Pedro Nolasco González Soto: Sherry’s Best Ambassador in India and Russia

Pedro Nolasco was the son of Manuel María González Ángel, founder of González Byass. In this family nothing happened by chance, much less the trajectory of a family blessed with the intellectual qualities to spark such exemplary commercial growth in each successive generation.

The father of Manuel María González Gordon and grandfather of Mauricio González Gordon, Pedro Nolasco was a man of singular personal characteristics, who, like his descendants, played a fundamental role in the firm while he worked there. He was born in Jerez on the 26^th September 1849 at number 30, Calle Francos, and was baptised 3 days later at the Church of San Marcos. He studied in Jerez receiving primary education from private tutors.

Pedro Nolasco with Manuel Maria in the tasting room (foto:lavozdigital)

When he reached the age of ten years, his father decided he should receive a classical education and so he was sent to Tours in France in the care of Augusto Goupy, a French Presbyterian who gave classes in philosophy, Latin, Greek as well as French, which he was able to master. He accompanied his father on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition in London in 1862 aged only 14 and was impressed by what he saw. Once in England, he was enrolled by his father at the famous Edwards College in Everton where he received an excellent education for which he received the Elocution Prize for his mastery of English after only 18 months.

From England he travelled to Germany where he stayed for a while, alternating between work and learning German. In 1866, aged 17 years he returned to Jerez to work at the family bodega. Given his linguistic skills he was put to work in the export department where he developed important business throughout Europe. He was a charming character with good conversation and good at business negotiation with his skills of persuasion. A story goes that given his love of art and antiques he was frequently contacted by antiquarians and dealers who came to offer him their wares, which he was nearly always able to purchase at the best price. If he was unable to persuade the dealer to sell at a good price, he would offer to toss for it: the dealer’s best price or his. For this he would produce a gold coin which was rumoured to have two heads.

Pedro Nolasco, Manuel Maria, Mauricio in the bodega (foto:diariodejerez)

He was an indefatigable traveller, criss-crossing Europe and visiting countries where Sherry had not yet arrived. Thanks to his language skills he had audiences with kings and princes and interacted with leading personalities and members of the European aristocracy with whom he maintained personal and business relations for years. This capacity made him the best ambassador for Sherry in countries as far away as India and Russia, and González Byass received orders for thousands of cases of wine which of course did no harm at all to the firm’s profits. Once delighted customers had placed a second order, he was quite capable of refusing it on the grounds that the soleras were exhausted, and the customers were willing to wait till the following year, placing even bigger orders and paying the new price.

Pedro was a great lover of sport and open-air activities, and it was he who introduced Polo and Tennis to Spain, constructing the necessary facilities in Jerez. He also introduced Clay Pigeon Shooting and occasionally participated enthusiastically along with King Alfonso XIII. Not only that but he was the Consul in Jerez for Norway and Sweden as well as vice-consul for Germany, Portugal and Brazil.

His house, located in what is now the Jesús María El Cuco School, was what we might call a hotel-residence since while Jerez had a prestige hotel to accommodate visiting personages, he would put them up cordially and without charge. In this house he put up people such as inventors like Marconi, writers, travellers and painters such as Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida, who painted two canvasses of the vineyards which then surrounded the house, canvasses which can now be found hanging in Madrid in the museum-house of the painter. In gratitude to Pedro for his hospitality, Sorolla later painted a picture of an Andalusian patio which now belongs to one of Pedro’s heirs.

Pedro and Maria Nicolasa (foto:lavozdigital)

He was married to María Nicolasa Gordon, a distinguished and beautiful woman descended from the Scottish Gordon family, who of course had bodegas. As father of 13 children and with frequent visitors like family, friends and colleagues, the house was always full of people, above all at mealtimes, and being a man of order, Pedro laid down a few rules, the most important of which was punctuality. If somebody arrived late they were made to put a small fine into a box before sitting down at table, and the money collected was given to charity.

He was a restless man, intellectual, full of vitality, financial and commercial skills, and who at the age of barely 20 had travelled Europe selling Sherry, and for this he was recognised in 1919 by the king who awarded him the title Marqués de Torresoto de Briviesca. He was also a gentleman of his majesty’s chamber and held the Gran Cruz (Cross) de Carlos III, Cruz de Isabel la Católica and the Gran Placa of the Cruz Roja Española among other distinctions before he died, on the 3^rd July 1946, fondly remembered.

24.3.15 Manuel María González Gordon’s Memoirs to be Published

The González Byass Foundation is to publish the memoirs of Manuel María González Gordon tomorrow under the title “Lo que diga Mimi…” (Whatever Mimi says…).  There will be a presentation by Beltrán Domecq and various family members as well as Antonio Flores at the firm’s bodega, Los Gigantes at 8.00pm.  A collection of hundreds of thousands of letters in brown ink becomes a treasure when it relates the story of a life, and it is hoped that this work will be the first of many on members of the firm or related matters.

