This bodega was established in Jerez in 1834 by
Francisco de Goytia, who came from the Basque country, and like many montañeses
had made his money in South America. He began as an almacenista carefully building
his stocks till in 1855 he was recorded as owning 177 butts. By the late 1870s
those stocks had increased dramatically. He must have been doing well as in
1861 he paid for marble flooring for the parish church of San Miguel.
The main bodegas were in the Calle Arcos 44 with
workshops, offices and gardens. There were also six warehouses in the
Picadueñas area on the city outskirts, full of the produce of their vineyards
in the Pago Balbaina. On the death of their father, his sons took the reins of
the firm, renaming it Goytia Hermanos, and in 1885 they began to export and
thus became known outside bodega circles, especially abroad. Many almacenistas
did this around that time as they felt that some exporters were selling poor
quality wines and harming Sherry’s reputation.
They were particularly proud of their Palma and
Cortado soleras, both dating from 1840 and much admired in Jerez. In fact they
were suppliers of Sherry to the Royal Household, and winners of medals for quality. To give their wines further gravitas they insisted that they be analysed officially in all markets to which
they exported, and a certificate of their authenticity and thus quality be
issued. Every wine passed with flying colours. No more is heard of the firm
after 1912, when it must have been taken over by another firm keen to get its
hands on those fine soleras.
Among their best known wines were: Palma Goytia, Cortado Goytia and their more
commercial brands were Quijote, Figaro, Néctar and Amontillado Goytia.
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