<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/07/dining/07MINI.html" title="The Minimalist: Spanish for Clams">The Minimalist: Spanish for Clams</a>: “Sherry comes from the area around Jerez (pronounced he-RETH, which is supposed to sound something like sherry), a town in southern Spain. It starts its life as white wine made from the palomino grape but for some mysterious reason produces a yeasty substance called flor, which gives it its unusual character. It is then ‘fortified’ — its fermentation stopped by the addition of extra alcohol — so it is a little more potent than normal table wine.
“You can spend a fortune on sherry, but since each bottle is a product of several different vintages it is consistent from year to year, and the fact that it is stabilized by alcohol enhances its shelf life. (Refrigerated, an opened bottle retains good flavor for several days.) In short, all real sherry is good (you should stay away from the fake, supermarket variety), and bottles costing $10 or so are more than acceptable. Fino is probably best for drinking, but the slightly sweeter, nuttier amontillado and oloroso are perhaps a little better for cooking.”
No fixed plans. Not intent upon arriving.