25.10.15 Gold Medal for Canasta Cream

Williams & Humbert Canasta Cream has won a gold medal at the 35th San Francisco International Wine Competition which is the largest and most influential in the US. Nearly 5,000 wines from 26 countries were tasted blind by a team of renowned professionals, so this is quite an achievement.

22.3.15 Williams & Humbert Completes its Sound Track

In the 1970s the famous Jerez flamenco singer Fernando de la Morena created a signature song for the bodega's Fino Pando accompanied by Moraito Chico on the guitar. Forty years later Williams & Humbert has made this piece more complete with the voices and accompaniment of of a younger generation of singers from Jerez. Juan de la Morena, son of the original singer, along with various other artists of today participated in the new production, which is a kind of brand sound track.

The musicians and brands in action at the bodega (foto: + jerez)

Not only that, but the bodega has gone a step further putting music to some of their other brands: Gran Duque de Alba brandy, Crema de Alba, Gin Botanic, Dos Maderas rum, Manzanilla Alegria and Canasta Cream. Eduardo Medina Garcia de Polavieja, the bodega's national marketing director commented: "These artists really knew how to transmit the essence of our brands in each of the songs, from the elegance of Crema de Alba to the carribean/jerezano character of our rum. We believe that a good way to enjoy a drink is with good music, and that is what we wanted to offer our consumers." All the songs have been recorded onto a CD which will enhance to perfection the enjoyment of each one of the Williams & Humbert brands.

Canasta 19.5%, Williams & Humbert

Appearance
Fairly deep burnt umber brown through to amber at rim, legs.
Nose
Big soft and forthcoming, notes of carob, nuts, pasa, walnuts in syrup, vanilla smooth and attractive with plenty of Oloroso and PX notes.
Palate
Rich and smooth, fairly fruity raisin notes, quite young so no woody notes, just nicely textured clean and well rounded without any cloying and a trace of brown sugar at the finish. A very good Cream.
Comments
Grapes come from the pagos Balbaina and Carrascal vineyards, and after fermentation the young PX and Oloroso wines are blended and aged together for at least six years through the solera to marry them as harmoniously as possible. The result is a smooth, well integrated wine of about 132 g/l sugar which is known as an Oloroso Dulce (though this term is no longer permitted) or Cream. This is a classic well made Cream Sherry. Canasta is a play on words: it is a card game which would be most enjoyable with a glass of this, or it is a basket for collecting the harvested grapes.
Price
About £12-13 and reasonably widely available. UK agents: Ehrmanns

25.11.13 Tio Pepe Sign; New Look for Canasta Cream

It seems that the Tio Pepe illuminated sign will not now be in its new position in the Puerta del Sol, no. 11 in time for Christmas. It is currently in a warehouse in the Poligono Azque in Alcala de Henares on the outskirts of Madrid, where serious restoration work is being undertaken. According to Gonzalez Byass, it will be mounted in its new position “in a few months”. It was put in the square originally in 1937 after GB had applied to Madrid Council to erect it to celebrate the bodega’s centenary in 1935. The fee for the licence was 796 pesetas! Every component of the sign is being restored with the minutest care with modern finishing techniques.

Williams & Humbert’s Canasta Cream Sherry, the best-selling sweet Oloroso in Spain, has had a facelift. The new design is not so different from the original, but has a slightly more modern feel, both in the label, and the shape of the bottle. According to Eduardo Medina, marketing director of W&H, “the presentation has changed very little in recent years, and we saw a need to update it, with a contemporary and vibrant design which would still be faithful to the brand’s roots and which could still be identifiable to our customers. The new design will be available in Spain by the end of the month.

New bottle is on the left