25.11.13 Tio Pepe Sign; New Look for Canasta Cream

It seems that the Tio Pepe illuminated sign will not now be in its new position in the Puerta del Sol, no. 11 in time for Christmas. It is currently in a warehouse in the Poligono Azque in Alcala de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid, where serious restoration work is being undertaken. According to Gonzalez Byass, it will be mounted in its new position “in a few months”. It was put in the square originally in 1937 after GB had applied to Madrid Council to erect it to celebrate the bodega’s centenary in 1935. The fee for the licence was 796 pesetas! Every component of the sign is being restored with the minutest care with modern finishing techniques.

Williams & Humbert’s Canasta Cream Sherry, the best-selling sweet Oloroso in Spain, has had a facelift. The new design is not so different from the original, but has a slightly more modern feel, both in the label, and the shape of the bottle. According to Eduardo Medina, marketing director of W&H, “the presentation has changed very little in recent years, and we saw a need to update it, with a contemporary and vibrant design which would still be faithful to the brand’s roots and which could still be identifiable to our customers. The new design will be available in Spain by the end of the month.

New bottle is on the left

23.11.13 Tio Pepe Palmas Live Tasting

The recent live Twitter tasting of the 2013 release of the Gonzalez Byass Palmas range attracted over 180,000 participants in Spain, Japan, the USA, Mexico, Belgium…  The event can still be seen on You Tube. There were 3 videos; “Greetings from GB president Mauricio Gonzalez”, “The Sounds of the Night Harvest in Jerez” and “The Selection of the 2013 Palmas”. What with video technology, streaming and stuff, the GB team employed over 25 technicians in a pretty complex, but very successful tasting.

(Imagen Diario Jerez)

20.11.13 Medina Family Now Own 100% of Williams and Humbert

The Medina family has taken full ownership of the bodega Williams & Humbert after purchasing the 45% stake owned by the capital risk fund Andalucia Capital Desarrollo (ACD). It was ACD who financed the purchase of the bodega from the Dutch multinational Ahold in 2005. The price for the share purchase has not been released, but both parties have declared themselves satisfied. The Medina family has been involved with Williams & Humbert for over twenty years, and at last it is theirs 100%, and includes their original firm Bodegas Medina.

Cartoon

This cartoon was published in today's Diario de Jerez, and shows that, even in Jerez, while people are immensely proud of it, not enough people are drinking their own product. Remember, a glass of Sherry every day will help you live till 100!

"Tito, let's have a couple of rum and cokes to celebrate Jerez becoming European City of Wine!"
"All that work, and they still don't get it!"

Jamon and Manzanilla in London

If you're in London, this is not to be missed. Sorry, not much notice, so drop everything!

Palo Cortado Viejo Scully 20%, Hidalgo La Gitana

Appearance
Deep blacky amber fading through to a yellowy-green rim, legs.
Nose
Quite Amontillado: old, lots of toast, hints of dried fruit and old polished furniture, almonds and hazelnuts, and only a trace of oak. Something slightly savoury, from its Manzanilla past, but all this has integrated into a really complex fresh - even crisp - and fragrant nose with a trace of apparent sweetness.
Palate
Fairly intense, light, dry and beautifully rounded. Traces of licorice, oak barrels, cedar/sandalwood, dried fruit, sweet spices, walnut. Quite tangy as befits a wine from Sanlucar, quite light in weight and immensely long. Lovely!
Comments
This excellent wine comes from a limited edition (2,150 half bottles) produced in 2008 for the Revista Matador art and graphics magazine. Each year, the mag. gets a celebrated winemaker to produce a one-off limited edition top notch wine which they sell with a special designer label. This wine bears a label designed by Irish-American artist Sean Scully, twice nominated for the Turner Prize. The wine is made from Pago Miraflores grapes and comes from Hidalgo family reserves, of which they keep back four butts to celebrate the birth of a new member of the family. It is around 70 years old.
Price
A half bottle costs over 30 euros - if you can obtain one... Try winesearcher.com

What You Need to Know about Zambombas

Every December, in the run up to Christmas, zambombas can be heard accompanying carols in homes, streets, bars etc. It is an old tradition in Andalucia, dating back to the XVIII century at least, where  leading up to Christmas Eve people join in with the singing and sometimes dancing with a slightly flamenco edge. It is a terrific atmosphere; everyone is happy, especially as they are usually enjoying a glass of anis (a clear aniseed liqueur), ponche (a brandy and orange based liqueur) or local wine and a pestiña de navidad (lovely seasonal sweetmeats made from flour dough cooked in olive oil and dipped in honey).

So what is a zambomba? It is an ancient instrument made from a large clay jar with an animal skin fixed tightly to the top, like a drum, but a long stick has been pushed through the skin, and on moving it up and down, it gives off a distinct sound. The clay jars vary in size between about 35cm and 80cm long, so that they are either played vertically sitting down, or horizontally by sitting on the zambomba itself.

Gente de Jerez (quite peaceful this one!)

Typical anis bottle

Other rudimentary instruments are often on hand to accompany things, such as an empty anis bottle rattled with a knife, bells or tambourines, and, of course, song. There is a subtle difference between the traditional flamenco mass, which is slightly more flamenco and formal, and the lively laid-back zambombas (the word has now come to mean the event as much as the instrument). Jerez has a long tradition of zambombas, flamenco and flamenco masses, most of which, along with many carols (villancicos) have been passed down orally through the generations. So if you're going to be in Jerez soon, here are some useful dates: