How to pronounce Amontillado

What is Amontillado?

A style of Sherry that begins as a Fino under biological aging (flor) and then undergoes oxidative aging after the flor dies. This dual aging process creates a unique amber-colored wine with the nuttiness and complexity of oxidative aging combined with the delicacy of its Fino origins.

Amontillado is a style of Sherry, the fortified wine from the area around Jerez in Andalusia, southern Spain. In Jerez it is made from Palomino grapes. The name refers to Montilla, a town in the province of Córdoba, also in Andalusia, and means roughly "in the style of Montilla". The word entered English in the early 1800s.

The wine has two lives. It starts out like a Fino or Manzanilla, aging in barrels under flor, a film of yeast that shields it from air. When the flor disappears, the wine goes on aging with oxygen. This second stage turns it from pale gold to topaz or amber and concentrates its flavor.

In the glass it is dry, with aromas of hazelnut, herbs and tobacco and a long, nutty finish. The Sherry regulator gives an alcohol range of 16 to 22 percent and suggests serving it lightly chilled, at 12 to 14 degrees Celsius. One label note helps when buying. Since a rule change in 2012, a wine labeled Amontillado must be dry. Sweetened blends based on it are sold as Medium Sherry instead.

Amontillado, syllable by syllable

Why Amontillado is hard to say

In Spanish, ll is its own sound, not a long l. Most Spanish speakers today say it as a y, so -illa and -illo read as EE-yah and EE-yoh. A smaller group of speakers keeps an older sound close to the "lli" in "million", which gives ah-mon-tee-LYAH-doh. Both are standard. The same rule explains Tempranillo, Manzanilla and Montilla.

Stress follows the regular Spanish pattern. A word that ends in a vowel, n or s is stressed on the second-to-last syllable unless an accent mark says otherwise. That puts the weight on lla here, and on ro in Oloroso. Each vowel keeps its full value. English dictionaries list an anglicized form with a plain l and a reduced first vowel, a-mon-tih-LAH-doh, which is also accepted.

Other accepted pronunciations

These are also correct, and Vinolingo scores them as correct:

• a-mon-tih-LAH-doh — Established English form.
• ah-mon-tee-LYAH-doh — Non-yeísta [ʎ].

Tips for saying it

How to order Amontillado

Say it in one flow and lean on YAH: ah-mon-tee-YAH-doh. The English form a-mon-tih-LAH-doh is in the dictionaries and is understood at any bar or shop, so use whichever feels natural. If the list has several Sherries, it helps to add that you want a dry one served cool.

• “Could I have a glass of Amontillado, please?”
• “Is this Amontillado dry, or is it a Medium?” Medium is the sweetened style.
• “I would like the Amontillado with the mushroom soup.” Soup is a classic match.

Names often confused with Amontillado

• Fino (FEE-noh): The pale Sherry aged only under flor, the stage where Amontillado begins.
• Oloroso (oh-loh-ROH-soh): A darker Sherry aged with oxygen from the start, without the flor stage that Amontillado has.
• Sherry (SHERR-ee): The family name for the fortified wines of Jerez, of which Amontillado is one style.
• Tempranillo (tem-prah-NEE-yoh): A Spanish red grape, unrelated to Sherry, that follows the same double l rule.

Questions about pronouncing Amontillado

How do you pronounce Amontillado?

Amontillado is pronounced ah-mon-tee-YAH-doh, with five syllables and the stress on the fourth, YAH. The double l is said like an English y. In English it is often heard as a-mon-tih-LAH-doh.

Are the l's silent in Amontillado?

Not silent, but they are not an l sound either. In Spanish the pair ll is a single sound, said like the y in "yes" by most speakers. That is why the native form is ah-mon-tee-YAH-doh. The English form with a plain l, a-mon-tih-LAH-doh, is also accepted.

How do you pronounce Amontillado in American and British English?

American and British dictionaries both give an anglicized form, roughly a-mon-tih-LAH-doh, with a reduced first vowel, a plain l and the stress on LAH. Dictionary.com also lists forms closer to Spanish, without the plain l.

What does Amontillado mean?

The word comes from Montilla, a town in the province of Córdoba in Andalusia, where the style originated, and means roughly "in the style of Montilla". Today it names a dry, amber Sherry that is aged first under flor yeast and then with exposure to air.

What is the difference between Amontillado and Fino?

Fino is aged entirely under flor, so it stays pale, light and sharp. Amontillado starts the same way, then loses its flor and keeps aging with oxygen. It ends up darker, from topaz to amber, with nutty flavors and more body. Both are dry.

Sources: Sherry Wines (Consejo Regulador): Amontillado, Wikipedia: Amontillado, Dictionary.com: amontillado. Last reviewed 2026-10-10.