, Sherry under a different name, often at a gentler price.
This is the move for the Sherry drinker who wants the same experience and a new label to explore.
What you will recognise: flor freshness, nutty depth, the whole Sherry spectrum. What changes: built on Pedro Ximénez rather than Palomino, often unfortified, and usually cheaper. Look for: Fino and Amontillado from Montilla-Moriles, and its famously dark PX. Budget: £10 to £25.
2. Vin Jaune, the French Flor Wine
France has its own flor-aged wine, and it is one of the country's strangest and greatest.
In the Jura, in eastern France, the Savagnin grape is aged for over six years in barrel under a film of yeast, exactly the flor that defines Fino Sherry, but without topping up the barrel and without fortification. The result, Vin Jaune, or yellow wine, is a bone-dry still white of extraordinary intensity: walnut, green apple, curry spice, dried herb and a piercing savoury tang. It is famously sold in a squat 62-centilitre bottle called the clavelin and famously partners aged Comté cheese. For a Fino or Amontillado lover, it is a revelation, the same magic achieved a different way.
This is for the Sherry drinker ready to discover that flor is not unique to Spain.
What you will recognise: the saline, nutty, savoury tang of flor ageing. What changes: it is a full-strength still wine, not fortified, and carries a distinctive curry-and-walnut spice all its own. Look for: Vin Jaune from the Jura, with Château-Chalon as the grandest appellation. Budget: £25 to £50, and it lasts for weeks once opened.
3. Dry Madeira, the Tangy One
Madeira at the dry end of its range is a savoury, mouth-watering wonder, and the obvious step for an Amontillado lover.
Made on a volcanic Portuguese island and deliberately heated and oxidised in ageing, Madeira is essentially indestructible, keeping for months after opening. The drier styles, made from the Sercial and Verdelho grapes, give roasted nut, dried apple, smoke, orange peel and a searing, tangy acidity that makes them astonishing aperitifs and superb with savoury food and soups. They share Sherry's nutty, oxidative soul but add an electric freshness that is Madeira's alone. Madeira also makes sweet styles, which we cover as a Port alternative.
This is for the Sherry drinker who loves savoury depth but wants even more zing and freshness.
What you will recognise: roasted nut, dried fruit, savoury oxidative depth. What changes: a searing, tangy acidity and a smoky edge unique to Madeira's heated ageing. Look for: Sercial for the driest style, Verdelho for off-dry, with a stated age of five or ten years. Budget: £15 to £35. For the sweet styles, see what to drink instead of Port.
4. Marsala Vergine, the Savoury Sicilian
Marsala has a bad reputation it does not deserve, earned by cheap cooking versions, and the real thing is glorious.
Made in western Sicily, proper Marsala is a fortified wine of real character, especially in its dry Vergine and Superiore styles, aged for years and sometimes decades. Expect roasted almond, dried apricot, tobacco, caramel and a savoury, tangy finish that sits very close to an aged Amontillado or Oloroso. The sweeter Dolce styles exist too, but the dry Vergine is the one to seek out, a serious sipping wine that has been unfairly exiled to the back of the kitchen cupboard. Rediscovering good Marsala is one of the quiet pleasures available to any Sherry lover.
This is for the drinker who wants nutty, aged, oxidative depth from an unexpected place.
What you will recognise: roasted nut, dried fruit, a savoury caramelised tang. What changes: a distinct Sicilian warmth and a tobacco-and-caramel note, in a wine most people have never tried properly. Look for: Marsala Vergine or Vergine Soleras, and Superiore Secco for the dry styles. Budget: £15 to £30.
5. Tokaji Szamorodni, the Eastern Cousin
The last surprise comes from Hungary, where the famous sweet-wine region makes a flor-aged dry style few people know.
