November 7, 2024

JUMP TO RECIPE

The Wine

Buelan ‘Nevado’ Solera Palido – Andalusia, Spain

My grandmother was a proper lady of Cambridge – intelligent, well-read…a draconian adherence to etiquette and grammar. She also claimed to be a resolute teetotaler – an assertion which became quite contentious when I later discovered several bottles of old sherry in the back of her pantry. That was my first impression of sherry -- a dusty relic consigned to the nether regions of neglected cabinets, consumed only by British grandmothers. A lasting impression which unfortunately, has long been shared by wine consumers.

Sherry sales have dwindled for decades. Vineyard acreage in Jerez, the home of Sherry, has fallen from 70,000 to 15,000. And this is not for lack of effort by sommeliers, wine merchants and industry writers. The fortified wines of yesteryear simply no longer have an audience.

Fortunately, Spanish wine regulators have taken note. In 2022 several new regulations were released in an effort to save winemaking in Jerez. These included allowing new grape varietals, single vineyard labels, and most importantly, no more mandatory fortification.

The new regulations have allowed for fresh, zippy, mineral driven wines you can drink more than a glass of – but still rich and savory enough character for cold weather food pairings… which is where we’ve arrived today.

The Buelan Nevado is an unfortified Palido (fino-esque sherry style wine) from the Sierra Morena Mountains in northern Andalusia. It’s aged 3-4 years instead of 5 (as is typical for Fino) which makes it a bit fresher and bright. Think of it as ‘sherry-lite’ – less of an esoteric wine style and more of a seaside banger. Salty, crisp apple flavors with fig and hazelnut. Fresh enough to crush and savory enough to blend in with our French Onion Soup (see below).

Note: If a recipe calls for wine, I recommend using whatever you’re pairing with it (called mirroring). This helps with flavor integration. In this case you can use the Buelan Nevado for both the white wine and the dry sherry (unless you want to drink it all!)

Featured Products:

Buelan Compañía De Sacas Nevado

French Onion Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 3 to 4 large red or yellow onions (about 3 pounds), peeled and thinly sliced
  • ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 2 quarts beef stock (8 cups)
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry
  • 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper, or to taste
  • 8 to 12 (½-inch) slices French bread
  • 1½ cups grated Gruyère cheese

Step-by-Step Recipe:

  1. Melt butter in a heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and ½ teaspoon salt, stir and cover, letting onions soften for 5 minutes. Remove lid and let onions caramelize until golden brown over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Adjust heat if onions are browning too quickly. The caramelization process may take 45 to 60 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, warm broth in a saucepan over low heat.
  3. Once onions are caramelized, add wine and sherry to the pot and allow mixture to come to boil. Stir in flour and let thicken for a minute or two.
  4. Slowly add warm broth, ¼ teaspoon salt and the pepper/onion mixture and boil uncovered for 10 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Heat the broiler, and arrange individual ovenproof casseroles on a baking sheet. Ladle soup into casseroles, and cover top with bread slices. Sprinkle each casserole generously with Gruyère.
  6. Broil for two minutes until cheese melts and browns. Serve immediately

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