History of Sherry - Ancient times

Few wines can have as long and interesting a history as Sherry. The Phonecians are thought to have brought the vine and viticulture to Cadiz, which may be the oldest city in Europe, being founded around 1100BC. At Dona Blanca, near Puerto de Santa Maria, a two storey winery using gravity has been found, dating from the VIII century BC. The Phonecians were by no means the only colonisers of southern Spain, however.

The Greeks and the Romans were there too, bringing more knowledge and culture along with various wine rituals known as Symposia in Greek or Comisatios in Latin. Ceramic ware has been found painted by the painter of Brygos which represents a Symposium in the Iliad with a person holding a form of strainer and an early venencia (a cup on the end of a stick used even now to extract small quantities of wine from the butts). The Romans went on to hold elaborate - and competitive - dinner parties, and the favoured wine was Sherry. Indeed it was praised by Martial, and Cadiz-born Columela wrote a treatise on viticulture, much of which holds true to this day.

The age of decadence couldn't last, however, and in the V century the Roman empire began to implode. Barbarians known as the Visigoths or Vandals took over. These were less peaceful times, but only lasted until 711 AD with the invasion of the Arabs, or Moors. Their power was growing immensely, and in a short time they had conquered all of Spain, nearly half of France and more. They fell in love with what they called Al Andalus (the land of the Vandals - now Andalucia), and were to remain for nearly 800 years, influencing profoundly Spanish culture, language and cuisine.

The Moorish religion was Islam, and the holy Koran forbids the ingestion of alcohol, but ways were found to circumvent the rules due to certain ambiguities. There was the occasional backlash, but since the raisin formed a part of Moorish cuisine, it was usually rescinded. A certain air of decadence developed as well as tolerance, not totally unlike that of the Greeks and Romans. Treatises not dissimilar that of Columela were written on agriculture, and even poetry eulogising wine. The arrival of subsequent more hard line Moors bent on being truer to the Koran failed to fully stamp out these Hispanic customs. It was a long period of peace and learning.