Jerez is living two markets on one street.
Tridge's H1 2026 reading showed Sherry sales volume down about 13.6% overall — a hard hit for a category long squeezed by sweet stereotypes and changing aperitif habits. Yet Amontillado and Palo Cortado moved up. Drinkers who stay are choosing drier, more gastronomic styles.
Mini-concept: shrinkage and trading-up can happen together. Volume bleeds at the cheap, sweet base. Value and attention gather at the top for people who open a bottle with food and intention. That is not contradiction. It is a thinner calendar selecting harder.
Sherry's old image as a sticky Christmas drink still hurts casual volume. Younger drinkers comparing options will skip a cloying pour and still say yes to a serious dry glass beside seafood or tapas — especially when the alternative is another forgettable can.
Choice line for the night: if you want background sweetness, many drinks win. If you want a flavoured, aged, dry wine experience, Amontillado and Palo Cortado are the growth story inside the decline.
Market pattern: −13.6% volume, premium dry styles up. Same bodega street, two futures.