Fino 15% Pedro's Almacenista Selection

Appearance
Pale, quite golden straw, legs.
Nose
Interesting; lots of flor and olive, traces of oxidation, bitter and quite full, hints of oxidised apple, palomino fruit, a slight whiff of cinnamon. More complex than it seems at first, a strong flor effect though no autolysis, but really quite bitter - and appetising - needs olives!
Palate
Fairly low acidity is compensated for by bitterness, yet well rounded with a little weight, lots of very bitter almond and traces of salinity, apple, yeast, very long.
Comments
A really stylish Fino, but only available from Majestic. The range is only minimally filtered, so all the flavour is retained. This Fino is sourced from the Almacenista Garcia Jarana and contract bottled by Sanchez Romate. The label is a reproduction of the poster for the Fiesta de la Vendimia in Jerez from 1967. For more background to the range, see the notes on the Palo Cortado.
Price 
£8.99, and extremely good value.

8.11.13 Gymcata Jerez

"You can smell that lovely aroma from the street!"

The I “Gymcata Denominacion de Origen Jerez” has been a great success. The 13 teams of contestants had to pass tests such as blind tastings and differentiating different types of vinegar, going round tabancos and bodegas.

A member of one team, the “Turismologos”, a UCA student, said that she had begun to get to know Jerez itself, rather than just the route from the station to college. “It is really interesting”.

The event, organised by the University of Cadiz (UCA) and the Campus of Agro-alimentary Excellence, and supported by the City Council, The Consejo Regulador, Tabancora (the Tabanco association) and the Association of Oenologists of Andalucia, was timed to coincide with the V European Day of Wine Tourism. Another student, of oenology, said it was great fun. They had visited Gonzalez Byass and the tabanco El Pasaje. “The professors have been encouraging us, and “we’ve arrived in a very good place”.

In El Pasaje they had a really sweet test. Manuel Sanchez, one of those in charge of the test, and who is finishing his doctoral thesis on research into making sweets from Sherry, brought various samples of truffles to see if the contestants could tell which type of Sherry they had been made with.

Another team, “Los Viñeros”, were the winners after they completed all the tests in the least time. The team’s spokesperson pointed out that the event is the perfect way to promote not only Sherry itself, but to get the locals to realise what a treasure of a wine they have. Speaking from the door of the tabanco Las Banderillas, Domi Guillen also said that people would get to know better the tabancos of Jerez, which are delightful. “My test was to differentiate between Palo Cortado, Oloroso, Amontillado and Fino”.

Most of the teams were students, mostly Spanish, but from as far afield as Colombia and Portugal, and they were all delighted to discover how good Sherry and other local products are, not to mention the place and its history.

Tomorrow is also full of activities. Many bodegas have doors open days, some with violin concerts or equestrian shows, visits to vineyards, art exhibitions. There will also take place the first of the “Sherry Cooking Classes”, while the Consejo is organising a tasting for the visually impaired in collaboration with the City council and the ONCE (the Spanish National Organisation for the Blind). There will also be a tutored Sherry and food marriage tasting with a reading of poetry. Then there will be a timed rally starting in the Plaza Arenal.

Oh! How I wish I were in Jerez right now!!!

7.11.13 Sherry Takes Off in US; City Centre Improvement Conference

At last Sherry is beginning to see the fruits of its labours in the American market. The Consejo had decided to dedicate most of its promotion budget to the Anglo-Saxon world and most of that to the US, where events such as Sherryfest have helped sales to increase dramatically. The last few years have seen considerable promotional investment, totalling more than this year’s entire budget, which is a meagre 650,000 euros, due to the financial crisis.

Sales have grown by 12% and over a million litres of Sherry sold. Sherry is now to be found in shops, bars and restaurants as a result of the interest stimulated by Sherryfest in New York. The final coup de grace was the Grand Tasting which took place at the Astor Centre, with the participation of 25 bodegas and attended by 600 people, mostly trade or specialist press.  As Cesar Saldaña, director of the Consejo put it, “the idea was to make a noise, and we certainly did”. Tastings were held in 60 wine shops, restaurants promoted  menus married with Sherry and Beltran Domecq presented the translation of his book as well as lectures on Sherry.

A tasting at Sherryfest New York

The promotion is aimed less at the masses and more at the elite who have a better understanding of the complexities of Sherry. This year there was also a Sherryfest in Canada, and a welcome change in the law banning false “Sherries”. Although smaller, the Canadan event was equally successful and wound up with Sherry and food marriage dinners and a Sherry Cocktail competition.

A conference is taking place today in Jerez about what to do to stop the deterioration of the city’s historic centre. It is organised by the City Council and the official College of Architects of Cadiz. Ramon Gonzalez de la Peña architects are proposing a wider pedestrianisation scheme. They are also worried about what will happen to disused bodega buildings. Some have been successfully converted such as Valdespino in the Calle Ponce to the Official Language School, but others are in danger of collapse or tasteless supermarket conversions. It is to be hoped, however that the Sherry business can recuperate sufficiently to use these buildings again as they are ideal for that purpose, and not ideal for most other purposes.

