History of Sherry - The Middle Ages -XVII Century

For a long time, actually since the Moors had arrived, the Christians had been working -well fighting - to get them out again. The "Reconquista" or Reconquest was led by the Christian monarch Alfonso X. He and his armies had fought their way South till in 1264 they reached Jerez, which was renamed Jerez de la Frontera, as it lay on the frontier of Christendom and Islam. Many towns in western Andalucia have the tag "de la Frontera" for the same reason. In gratitude for their services to king and country, Alfonso granted lands, often areas of vineyard, to his faithful knights. (One was a Valdespino - more about that in the Bodegas section anon.) Another, one Fernan Ibanez Palomino was to give his name to the grape variety that made Sherry famous. Sherry was even sent to the knights to fortify themselves for battle. It worked.

At about this time, the XIII C, exports of Sherry took off. It had been exported by the Romans and no doubt the previous colonists back to their own countries before, but connections began to be made with the northern countries. Early quality control measures were also in place. In 1492 The Catholic Monarchs Fernando and Isabel finally defeated the Moors, restoring Christianity to Spain. Soon they sponsored Columbus' voyage to the Americas, and slowly vast wealth began to flow into Andalucia, particularly Sevilla, home of the Casa de Contratacion (the Colonial administration office), and exports to the new colonies began to develop. Magellan's round the world voyage was well supplied with Sherry wine.

In the mid XV C trading links were established with Britain, and British as well as other nationalities began to establish themselves in the area  between the XV and XVI centuries. Sherry was beginning to build an international reputation. In 1509 HenryVIII of England married Catalina (Catherine) of Aragon, and Sherry was the chosen wine. In 1560 Ireland imported 100 butts, but the biggest buyers were Britain and the Low Countries.

In 1517 the Casa de Contratacion  ordered vines to be taken to the colonies to see how they would grow. They weren't all successful, but wine was important for the sacrament, and eventually various missionaries established vines. But what with wine and goods shipments from Sevilla taking a certain priority, the Gaditanos (the people of Cadiz) found things very difficult until the Casa de Contrataciones was moved to Cadiz in 1717.