Which grape variety is commonly used to sweeten sherry?

• A. Trebbiano
• B. Palomino
• C. Pedro Ximenez
• D. Albarinho

Answer: (C)

Sweetening sherry relies on a grape that concentrates sugar when dried. Pedro Ximénez is the grape most associated with adding sweetness to sherry. The grapes are often sun-dried to concentrate sugars, producing a very sweet, dark must that yields rich, syrupy wines. These sweet Pedro Ximénez wines are then used to blend with the Palomino-based base to create the range of sweet Sherries, from medium to ultra-sweet. Palomino is the dry-basis grape for most sherries, not the sweetening variety. Trebbiano and Albariño aren’t standard sherry grapes, so they aren’t used to sweeten.