29.8.15 Vineyard Tourism; More on Harvest

Jerez City Council has decided to take a step forward to empower the Sherry vineyards as a tourist attraction. It is well known that previous municipal efforts fell foul of the Junta in this respect so it will have to be seen how this will work in the future. On this occasion however, the council is aware that too much of the tourist offer is based in Jerez itself and that the vineyards offer the chance to discover the very roots of Sherry.

On Thursday the mayoress, Mamen Sánchez, and Consejo president, Beltrán Domecq and director, César Saldaña, accompanied by members of the relevant council departments visited the vineyards of the Castillo de Macharnudo, the Cooperativa Nuestra Señora de Las Angustias and bodegas Real Tesoro with the idea of promoting the harvest from the vine to the bodega.

Mamen Sanchez helping with the harvest (foto:diariodejerez)

The mayoress said that “Jerez is also about vineyards, not just towns and independent local entities but about the countryside which little by little we are going to make into a tourist resource.” She praised the work already being done by private enterprise as well as that of the Ruta del Vino y Brandy. One of the first things to be done is to produce a guide to the tourist resources the vineyards offer for promotion abroad. She also said that diversification is needed around the wine itself, opening the vineyards to visitors. As Beltrán Domecq said, “the vineyard is 50% of the wine, so it is hugely important for the quality of Sherry.”

The council noted that the Fiestas de Vendimia which are to be held from 1 – 20 September will be celebrating the 80^th anniversary of the Denominación de Origen and of the Consejo, and numerous activities will be taking place in the vineyards.

It was an intense meeting which clearly demonstrated the tourist potential being wasted by not making better use of the vineyard houses, all standing in elevated positions with spectacular views and the cool interiors provided by their XIX century construction.

Rafael Rendón, director of Beam Suntory, explained at the Castillo de Macharnudo how the harvest progressed through to the favourite product of the Anglo Saxon world: Bristol Cream. At Las Angustias it was pointed out that they are one of the largest producers with 200 growers on 1,000 hectares of vineyard. At Grupo Estévez’ bodegas Real Tesoro, company secretary, Jaime Estévez and production director, Eduardo Ojeda, showed the visitors the technology at their production centre in Avda. Reina Sofía yet they still employ traditional harvest practices. Eduardo Ojeda explained the fine quality of this year’s harvest saying that the sugar levels, acidity and health of the grapes are excellent. The group is making great efforts during this summer to promote the vineyards.

The visit really showed the potential there is and how much benefit there could be. Let us hope it happens.

Harvesting (foto:lavozdigital)

The big three bodegas in Jerez (González Byass, Estévez and Beam Suntory) have nearly finished what has been a fairly short harvest but one of excellent quality which may exceed the Consejo’s predictions of 70 million kilos. The Consejo says it has been a “capricious” vintage with days with very high temperatures and others cooler. Over 45 million kilos are already picked with most of the rest in the cooler coastal areas starting to come in.

The first “mostos” or newly fermented wines will be ready inside a month, according to Eduardo Ojeda, production director at Grupo Estévez. They will be fermenting the “mosto yema” (the finest juice, pressed by its own weight) for Finos, some in barrel for Valdespino Inocente and the rest in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks for Tio Mateo. Juice from the presses will produce other styles of wine, especially Olorosos.

Mechanised harvesting, meanwhile, appears unstoppable. According to Rafael Rendón of Beam Suntory, producers of Bristol Cream, 90% of the grapes were harvested by machine. González Byass used to employ about 500 pickers, but now it is more like 100, and mainly for the old vines which are not planted in a suitable way for machines.

Bodegas: Herederos Nicolás Martín

Also known as Viña La Constancia, this firm was founded in 1969, and is one of very few bodegas where one can see the entire production of Sherry right from the vineyard to the bottle all in one place. It is also one of very few bodegas to be surrounded by its own vineyard and to have its own restaurant, Mosto-Bodegón, so it is well worth a visit.

It all starts in the vineyard, the 24.5 hectare Cerro Santiago, part of the Viña Constancia which belongs to the Pago Macharnudo Alto. This is Jerez superior with its white albariza soil. The vines were planted in 1969 and are 95% Palomino and 5% PX for the sweet wines. The traditional “vara y pulgar” pruning system is used and the grapes are hand harvested.

There are two adjacent bodega buildings: Santa Juana, with its earth floor and insulated roof where the biological ageing takes place, and Santa Isabel where the oxidative ageing takes place. Here also is the bottling line and stabilisation plant. The firm also makes Vinegar and moscatel pasa, as well as selling new mosto after the harvest.

