The area around Jerez de la Frontera (in the Cadiz province) is famous for the sherry made there. Between Jerez and El Puerto de Santa Maria, there are dozens of bodegas eager to show you their tour and taste their sherries. Unfortunately during the winter when we were there (February, 2001), there are few with English-speaking tours, so your choices are limited. We toured the Osborne bodega and enjoyed a very nice tour with 3 people from England. Our tour guide was quite self-conscience about her English, but did an excellent job for us. It was nice having such a small group for the tour. Christina (the tour guide) showed us the millions of gallons of sherry being aged in the oak casks at this location. The actual creation of the sherry is much like wine in that the grapes are picked, crushed, then allowed to ferment in the casks. The casks are made here in Spain using American Oak. After their useful life here (50-60 years) they are sold to the whiskey distillers in Scotland.

They use a 3 tier system for the aging: this year’s wine is placed in the top tier of casks, last year’s is in the second tier, and the year before last’s is in the bottom tier (you can just see the “Solera 1a” [primera] and “Solera 2a” [segunda] markings on the bottom 2 rows). As the sherry is moved from one tier to the next, it is also moved into casks in different parts of the cellar, to provide more uniformity in the final product. As Christina explained, the conditions vary slightly in each part of the cellar in terms of warmth and humidity. The mixing of the casks somewhat averages out the result. Also, only 40% of the sherry is removed from each cask, leaving 60% to help age the newer sherry being added. At the bottom of the casket lies the “mother” which aids in the curing process. As the 40% removed always comes from the top, the “mother” is left undisturbed for 50 to 60 years, adding richness and complexity to the sherry. Part of their quality control includes tasting every barrel every month (Gene wanted that job). If any cask is determined to be questionable, it is marked with a “T” then additional yeast or alcohol may be added to try to recover the sherry. If it doesn’t recover, then it is used for a very fine wine vinegar (which we had several occasions to taste at local restaurants - and it is very good!).

Of course, after the tour, you have to have a taste (or 2) of the finished product. We tasted their three types of sherry, the Fino (dry), Oloroso (darker and more complex), and Cream Sherry, the sweetest of the three and made with a red sweet grape (the Fino and Oloroso are both made with the same white grape, but the Fino is aged for 3 years while the Oloroso is aged for 5 years). The Fino was much drier than anything we have tasted in the states and quite good. The Oloroso was a bit strong for us, and of course the Cream was very sweet. The Fino and Oloroso are meant to be served with appetizers and they had provided dishes of olives - a great combination! Having completed our tour and tasting by 11:30, it was time to head toward Jerez to find some lunch.

Jerez de la Frontera is a large town with lots of bodegas as well - but we skipped those as we already had our fill for the day. Instead we walked around town for a bit, found the quiet pedestrianized shopping center for a stroll, then found a lovely quiet plaza off the main track that had several restaurants with tables in the sun and lined with orange trees. With our lunch we tried the tapa of roasted peppers with quail eggs - highly recommended! 

After lunch, the town was pretty much closed up as usual so we strolled up to the Alcazar. This is an old Moorish fortress from the 12th century, complete with Moorish baths, defenses, and of course patios. At left is Mom & Gene in the Patio de Armas, where the soldiers marched and were presented to the ruler. 

In March, 2002, we returned with our friend Nancy and this time we toured the bodega of Tio Pepe, located near the Alcazar. The process is much the same as we had seen at Osborne’s, but of course it is always interesting to get another view and tasting. Tio Pepe’s had several of the early stills (inherited from the Arabs) used for their Lepanto brandy (right) which shows what a long way we have come. These old stills would hardly keep up with the production required today.

At the end of the tour, we found a group of mice who had made themselves at home around the cool sherry casks. In fact, they have become so much at home that they now enjoy their daily dose of sherry. One particularly talented mouse will even climb a ladder to drink his favorite sherry out of a wine glass (left)! 

Of course, after the tour, there was the obligatory tasting (its a hard life, but someone has to do it!). Unfortunately, neither of us has developed a real enjoyment of sherry, but it is always fun to try a new one to taste what they are like. At right is Jim, Nancy and Verna sampling the Fino and Oloroso.

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