18.11.17 Fantastic Sherry Week Results

In only its 4th year, International Sherry Week has grown from some 200 worldwide events to over 2,500 in over 30 countries in 5 continents. Furthermore it received over 50 million hits on the social networks, especially on Twitter – where it became the trending topic for an hour - Facebook and Instagram. As Consejo Regulador director César Saldaña put it, “it is about sharing a passion”, and the social media are perfectly suited to this, especially among the younger generation, the very people Sherry would like to attract. The wine’s sheer versatility with food helped as well, with many of the events focusing on matching.

Sherry Week has the added attraction of almost running itself, needing only a degree of central coordination, and this level of promotion would cost a fortune through normal channels. Events fell into three main types; those centred on gastronomy (65%), tastings and promotions in shops (23%) and cocktail events – an ever growing category – (17%). Of the 30 participating countries Spain, now Sherry’s largest market, held the most events, numbering about 1,000, a 15% increase on last year. So has Sherry Week increased sales? It is too early to say, but it is certainly laying the foundations for steady growth by increasing awareness and enjoyment amongst the target audience. Roll on next year!

International Sherry Week - Win a Place on the Sherry Educator Course

The IV edition of International Sherry Week is only five weeks away (November 6-12) so it is time to start organising your event. This year it will be bigger than ever and there is an added incentive to join the fun. Two places on the Sherry Educator course are being offered as a prize for the best Sherry and food match. It is well known that Sherry can match any dish, but there are some wonderful combinations still to be discovered. So here is a chance to not only experiment, but to have a wonderful time with your friends, and possibly win a trip to Jerez. The course consists of three days of intensive tutorials, tastings, bodega and vineyard visits and masterclasses which give a real understanding of our favourite wine. Details can be found at: http://www.sherry.wine/sherryweek 

15.8.17 International Sherry Week 2017

International Sherry Week 2017 will run from the 6th – 12th November, and is now in its IV edition.  It gets bigger every year as more people discover that Sherry is such a versatile wine that it is ideal for any kind of event and really brings people together. Now is the time to start organising your event and http://www.sherry.wine/sherryweek will give it free promotion. It could be any sort of event; a tasting at home or at a venue, online perhaps; a food and Sherry matching session; Sherry cocktails; in-store tastings at wine shops; comparative tastings - blind tastings even, it only matters that you enjoy some Sherry with your friends - and that’s not hard to do! Salud!

2.2.17 Consejo to Ask Brussels About Unfortified Sherry; Sherry Week 2017

At a plenary meeting of the Consejo Regulador on Tuesday it was agreed to seek from Brussels an exception to the rules of the Denominación de Origen for the production of unfortified Sherry. Such an exception would cover Fino and Manzanilla but the Consejo is not ruling out an exception for Amontillado as well. The other styles of wine would continue to need to be fortified in order to remove the flor and thus propitiate oxidative ageing.

Luis perez with his son Guillermo, serious winemakers (foto:cosasdecome)

EU regulations have it that in order to be considered “vino generoso” Finos and Manzanillas need to be fortified (or contain a certain level of sugar, which is obviously undesirable). However experiments carried out at Bodegas Luís Pérez have demonstrated that it is quite possible to reach the required 15% alcohol naturally, without fortification, and so they suggested a change to the rules which was supported by Fedejerez.

To reach 15% naturally the producer runs certain risks as it would require over-ripening of the grapes by delaying the harvest and /or some sun drying, both of which expose the grapes to greater risk of adverse weather conditions and, of course, reduce the yield.

The dates for the 2017 edition of International Sherry Week have been announced, so it’s time to put them in your diary: 6^th – 12^th November. That gives you nine months to organise some spectacular events. Sherry Week is now a truly global event and a wonderful way to get together with friends, family and food, all with the fabulous link: Sherry.