There are two ranges of wines all called Cerro Santiago:

The standard Cerro Santiago range consists of: Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Cream and PX

The premium Cerro Santiago Muy Viejo range consists of: Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Cream and PX

Apart from vineyard, bodegas and a restaurant, they have two despachos de vino (draught wine shops) in Jerez itself. One is in the Avenida San Juan Bosco and the other is in the Plaza Grazalema.

Visits? Yes by arrangement

Address: Carretera del Calvario (CA-3101), Km 1.8

Telephone: (+34) 630 010 089

E-mail: info@bodegashmartin.com

Website: www.bodegashmartin.com

Oloroso Cuco 19.5%, Barbadillo

Appearance

Attractive dark mahogany with red and gold highlights and a trace of green at rim, legs.

Nose

Rich, generous and fragrant, toasted almond and walnut with hints of American oak. There is a trace of salinity there too, betraying Sanlucar origins and a slight toffee note and a trace of bitter orange marmalade. It is tight and complex with considerable charm.

Palate

Fairly full bodied, dry and with a gentle acidity and trace of tannin from its time in wood which balance the glycerol. Tangy with that trace of salinity but without that Sanlucar savouriness. Very elegant with a really nutty character and penetrating flavour generous finish and terrific length.

Comments

The hand harvested Palomino grapes come from 30 year old vines in the Gibalbin and Santa Lucia vineyards. The wine is aged in 5 bodegas for 18 years according to the bodega fact sheet or 15 years if you listen to the bodega video. through 13 criaderas - a lot for an Oloroso even for Sanlucar. The result, however, is excellent, a classic Sanlucar Oloroso which takes its name from a vineyard once owned by Barbadillo.

Price
Around £25.00 in the UK, importers are Fells.

Bodegas: AR Ruiz y Hermanos

Iñigo Ruiz de Villegas y Sánchez de Tagle was born in Ruiloba (Santander) and having moved to Jerez in about 1810 began working in the shop of his fellow “montañés” (one from the mountains of the north), José Pérez Pelos. In 1823, partly with his own capital and partly with a loan of 10,000 reales from his brother in law, Jacinto Antonio del Pomar y del Pomar, Iñigo began a career in the wine trade.

Iñigo Ruiz Tagle (foto col. JL Jimenez) 

On the 6^th April 1836 he bought bodegas in the Calle Marqués de Cádiz at an auction, expanding them in 1839 with the purchase of some houses. In 1853 he was elected as the 6^th Mayor of Jerez, and as a vineyard owner he was involved with the classification of the vineyards which was an official council undertaking. His son, Rodrigo Ruiz Pomar (1814-1899), married to Benita Pérez y Pérez, ran the bodega for a while changing the name to A Pérez Pomar or Ruiz Pomar Hermanos and leaving it to his sons to run while he continued the work on the convent of the Carmelitas Descalzas in Ruiloba which had been begun by his priest brother José, who had died young.

The bodega in C/Lechugas (foto: Jandalos/ MA Aramburu -Zabala Liguera y Consuelo Soldevilla Oria)

Iñigo never forgot his homeland in the north and was even elected mayor of Ruiloba and bought a beautiful XVIII century house there. His business was in Jerez, however, and he continued expansion with the purchase of more bodegas and houses between 1846 and 1861 in the streets of Marqués de Cádiz, Barreras, Guadalete, Luís Pérez and the Plaza Cadenas. Between 1861 and 1864 he bought the El Aljibe vineyard in the Pago Añina and also the Campo Real vineyard along with its attendant vineyard houses, wines, soleras and barrels from Diego Zurita y Negrete, Marqués de Campo Real. Here they made outstanding PX. In 1833 Iñigo and his wife Rosalía Pomar bought a house on the corner of Calle Pozo Olivar and Calle Ponce, rebuilding it in 1841. Iñigo died in 1866 leaving over 15 million reales de vellón.

(foto: es.paperblog.com)

When José Leña Rendon, already established in 1809 with interests in Malaga, Madeira and Port, joined the firm, a  modern and magnificent new bodega was built at 6 and 8 Calle Lechugas in 1873 and the business name changed in 1880 to Antonio Rodrigo (AR) Ruiz Hermanos. The firm would be the fourth biggest exporter in 1906. The name was changed again in 1894 to that of the firm’s principal shareholder Felix Ruiz y Ruiz (1852-1917), and there was a bodega in Calle Matadero on the site of what had been the San Juan de Dios convent, and business grew in northern Europe and South America. Felix Ruiz and his wife Rosario Romero Perez had no children and the firm began to languish in the hands of family members until ultimately it became the first bodega to be bought by Rumasa in 1963 and in 1974 it was bought in a run-down state by José Estévez.

