What has happened to Sherry?!!

It was once drunk by everybody, now it is all but a niche wine. It seems very strange that one of the world's finest wines is drunk by so few people, especially when one takes into account its extraordinary value for money. The usual reasons appear to be that it is old fashioned, and drunk by grandmothers because it is nice and sweet. Some people don't even know it is a wine! Sherry has a real mountain to climb to regain sales and consumer confidence. That is not to say that a lot of Sherry isn't drunk here, but it could be much, much more - and much better. Current sales are poor compared to, say, the 1970s.

With any product, marketing is essential, along with promotion, or consumers will know nothing of it. One only has to look at the Scotch Whisky industry to get some idea of how to promote an "old fashioned" drink - and their success in recent times. There are whisky ambassadors worldwide; constant new "expression" releases; limited editions; releases of rare bottlings; single cask expressions to encourage collectors; whisky societies; whisky magazines; whisky blogs........ There is a dynamism there which is infectious. The Scotch Whisky Association is constantly in court somewhere to protect the integrity of whisky. It is paid for by a levy on its members - the majority of the trade. Not unlike the Consejo Regulador of Jerez.

All is not doom and gloom, however; many bodegas are doing their own marketing and innovating. A while ago Lustau introduced the "Almacenista " range. More recently Hidalgo La Gitana, Barbadillo and Gonzalez Byass have introduced the lovely Manzanillas and Finos "En Rama", and the latter also a range of "Palmas". Equipo Navazos offer a wonderful range of single barrel Sherries, and a sort of Fino-style table wine made by Dirk Niepoort of Port fame. Some progress has been made in establishing PX as a dessert wine or one for pouring onto desserts, but this all amounts to very little compared to whisky.

Hopefully the recent wave of new Sherry bars in London (Pepito's et al), New York (Tertulia), Tokyo (Sherry Club), and Chicago (Vera Bar) will help, and they should be encouraged by the Consejo. We should  remember, however, that only about 4% (in cash terms) of fortified wine sold in Britain is sold by the pouring trade, so they really need promotional help.

I realise the Consejo is short of a president at the moment, but surely a lot more could - and should -be done to really get Sherry going again. Britain has caught on to Tapas, so let's promote Sherry - the ideal Tapa wine - with them. It has already happened a bit in London, but needs to be nationwide. What about ambassadors? There are the Sherry Educators, could they be increased in number and work with restaurants, bars and wine merchants offering promotional and educational help?

The Media need to be exploited - the press, celebrities, Facebook, Twitter, bloggers - with an educational campaign to dispel the myths that Sherry is old fashioned and all sweet. What about a Sherry movie? It worked for table wine and whisky. Could the tourist agencies in Spain offer Sherry-themed holidays? There is already a Ruta Turistica de Bodegas.

So come on, Consejo and Bodegas, such a good wine at such a good price can't be too hard to promote!