Will Sherry Get a DOC?

The news that Jose Ramon Estevez thinks Sherry should be a DOC wine is a hugely interesting and very attractive idea. But there would be far-reaching implications, which he is obviously aware of.

Spain, like Italy, has a higher tier of quality than the standard Denominacion de Origen (DO): Denominacion de Origen Calificada (DOC). Only two Spanish wine regions currently have a DOC: Rioja and Priorato. There is certainly a good argument to be made for more, and Sherry would be an excellent candidate.

The regulations for DOC are tighter, however, and certain perfectly legal practices in Jerez would need to be changed. As things stand, fortification alcohol nearly all comes from huge distilleries in Tomelloso (La Mancha), and is made from the local Airen grape. Presumably the spirit would need to come from Jerez for a DOC wine. Grape concentrates and Pedro Ximenez also often come from outside the region. To make these changes would inevitably incur large increases in cost, but it would create jobs locally.

Jose Ramon Estevez (Foto Diario Jerez)

Currently, 46% of the vineyards belong to grower cooperatives, and Estevez feels there are too many coops with too much capacity, and they depend all too easily on selling grapes or must to bodegas and on government grants. They should take more pride in their vines and produce better grapes and musts in lower volumes, and more precisely what is required by the bodegas and charge accordingly.

The bodegas too, would have to change their ways. Instead of pleading low margins for their lack of promotion, they should be increasing those margins. It doesn't matter how good your wine is: if people don't know about it , they won't buy it. The trade has to get off its proverbial and get cracking, especially now, when the whole world is looking on at this European City of Wine. Jerez should be dictating its price, not its customers.

There is another DO in the Spanish system which is one for a single vineyard: Vino de Pago. There are quite a few of these, where the quality of the wine from a single vineyard is deemed outstanding. Jerez has plenty of pagos, albeit rather large, such as Macharnudo, but within that is Inocente, a single vineyard which produces the excellent Fino of that name. Another example would be Pastrana in the Pago Miraflores. These vineyards would need to be certified, however, and that would take time, but a DO Vino de Pago could surely never harm sales.

So will Sherry get a DOC? Only if everyone gets together and sees past institutional interests towards a glorious future. It is good to know that at least one bodeguero can.

8.6.14 GB Opens Archives; Valdivia Still For Sale; Sherry Should be DOC

Gonzalez Byass is opening up some of its archives in recognition of International Archive Day. On Monday the public will be able to see some of the company’s historic records in two sessions, the first at 11.00 and the second at 13.00. These records show a fundamental part of the social and economic history of Jerez as well as the family and business legacy of the firm’s founder, Manuel Maria Gonzalez Angel.

Bodegas Valdivia (Foto Diario Jerez)

No buyers have yet been found for Bodegas Valdivia. If times were less difficult it would make an attractive proposition. It is a pristine bodega attached to a beautiful old hotel, the Villa del Duque. The sale includes furniture and cars, the bottling plant, the brands, the vineyards, website, and the wine, which is being looked after elsewhere. It has all been divided into lots to try and facilitate a sale. The liquidators are hoping to raise 16.5 million, but are far from optimistic.

Jose Ramon Estevez (Foto Diario Jerez)

Sherry should have a Denominacion de Origen CALIFICADA, according to Jose Ramon Estevez, the president of Grupo Estevez. His is one of the leading firms in the area with turnover of 103 million Euros, 800 hectares of vineyard and sales of 30 million bottles annually.

In an analysis prepared for a forum sponsored by the Banco Popular and publisher Grupo Joly, and in the presence of other bodegueros, growers and cooperative members, he suggested this as a way to create employment, wealth and increased prestige for Sherry.

He used the model of the French growers who are prepared to sacrifice quantity for quality and many of whose vineyards are classified. The Sherry growers should be proud to be so.

Many changes would have to be made: everything that goes into a bottle of Sherry would have to come from Jerez like the fortification spirit, for example. A change of mentality from the growers is needed, and from the bodegas too. Sherry should be repositioned as a unique wine of top quality, rather than an everyday drink. Much more investment is needed in promotion, and margins would need to be increased to cover that. (See Opinion)