Some brands were Palido Regente Macharnudo Fino), Oloroso Plus Ultra, Palo Cortado Anada 1750, Amontillado Lesseps, Fino carta Blanca, Anis Triana, Cognac Gayarre. Sales of their Xeres- Quina-Ruiz were surprisingly good, especially with the new label (below).

A member of another branch of the family, José Ruiz Rendón (Jerez, 1840), established a bodega in 1869, J Ruiz y Cia. SA. This bodega made a reputation with wines such as Amontillados Ena, Santa Barbara and Ruiz, Fino-Amontillado Don Félix among other wines as well as brandy, ponche and anís. They were one of the first firms to export Sherry in bottle and were awarded a patent for a process of cask seasoning. 

(foto: desdetemplolucer.blogspot.com)

Some brands were: Amontillado Salvador Guardiola, Ponche Español, Fino Tio Enrique, Jerez Pálido, Manzanilla Leonora, Amontillado Casanovas, Don Iñigo, Tio Bernardo, Fino Julia and Amontillado Tocayo. Their brand Fino Isabelita was shipped by Harveys until the end of Rumasa. 

More on Climate Change

An article by Paz Gutiérrez (EFE Cádiz) in today's Diario de Jerez

One of the unforseen – until recently - consequences of global warming is the accelerated ripening of the grape and the rise in sugar content and consequent alcohol level in the wine. This has forced producers to harvest earlier year after year, even as early as the beginning of August – over a month earlier than the historic norm.

The Centro Andaluz de Investigaciones Vitivinicolas (CAIV), a research institute linked to the University of Cádiz (UCA) and the Junta’s Economy, Innovation and Science Department, has spent three years testing on the ground for solutions to this problem which, beyond early harvest dates has devastating effects on the aroma and colour of a wine.

The more sunshine and heat the grape receives, the more it converts its acids into sugars. Over the last ten to fifteen years global warming has progressively increased the temperature by over five degrees explains Carmelo García, the CAIV director. The problem is less acute with Palomino destined to become Sherry, but it seriously affects grapes for table wines, especially red ones.

Harvested grapes (foto:diariojerez)

He says the accelerated ripening does not run parallel with the development of colour and aroma. In the young fruit the juice just smells vegetal and has not yet acquired the colour nor the aroma which characterise the wine. But if you let the phenolic ripening process take its course you will end up with a wine with 17% alcohol, something unthinkable until now, but which happened three years ago in the Rioja. It is a widespread problem affecting not only many parts of Spain, but also Italy and Portugal.

One of the solutions the CAIV is working on is de-alcoholisation equipment, a technology never before needed but which is giving good results and financed by the EU. This equipment allows you to extract the alcohol without extracting the aroma and colour. They are also working with the bodegas connected with the UCA “Interconecta” programme, bodegas such as Barbadillo, González Byass, Caballero and Manuel Aragón.

From July till September a dozen researchers are dedicated full time to the application of natural treatments to the vineyards, like providing more water or removing certain bunches from the vine, pruning leaves or supplying nutrients. As to the winemaking they are testing skin maceration, not normally used in the making of white wine, keeping the skins in contact with the must by mechanical means.

Given that every vintage is different, it is hoped that in three or four years it should be possible to see which treatment is most effective and economical, and to share the results with other Spanish or European universities who are also looking for solutions. Ideally governments would agree on how to tackle this problem, but in the meantime the search goes on.

Centenary of Orson Welles

Orson Welles (1915-1985) was a man of many skills, most especially radio, film and writing. He made his name with his dramatic 1938 radio broadcast of HG Wells’ “War of the Worlds” which it is said caused mass panic that Martians really were invading. He went on to produce one of the best films ever made “Citizen Kane” and “The Third Man” among many other successes.

Welles was a great fan of all things Spanish and aficionado of bullfighting. He was a frequent visitor to and was well known in Jerez where he was made the fourth member of the Orden del Tio Pepe by the Marqués de Torresoto, and his signed butt can still be seen at the bodega. In “Chimes at Midnight” he played Shakespeare’s Sir John Falstaff, an inveterate drinker of Sherris Sack.

(foto:jerezsiempre)

 It may be for this reason that he was commissioned by Domecq in the 1970’s to make television commercials for their Double Century Sherry, a slightly sweetened Oloroso, introduced in 1930 for Domecq’s bicentenary and which became very popular. After his death, Welles’ ashes were buried in an old well at the finca near Ronda of his friend and bullfighting legend Antonio Ordóñez.

