This interesting article
by Á Espejo appeared in the Diario de Jerez yesterday:
He innovated with the clear glass bottle and
the labelling of his wines. He refused to make the most popular styles: Medium
and Pale Cream, and chose to stick to the classics – Fino, Amontillado, Palo
Cortado, Oloroso and PX, the wines which had earned Sherry its worldwide fame.
Yet this Norwegian is no dreamer, he has his feet firmly on the ground,
refusing to sell his wine too cheaply – his cheapest is 13 euros – if only
others would do the same.
He is so Jerezano that one might think Jan
Pettersen was born in Norway by accident: Sherry runs through his veins and he promotes
it like the best Jerezano. At his bodega in the Calle Jardinillo he gives daily
lessons on how to manage a wine and brandy bodega without ruining oneself in
the process . He is quite clear about it “you can’t make a quality wine for 6
euros”.
 |
| Jan at his bodega (foto:diariodejerez) |
So how did he end up in Jerez? Pettersen was
“recruited” back in 1983 by Osborne for their international division while he
was studying for a degree in business management in Barcelona. Seven years with
Osborne was enough to steep him in the culture of Jerez and decide to join it.
The opportunity arose to buy the bodega, wines and brands of Fernando Andrada
to which he later added the adjacent bodegas of José Bustamante. By 2002 the
bodegas, which had been in a ruinous state, had been restored.
The Andrade bodega specialised in brandy, a
lighter, drier style than the norm and highly regarded. As with the wines,
Petterson’s watchword from the start was maximum quality in the brandy,
marketed as Fernando de Castilla and at much higher prices than other brands of
this much devalued drink. With the wine he refused to get involved in the
scramble for high volume and low prices of the “wines for grannies” which were
the best sellers but in decline. He did the same with the brandy, sticking only
to the high quality Solera Reserva and Solera Gran Reserva styles and eschewing
the basic Solera which was causing so many headaches for the Consejo Regulador
as some bodegas had decided to remove their Solera brandies from the DO and
sell them cheaply as “spirit drinks” containing very little alcohol derived from wine.
Pettersen takes a different route. Quality
costs money and that in turn brings profitability. This rule is strictly applied
at Fernando de Castilla and has turned the company around. In the Andrada days
it had a fine but local reputation, but now its products are available in some
50 markets worldwide. “There is no possible profit in the prices many bodegas
are selling their wines for. Sherry must be sold at its proper price which is
much higher than it is now,” he says. He shares the new movement which focuses
on the value of the vineyard. “Before, the price of grapes varied according to
quality, but that has been lost. Many bodegas are looking in the other direction
now, above all the small ones, who are leading the way with more sensible
prices, which are necessary because of their small production.”
His philosophy has brought him much
recognition. He is very proud to have won the Best Spirit of the Year for his
Solera Reserva brandy from the Verema forum. He confesses to being a Sherry
romantic and notes that rather than lead the way many big bodegas have simply
diversified into other products. Now the small bodegas are leading the way,
there are more brands on the market and there is more cooperation between the
bodegas to take advantage of the renewed interest in Sherry.