There is pressure for housing, and so the centre must look better. Many residents left the centre in the 1960’s and many properties are now empty. Tradition must be respected but within the parameters of modern life. Another concern is the Ciudad del Flamenco, a project which has completely stalled. There is a great deal to be discussed  on the regeneration of a great city with such deep roots in wine and flamenco.

Bodegas: J Ferris

Bodegas J Ferris was established as recently as 1975 by industrialist Jesus Ferris Marhuenda and his wife Candida Ruiz, who already owned extensive vineyards. At the time, the Sherry business seemed everlasting, but Ferris has managed to survive by winning decent sales in the export market, albeit on a fairly small scale.

The bodega is of the "chateau type", on a low hill with the vineyards surrounding it, and is constructed in the traditional style but with modern facilities. It is located a little outside Sanlucar de Barrameda, to the south, with its vineyards in the Pago Miraflores. There is space for a press house, vinification plant with temperature controlled steel tanks, 10,000 butts of maturing wine, as well as stabilisation plant and bottling lines.

They make quite a variety of products as follows:

Manzanilla: La Piconera, La Liebre
Tres Candidas Range: Fino, Oloroso, Amontillado, Cream
J Ferris M Range: Moscatel, Pedro Ximenez
Red Wines: Senorio J Ferris Tinto and the quite rare Tintilla de Rota
Also Three Brandies and a Ponche

They also market a Piconera range under the name Bodegas Las Urtas, principally to Holland and Germany where the PX solera 1941 is popular.

Address: Ctra El Puerto de Santa Maria - Sanlucar de Barrameda, Km 13.6, 11540 Sanlucar
Telephone: (+34) 956 235 100 or (+34) 956 363 400
Website: www.bodegasferris.com
Visits? Not really, but might be persuaded...

6.11.13 Cadiz May Disappear

Most of the province of Cadiz will disappear beneath the waves as a result of global warming, according to a study by National Geographic. The magazine has created an interactive map which shows this situation after the polar ice caps have melted, raising sea levels by 300 metres. And it will not just be Cadiz, home to our favourite wine. Much of the Spanish coastline of today will be changed. And it will not just be Spain. Cities like London and Venice will disappear, along with the Low Countries. Across the Atlantic, most of San Francisco and New York will be lost. In Africa, Cairo and Alexandria will disappear, and temperatures will rise dramatically. Losses will be similarly catastrophic in Oceania and Australia. The only good piece of news from National Geographic is that these cataclysmic events will take about 5,000 years to happen.

Massive coastal changes promised by global warming

5.11.13 GastroCadiz; Cycle Round Bodegas and Vineyads

The first ever “GastroCadiz”took place yesterday, an event celebrating the cuisine of the province of Cadiz, and it took place at Bodegas Delgado Zuleta in Sanlucar. The well-known TV chef Dani Martinez and Bodegas Delgado Zuleta are the main promoters of the initiative which is also supported by the Consejo Regulador, whose director, Cesar Saldaña, had the job of marrying fine Sherries to the food prepared by various leading chefs.

Cadiz is blessed with great seafood, agriculture and meat, not to mention great wines, putting the province firmly on the gastronomic map. The chefs came up with some amazing dishes using only local produce, and Cesar Saldaña married it all perfectly with Sherry. This sort of initiative is surely an excellent way forward for both food and wine exports.

Another event for the European Wine Tourism day is the V Jerez Wine Tourism Cycling Route. For 5 Euros, one can sign up and start at Bodegas Lustau, where a tour is organised, and cycle out to the countryside where a meal and some Sherry awaits the weary pedallers at the Cortijo de Ducha, courtesy of the Consejo. Entries are open until Sunday, and already at least 50 have been received. It is a great family day out for little expense.

Palo Cortado 20%, Pedro's Almacenista Selection

Appearance
Light amber through gold and yellow to vanishing point, legs.
Nose
Quite fragrant with lots of lightly toasted hazelnuts and almonds, a hint of toasted bread, marzipan, faint traces of a Fino past with hints of autolised yeast, a certain implied sweetness, in fact quite Amontillado, fairly crisp but with an earthy hint of walnut at the end.
Palate
Quite light in style, all the charm of an Amontillado, fresh, tangy and lively with a lightness of touch. Not short of flavour, all those toasted nuts, then a slightly looser, more oloroso feel and slight traces of truffle, walnut. really more Amontillado than Oloroso, but exactly where do you draw the line?
Comments
This is a very decent wine from a range of four (Fino, Amontillado, Palo Cortado, Oloroso) specially put together for Majestic wine warehouses. It was sourced by "Pedro" who in reality is Peter Dauthieu of a company called Viniberia which sources Spanish wines for UK importer Ehrmanns. The wine comes from the bodega and almacenista Cayetano del Pino in Jerez, and was contract bottled by Sanchez Romate with minimal filtration. The labels on this range are really colourful and different, and feature old Jerez harvest festival posters, in this case, 1951. The wines are good, genuine, interesting and well priced, and my congratulations go to all concerned on a good job well done. This is the sort of project which will really help to boost Sherry sales.
Price
£14.99 only from Majestic