16.11.16 Manzanilla Rebels Claim their Survival is at Stake

In a press conference in Sanlúcar yesterday the Professional Association of Artisan Bodegas expressed their profound discontent with the judicial ruling banning BIB in the pouring trade. They say it is a measure ”imposed by Fedejerez through its executive arm, the Consejo Regulador”. According to the Association the BIB is the quality alternative to the outdated re-useable garrafa, and satisfies the bulk wine needs of the catering trade. “It is not trying to replace the bottle but to complement it, especially for bulk, and in no way harms the image of the DO wines. In fact the big bodegas of Jerez, members of Fedejerez, use BIB for some of their other wines, including direct sale to the public.”

The press conference (foto:CCruz/andaluciainformacion)

“We are not talking about image but rather of market share. This the real root of the problem” they say, and they have not ruled out the possibility of consulting the Spanish competition tribunal. “It is a question of survival”. In the judgement of the Association Fedejerez “is trying to impose its own rules of commerce through its effective control of the Consejo” despite “having no representation of the Manzanilla bodegas with a head office in Sanlúcar.” They went on to criticise the fact that the DO Manzanilla is represented by only one bodega of the twenty members which make up the Consejo. The Association wants parity of representation between bodegas in Jerez and Sanlúcar, and went on to say that they are not yet intending to create their own separate Consejo, but they are studying the idea, given the “undesirable” situation, and the town council of Sanlúcar is prepared to collaborate with a viability study.

Bodegas: De Goñi

Damián de Goñi y Fernández, whose family originated in Navarra, was born in Cádiz in 1813, son of Damián de Goñi y Plou and María Jesus Fernández Rendón. His parents had made money in the Spanish colonies in South America, but which were gradually gaining independence. Those returning were nicknamed “Indianos” and usually very rich, and Damian de Goñi was one of them. He became a general merchant and like so many saw wine as more profitable.

When he was only two years old, the family moved from Cádiz to Jerez to start up a wine business from their home in what is now Calle Manuel María González. The house was on the first floor and the ground floor was the bodega, office and general store. His parents owned two vineyards in the Cerro del Pelayo. Young Damián began his career with a brief stint in diplomacy as Portuguese Vice Consul, but began work in the family bodega in 1832, and took it over in 1834, aged only 21, after the sudden death of his father.

(Foto:La Imagen del Vino de Jerez)

It was a good time to start. In 1825 English excise duty had been reduced and sales quadrupled. The Gremio de la Vinatera was abolished in 1834 offering a new found freedom for merchants dealing in wine. Damián had other interests including a flour mill jointly owned with Pedro Domecq and John David Gordon. In 1834 he joined forces with Feuerheerd & Co, a mercantile company established in 1815 by the Oporto born German Dietrich Matthias Feuerheerd, which later specialised in Port. Together they traded as De Goñi Feuerheerd & Co.

Like his father, Damián de Goñi died young, in 1839, and his uncle Justo de Goñi y Plou took over from him. The firm continued successfully throughout the rest of the century, exporting 1001 butts in 1856. De Goñi Feuerheerd opened a branch in London in 1860 jointly with their English agent Frank Wearne (whose daughter Edith was one of the survivors of the Titanic disaster), naming it Feuerheerd Wearne & Co Ltd, 4 New London St, London. The 1880s saw a new generation of the Feuerheerd family taking an increasing interest in Port.

(foto:La Imagen del Vino de Jerez)

The XX century brought change and some of the de Goñi bodegas were sold off in 1900. By 1911 De Goñi Feuerheerd & Co had their own branch in London at 47 Mark Lane, but it didn’t last long. Barros Almeida bought out Feuerheerd in 1926 and later merged it with another subsidiary, Hutcheson, and the de Goñi Sherry interests were bought by González Byass in 1927.

Manzanilla La Montería 15%, Bodegas Yuste

Appearance

Bright, fairly pale lemony strawy gold, light legs.

Nose

Quite attractive with distinct yeasty saline notes balanced with floral ones like camomile. There is still a trace of fruit which is slightly outweighed by seaside aromas, but it all comes together nicely.

Palate

Not short of flavour for its age, there are various touches of yeast, bitter almond and salinity which lasts for ages and offers a hint of floral complexity and an attractive zippy freshness (bottled April 2016). Good value for money.

