Sherry drinkers, inspired by Frasier?

[ShinChuck]

I gave it my first try last night because I simply had to, after years of hearing them discuss it!

We all know Frasier's choice is Harvey's Bristol Cream, and while ironically cheap for guys like Frasier and Niles, it was too expensive for me to give it a go without knowing if I'd like it, so I grabbed Fairbanks Cream Sherry, costing all of $5.80 at Kroger. I'm not a drinker, but I was pleasantly surprised: very sweet, and the creamy texture made me think of a cream soda. For the rare occasions I do drink, I'm going to keep it in mind, and maybe go the whole way and spend $18 on the Harvey's Bristol Cream sometime in the near future.

Anyone else been inspired by Frasier to give sherry a whirl? Thoughts, opinions on it?

[Patrick]

I've tasted fortified wine before, in particular port wine. I am not a big fan. It's too thick and sweet for my taste. I don't suppose sherry is much different from it, is it?

[ShinChuck]

I'm new to the whole alcohol thing (been a non-drinker most of my life for no particular reason!), but from what I'm gathering... you can have a dry wine that's fortified. Whether it's sweet or dry is based on whether the brandy is addition before or after fermentation. Done before, the alcohol stops the yeast from converting the sugars, and you end up with a sweet wine, like Harvey's Bristol Cream. I have seen there's a "dry" version of sherry, but I have yet to try it.

^ Me pretending I know something about wine, so take with a grain of salt, hah.

The stuff I have here is definitely thick and sweet, though.