Tokaj is celebrated for lusciously sweet Tokaji Aszú, but it also makes Szamorodni, a wine whose name means as it comes. In its dry form, Száraz, it is aged under flor in a way that draws a direct line to Fino Sherry and Vin Jaune: nutty, savoury, with dried apple, almond and a saline tang. There is a sweet form too, Édes, for the dessert table. The dry Szamorodni is the discovery here, proof that the flor tradition reaches right across Europe, and it remains gloriously cheap for the complexity in the glass.
This is for the adventurous Sherry lover who wants to map the whole world of savoury, flor-aged wine.
What you will recognise: flor-driven nuttiness, savoury depth, a saline tang. What changes: a central-European accent, with the Furmint grape giving extra zip, and a price that flatters its quality. Look for: Tokaji Szamorodni Száraz for dry, Édes for sweet. Budget: £15 to £30.
A NOTE ON SHERRY VERSUS PORT
These are the two great fortified wines, and they pull in opposite directions.
Sherry comes from Andalucía in southern Spain, is made from white grapes, and most of it is bone dry. It is fortified after fermentation has finished, and the best examples, Fino and Manzanilla, are pale, saline aperitifs aged under flor. Port comes from the steep Douro valley in northern Portugal, is usually red and sweet, and is fortified during fermentation to lock that sweetness in. It is a wine for the end of the meal, by the fire. One opens the evening, the other closes it.
The two families brush past each other only at the sweet end, where Sherry's Pedro Ximénez meets Port's richest Tawny. Everywhere else they could hardly be more different in colour, sweetness, mood and moment. If the warm, sweet, after-dinner side of fortified wine is what you are really after, that is a different and equally rewarding journey: what to drink instead of Port.
THE TASTING GAME
What You Need
Five bottles, one of each wine above, and half bottles are ideal for several of these. Small to medium glasses, one per wine per person. A pen and the rating table below. Savoury aperitif food on the table: salted almonds, green and black olives, cured fish or ham, and a wedge of hard cheese such as Comté or aged Manchego. One person who is certain that all Sherry is sweet, so the dry styles can re-educate them.
Optional but recommended: add a cold glass of Fino or Amontillado Sherry as the reference point everything else is measured against.
The Rating Table
| Characteristic | What you are looking for |
|---|---|
| Dryness | How bone dry, or how sweet, the wine finishes |
| Nuttiness | Almond, hazelnut, walnut, the heart of the style |
| Savoury tang | The saline, mouth-watering, savoury lift |
| Oxidative depth | Dried apple, dried fruit, a deliberate aged character |
| Food transformation | How much better the savoury food tastes with the wine |
Ourglass Benchmarks
| Characteristic | Sherry | Montilla | Vin Jaune | Dry Madeira | Marsala | Szamorodni |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dryness | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Nuttiness | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 |
| Savoury tang | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
| Oxidative depth | 4 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 4 |
| Food transformation | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 |
The decisive row is savoury tang. It is the saline, mouth-watering quality that makes dry Sherry such a brilliant aperitif and such a transformative partner for food, and it is what separates these wines from ordinary sweet fortifieds. The game is to find which expression of that tang you love most, because once you have tasted it cold with a bowl of olives, ordinary wine starts to feel a little dull before a meal.
If you would rather have wines chosen for the way they actually behave at the table than the way they read on a shelf, that is what Ourglass is for. Start here.
WHAT YOUR SCORES REVEAL ABOUT YOUR PALATE
Loved the closest match in Montilla-Moriles? You are a true Sherry drinker who simply wants more of it. Next: explore the full Montilla range, and the dry Sherries of Sanlúcar and Jerez.
Fell for the still, nutty intensity of Vin Jaune? You love flor for its own sake. Next: more Jura Savagnin, aged Comté, and a Vin Jaune-versus-Fino tasting.
Drawn to the tang of dry Madeira? You want savour with searing freshness. Next: older Sercial and Verdelho, and our guide to what to drink instead of Port for the sweet styles.