Comments

This might be the youngest Manzanilla in the Yuste range at around 4 years old and behind Aurora and La Kika, but it has character. The name "Monteria" means "hunting" and it is just possible that the wine might originate from a solera of the same name which used to belong to the now lost bodega Manuel Garcia Monge, who latterly occupied the bodega now used by La Guita in Calle Misericordia. It used to be sold as a Manzanilla Pasada, but this wine is obviously younger, so maybe Yuste simply owns the brand name. Certainly the labels are completely different. I'll be looking into it. My bottle had a screw cap unlike the stopper cork illustrated, not that it matters.

Price
About 6 euros from Licores Corredera

13.11.16 Consejo Worries about Trump Victory

While there is naturally worry and uncertainty after Donald Trump’s election victory, the Consejo sees no particular reason for it to affect sales of Sherry in the US, which have been growing steadily. The US is a wine market with great potential being the largest in the world, but what does worry the Consejo is Trump’s protectionist attitude to foreign trade and in particular to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations, which have involved a great deal of work and which may be cancelled.

Included in these negotiations is the protection of many European denominations of origin such as Sherry, which have been falsely used in the US for domestic products for over a century. There was no absolute guarantee that such protection would have come about through TTIP, but it is felt that a window of opportunity might well now close.

12.11.16 New Label for Consejo Generic Sherry

The winners of the competition for a new generic label design for Sherries have been announced. They are Bibiana Domecq and Blanca del Rio, two young designers at the agency +B in Madrid, who both have personal links to Jerez. The Consejo organised the competition back in June and though the results were decided in August, it was decided to delay the announcement of the winners till International Sherry Week.

The new design (foto:noticiasandalucia)

The competition attracted 200 entries from 35 countries and many were fresh and groundbreaking. The new design unites tradition and modernity and enhances each different Sherry’s identity with the use of the classic chalk barrel markings screen printed on the bottle shoulder. The generic Sherries are used by the Consejo for promotional purposes and are supplied by various bodegas as typical examples of the various styles of wine. The Consejo label ensures impartiality. 

11.11.16 Consejo & Fedejerez Reject Independent Sanlúcar Consejo

Yesterday’s news that the Association of Artisan Bodegas had asked the town council of Sanlúcar to conduct a viability study on an independent Consejo was not well received in Jerez. Both the Consejo and Fedejerez emphatically rejected the idea and stressed that the Artisan bodegas are only a minority representing 25% of Manzanilla and 5% of Sherry overall, and that neither they nor the town council have the authority to set up a new Consejo.

(foto:pascual/diariojerez)

They continued that any secession would need the agreement of all the bodegas and growers of Sanlúcar and the process would have to go through official channels, not the town council. Fedejerez president, Evaristo Babé suggested that the three Artisan bodegas should leave the DO if they didn’t agree with its rules. He said that this BIB saga was unfortunate and prejudicial to Sherry’s reputation, and if it continues like this there is the possibility of expulsion from the DO. He said that the rebels should be better informed before they announce legally unviable plans and pay attention to the harm they are doing to the DO.

10.11.16 Manzanilla Rebels Want Separate Consejo Regulador

The Professional Association of Artisan Bodegas of Sanlúcar is threatening a breakaway Consejo Regulador based in Sanlúcar, and it has the support of the town council. The reaction to the recent High Court of Andalucía ruling on BIB has taken a few days to come, but after a meeting yesterday with the town’s mayor, Victor Mora, the council released a communiqué saying that the Association had requested a viability study on the establishment of an independent Consejo Regulador based in Sanlúcar. It feels that the interests of Manzanilla would be best served this way, and not by a Consejo run predominantly by Jerez bodegas which cannot produce Manzanilla.

Yesterday's meeting in sanlucar (foto:andaluciainformacion)

This would imply a complete break with the Consejo in Jerez which has always governed the two DOs of Jerez-Xeres-Sherry and Manzanilla de Sanlúcar since the latter was given DO status in 1965. However the Association does not represent all the bodegas, and the three which between them sell the lion’s share of Manzanilla: Barbadillo, Delgado Zuleta and La Guita, are not members, though La Guita is not counted as it is owned by Jerez based Estévez. A spokesman for the Association says that although they have not yet been in contact with the big bodegas, they are not ruling out their interest.