Now, on the occasion of the centenary of the great man’s birth the president of the Cine-Club Popular de Jerez, José Luís Jiménez, has proposed to the city council that a street be named in his honour in recognition of what he did to promote the city. What an excellent idea!

Brandy de Jerez

Most wine producing regions also produce brandy (distilled wine) or eau de vie/marc/grappa/orujo (distilled pomace) which are useful and profitable by-products. The art of distillation was brought with the Moors when they invaded Spain in 711AD, but they did not drink the spirits, preferring to use them for perfumes or medicines. The Arabic words used for stills: “alquitara” and “alambique” are still in use today, indeed the word “alcohol” is also Arabic.

An alquitara - very slow distilling..

Not much wine was distilled until the mid XVI century but this spirit did precede the birth of Cognac. The first Spanish tax on brandy was imposed in 1580. The Dutch were regular customers for the wine spirit which they used to compound their liqueurs or rectify into Genever, and it is to them we owe the words “Brandy” and “holandas.” The former is a corruption of the dutch “brandweijn” (or burnt wine), and the latter is the word the Spaniards used for spirit good enough for the Dutch.

Gonzalez Byass Lepanto Distillery Jerez: alembiques Charentais style.(foto:proensa.com)

In 1850 Pedro Domecq was left with a large consignment which sat around so long in barrel that it improved dramatically and formed the basis for the Fundador solera in 1874. Until now, all brandy had been double distilled in alambiques and aged statically much the same as Cognac, but the second half of the XIX century saw brandy sales really take off led by Fundador, and the solera system came into its own.

Modern column stills at Altosa in Tomelloso (foto:altosa)

Producers were forced to find a more suitable source of wine as the vineyards of Jerez could not produce nearly enough. They chose Tomelloso in Castilla La Mancha which was surrounded by boundless vineyards (50,000 hectares!) planted to the Airén grape as opposed to the Palomino of Jerez. For a while Airén became the most widely planted grape in the world! Here they established large distilleries equipped with much more efficient column stills, Domecq being the first in 1890. As brandy is one third the original liquid volume of wine, it made sense to distil here and take the spirit to Jerez by railway tanker either for ageing as brandy or for fortifying Sherry. As far as I know the only brandy distilled in Jerez now is Lepanto from González Byass.

Interior of Alcomasa (foto:tomelloso.com)

The heyday of Tomelloso was during the 1950s when there were no fewer than 60 distilleries. Their tall chimneys were a feature of the town, but from the 1970s, fuels other than coal began to be used making many chimneys redundant. Now there are only six distilleries, but they are much more efficient and their capacity exceeds the 1950s level. They are Altosa, Verum, Alcomasa (owned by Gonzalez Byass), Osborne, Fundador and DVT. Most Jerez bodegas  simply buy specific spirit for maturation in their soleras in the Marco de Jerez, though some send specific wines for distillation. The distilleries not owned by Jerez bodegas also make their own brands. Between Spain's accession to the European Union and the removal of distillation grants, an average of 5.3 million hectolitres was distilled annually, much for export.

It seems to go on forever...Domecq's famous brandy bodega: La Mezquita (foto:consejo regulador)

A Denominacion Especifica, rather than a Denominacion de Origen (which would require all the raw material to come from Jerez) was established in 1987 along with a Consejo Regulador in 1987 to enforce the rules and protect the interests of Brandy de Jerez, of which there are three categories:

Solera: (about 2/3 of total production) min 6 months solera ageing, min 50% holandas, min. volátiles 150 mg per 100cc pure alcohol.

Solera Reserva: (about ¼ of total production)min 1 year solera ageing, min. 75% holandas  min. volátiles 200 mg per 100 cc of pure alcohol.

Solera Gran Reserva: (about 6% of total production)min. 3 years solera ageing, 100% holandas, min. volátiles 250 mg per 100 cc of pure alcohol.

There is a fourth category known as “Bebidas Espirituosas” where brandy is blended with Destilado (which, while of agricultural origin, might not necessarily be made from wine) and sold at a lower strength (typically 30%/vol). This was introduced as a result of hefty tax increases in 2007-9 and reduced not only the price, but also the quality so it cannot be called Brandy de Jerez and is thus not supported by the Consejo Regulador Brandy de Jerez. A proper Brandy de Jerez will have these precise words on the label.