Surprised by dry Marsala? You enjoy rediscovering forgotten classics. Next: aged Marsala Vergine, and other savoury Sicilian wines.
Charmed by Tokaji Szamorodni? You are an explorer of the savoury fringe. Next: dry Furmint, and the wider flor-aged wines of central Europe.
Not sure where you sit? Read our guide on how to taste wine, or browse the full alternatives map.
YOUR SHOPPING LIST
| Montilla-Moriles | Vin Jaune | Dry Madeira | Marsala Vergine | Tokaji Szamorodni | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Region | Andalucía, Spain | Jura, France | Madeira, Portugal | Sicily, Italy | Tokaj, Hungary |
| Budget | £10 to £25 | £25 to £50 | £15 to £35 | £15 to £30 | £15 to £30 |
| Start with | Montilla Fino | A Jura Vin Jaune | A 5 year Sercial | Marsala Vergine Secco | Szamorodni Száraz |
Sherry and dry Madeira turn up in good supermarkets and any decent merchant. Montilla, Vin Jaune, dry Marsala and Tokaji Szamorodni almost always mean an independent wine shop, which is exactly why they remain such well-kept secrets and such good value.
GO DEEPER
What to drink instead of Port. The other great fortified wine, and its near opposite.
What to drink instead of Orange wine. Another wine worth meeting on its own terms.
What to drink instead of Champagne. For the other great aperitif conversation.
What to drink instead of Sauvignon Blanc. For crisp, food-friendly whites.
A brief guide to the wine regions of Spain. Where Sherry and Montilla come from.
How to taste wine. The method behind the game.
If you like that wine, try this. The full map of alternatives.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What does Sherry taste like?
It depends on the style. Fino and Manzanilla are bone dry, pale and saline, with a savoury, nutty tang from flor ageing. Amontillado and Oloroso are nutty and oxidative. Pedro Ximénez is intensely sweet, all raisin and molasses. Most fine Sherry is dry, not sweet.
Is all Sherry sweet?
No, and this is the great misunderstanding. The finest Sherries, Fino and Manzanilla, are completely dry, and Amontillado and Oloroso are dry too unless labelled otherwise. Only Pedro Ximénez and Cream styles are sweet. A cold dry Fino is one of the world's best aperitifs.
If I like Sherry, what else will I like?
Montilla-Moriles for an almost identical Spanish neighbour, Vin Jaune for France's flor-aged still wine, dry Madeira for the same savour with searing acidity, dry Marsala for a savoury Sicilian classic, and Tokaji Szamorodni for Hungary's flor-aged surprise.
What is the difference between Sherry and Port?
Sherry is from southern Spain, made from white grapes, mostly dry, fortified after fermentation, and drunk as an aperitif. Port is from northern Portugal, usually red and sweet, fortified during fermentation, and drunk after dinner. They share a method and little else.
What is flor?
Flor is a living film of yeast that grows on the surface of certain Sherries, such as Fino, as they age, protecting the wine from air and giving it a distinctive savoury, saline, nutty character. The same phenomenon shapes Vin Jaune in France and dry Tokaji Szamorodni in Hungary.
What food pairs with Sherry and its alternatives?
The dry styles are superb aperitifs and shine with savoury food: olives, salted almonds, cured fish and ham, hard cheese, and even soups. The nutty, saline tang makes the food taste better and resets the palate, which is why dry Sherry is a tapas-bar staple.
Is Vin Jaune similar to Sherry?
Yes, in spirit. Vin Jaune from the Jura is aged under flor, the same yeast that defines Fino Sherry, giving it a nutty, saline, savoury character. The key difference is that Vin Jaune is a full-strength still wine, not fortified, with its own curry-and-walnut spice.
Which Sherry alternative should a beginner try first?
Montilla-Moriles, because it is so close to Sherry and usually cheaper, or a chilled dry Madeira for its tangy freshness. Both deliver the savoury, nutty character that makes this whole family so good, with no difficulty at all.