Any time's right time for sherry
In Spain, it is crucial to get the drinking, eating and dancing hours right. If not, you may find yourself alone in the right place at the wrong time - and I speak from experience.
It was not until I made the rounds with a Spaniard that I got the hang of the ritual. If you want to blend in with the locals, you must have a pre-lunch aperitif - around noon - of a glass of well-chilled, pale gold, crisply dry fino (the classiest, most civilised of sherries) with perhaps some olives, freshly steamed crayfish or grilled sardines.
On my first trip a sweetish Pedro Domecq was all the rage. On another visit, it was Tio Pepe, medium dry. Recently I heard Antonio Barbadillo Sherry is the flavour of the month.
A long lunch begins around three. Drinks and snacks are consumed in crowded neighbourhood bars prior to dinner, from around seven to eight. This means beer, cocktails or sherry again, accompanied by an endless parade of tapas - small dishes of delectable sauteed, grilled and stewed nibbles.
Dinner is no earlier than nine, often 10. Dancing under the stars or at a disco may begin as late as 3am.
Shuffle this strict line-up and you will wonder where everyone has gone.
Throughout the day and night, you will find sherry the beverage of choice. It is Spain's pride and joy and the real McCoy comes from the Jerez de la Frontera region. In fact, last year it became illegal for anyone else to call their product sherry. All others are impostors and must change their names. (Rather like the cognac, port and champagne scenarios.) Most sherries are made from the palomino grape. They still stomp on the grapes in Jerez (in hob-nail boots, not bare feet) and one of the world's most spectacular wine festivals takes place every year at harvest time.
Sherry ferments in special barrels and ages in the solers system (a series of barrels that are never completely emptied, thus ensuring continuity).
But if you really want to look like you live in Barcelona or Granada, order a glass of the impeccable fino of finos, Manzanilla de Sanlucar, or perhaps the dark, gutsy, no-nonsense Amontillado.
And tell them to pour the golden liquid into a big balloon, instead of the traditional tiny glasses: it is a good way to more fully appreciate its unique heady aroma and enhance the total experience.
But why wait for Spain? Sherry tastes great right here in Hong Kong.