Unlike statically aged brandies, the solera brandies of Jerez require less ageing, but are nonetheless generally aged much longer than the minimum legal period. Butts for ageing must have a minimum of 3 years seasoning with Sherry or brandy and have a minimum capacity of 500l and max of 1,000l, and the base wine should be free of lees and sulphur dioxide (SO2). The angels’ share (loss to evaporation) is about 7% per annum.  Strength on sale should be between 36 and 45%/vol and ageing must take place, like the wines, within the Sherry triangle. Slight adjustments are permitted so the addition of spirit caramel (for colour correction) and sweetening with flavoured syrups are legal, often around 15 grams per litre (the legal limit id 30 g/l), but in the better brandies this is achieved by the use of choice Sherry butts and ageing.

This beautiful old still was stolen from Valdespino's old bodega in C/Ponce

Base alcohols used are as follows:

Holandas: Single or double distillation is normally carried out in a direct-fired copper pot still (alambique or alquitara) and produces the lower strength spirit known as Holandas from 40- 65%/vol (max 74%/vol), which are made from the best wine. Holandas can be produced in column stills but pot stills are better as the spirit retains more character.

A column still produces 3 types of spirit depending on the positioning of the interior plates:

Aguardiente: spirit from 74 –86%/vol., used for blending and liqueurs

Destilado: spirit between 94-95.5%/vol., used for blending and fortifying Sherry or making liqueurs

Alcoholes Rectificados: spirit at 96.5%/vol. This is used mostly for industrial purposes

It takes 4 Kilos of grapes to make 3 litres of wine which in turn make 1 litre of brandy. A total of about 95% of the grapes used are Airén and only about 5% are the Jerezano Palomino. No fewer than 100,000 hectares of vineyard are needed to produce the grapes for Brandy de Jerez (Jerez only has about 7,000 hectares which are needed for Sherry).

The quality of brandy is not necessarily a function of just age but of the original selection of wine for distillation, butts used and the proportion of holandas in the blend. So a Solera brandy cannot become a Solera Reserva simply by extended ageing.

While 95% of Spanish brandy is Brandy de Jerez, Spain does produce other notable brandies, particularly in Cataluña (eg. Torres, Mascaró), Huelva (Luis Felipe), Málaga (López Hermanos) and La Mancha (Peinado, Allozo). Jerez is the only Spanish brandy, however, to have a Consejo Regulador.

The biggest markets for Brandy de Jerez are Spain, the Philippines and Mexico

Just a few recommended Jerez Brandies:

These are all Solera Gran Reserva and not cheap so buy them in Spain!

Carlos I Solera Gran Reserva

Originally from a Domecq 1889 solera, now owned by Osborne. 100% holandas with a minimum age of 10 years in Amontillado and Oloroso butts.

Lepanto Solera Gran Reserva

GB began distilling in 1844 and Lepanto dates from 1886. It is 100% Jerez Palomino, 100% holandas and comes in 3 versions finished in Fino (Tio Pepe), Oloroso and PX butts, aged over 12 years in 15 criaderas and sold in a beautiful decanter bottle.

Barbadillo Solera Gran Reserva

100% Palomino, small batches, numbered bottles, over 20 years old, serious stuff.

Cardenal Mendoza Solera Gran Reserva, Sánchez Romate

First produced in 1877 and named after the man who convinced the Reyes Católicos to back Columbus. 100% holandas aged in Oloroso and PX butts for 15 years. Romate also make the excellent Uno en Mil single cask brandy.

Fernando de Castilla Brandy Artesano Solera Gran Reserva

This bodega was established to produce the best brandy. They make an excellent standard range but the 3 Artesanos stand out for their originality. They are single cask Amontillado, Oloroso or Oloroso Viejo one-off bottlings, always different but excellent. They also supply brandy to Equipo Navazos.

Conde de Osborne Solera Gran Reserva, Osborne

Complex brandy made from 100% holandas and aged over ten years in butts previously used for PX then put in a bottle designed by Salvador Dalí. Osborne are famous for the massive bulls visible from Spanish roads which used to advertise their Veterano brandy.

Gran Duque de Alba Solera Gran Reserva, Williams & Humbert

Named after a descendant of the Jacobites, this fine brandy was launched in 1945 (the bicentenary of the Jacobite uprising in Scotland). There are 3 versions: fine holandas are aged 10 years in 15yo Dry Sack Oloroso butts for GDA, 15 years in Don Guido butts for GDA XO and 20 years in Dos Cortados butts for GDA Oro.

Coleccion Roberto Amillo Solera Gran Reserva

Fine independent bottling of old brandy from Hidalgo La Gitana presented in a beautiful 50cl bottle.

Less expensive but good are:

Osborne Magno Solera Reserva, González Byass Insuperable Solera Reserva

And out of interest:

Ximénez Spínola make a wonderful brandy Diez Mil Botellas and a liqueur called Liqvor de Brandy both from PX