The great man: Manuel Maria (foto: Gente y Habitantes de Jerez)

Manuel María González Gordon, Marqués de Bonanza, KBE (1886-1980) was the grandson of the founder, Manuel María González Ángel, and like him he wanted to dedicate his life to Sherry. He studied engineering in Germany as he understood that the future was mechanisation. He worked on the railway which runs the length of Chile and worked in London before returning to his beloved bodega. He played an important role in the “British Sherry” case, was active in the creation of the Consejo Regulador and many other things, such as the Jerez water supply and saving the Coto Doñana. Not only that but he wrote the classic book “Sherry” (known as the “Sherry Bible”).

He was a man who had time for everyone and everything. He had a long conversation with William Fifield (author of “Sherry Royalty”) and would visit employees who were ill. He had a wealth of anecdotes which he referred to as his “discos” (records) as he never tired of relating them. He knew all the latest dances, and the Queen, Victoria Eugenia loved to dance with him. His world had no frontiers.

Antonio Flores with members of the family (foto:Diario Jerez)

The book is illustrated with many pictures from the Foundation Archive, but since many of Manuel María’s adventures were not photographed, drawings were commissioned from the Madrid authoress, Ximena Maier. The bodega’s Capataz, Antonio Flores, said that the presentation will look at the professional and human sides to his life. “I knew him when I was a child, and I was 25 when he passed away. My father, Miguel Flores, worked at the bodega from the age of 14 and had a house there, so I was born in the bodega and have always worked here. I have always been made to feel like a member of the family. Manuel María was never distant, a delightful man who could talk with anyone. He always considered others and would try never to upset people, he was very diplomatic”. In fact he was nicknamed “Vaselina” for that reason.

The invitation (foto: tubal.blogspot)

A very well brought-up and educated man, he loved women and knew many. He would talk about the 32 who said “no” and the one who said “yes”. She was “Mimi”, Emilia Díez Gutiérrez, his beloved wife. The title of the book is taken from a sentence in his “discos”: “Whatever Mimi says..”. Manuel’s eyesight was not good so he compensated by working hard to develop his senses of smell, hearing and taste, not to mention studying. He wanted to get the most out of life, and spoke various languages, though sometimes, at meetings, he would employ the tactic of using an interpreter to give him more time to think of an answer. He did this, for example at the “British Sherry” hearing.

The presentation tomorrow is a fantastic excuse to talk about a man who was brilliant in every sense, and although there are few younger people who can remember him, he is still fondly remembered by the oldergeneration. He was an adventurer who revelled in life, with a frenetic youth and a pace which lasted throughout his life. He wouldn’t have thought twice about jumping onto Concorde, flying to New York, having a glass of Tio Pepe and flying back again, but it was just as well that Mimi kept him under some sort of control. He was from a family unified by Sherry, the wine which unifies Jerez, a city which is also plays a part in the memoirs in this book.

The "Pope of Sherry"

Now that the Church has a new Pope, it might be fitting to discuss the Pope of Sherry. His name was Manuel Maria Gonzalez Gordon. Any Sherry aficionado should be familiar with his name, as he wrote one of the greatest books on the subject:  Jerez-Xeres-Scheris (In Spanish) or Sherry the Noble Wine (in English translation).

He was born in Jerez in 1886 to Pedro Nolasco Gonzalez de Soto, 1^st Marques de Torresoto, and Maria Nicolasa Gordon de Wardhouse, both with Sherry bloodlines. As an infant he was poorly and the doctors only gave him a short time to live, but his mother gave him a daily spoonful of Sherry and the illness passed. Sherry had saved his life. He repaid the debt by publishing the book.

He attended the same school as the children of the bodega’s employees, paid for by the bodega, and then went to Mannheim in Germany to train as an industrial engineer. Once qualified, he went to work in Scotland with Beardmore in Dalmuir, Glasgow. He later worked for Norton Griffithe & Co. on a 640 km stretch of the Ferrocarril Longitudinal (North-South railway) in Chile.

On his return to Jerez he continued work as an engineer, but soon decided to work in the family business. He married Emilia Diez Gutierrez (another very Jerezano name) and they had four children: Maria Dacia, Mauricio, Luisa and Jaime. As the years passed, his passion for the wine grew and he worked at Wisdom & Warter before ending up on the board of the family company, Gonzalez Byass.

He was much loved and respected for his charm, education and intelligence. He would talk with anyone, treating the workforce with equal respect as an important patron. He began to be affectionately nicknamed Tio (uncle) Manolo. His younger son Jaime took posts at Wisdom & Warter (a subsidiary of GB), but his passion was devoted to Nature, common in the Gonzalez family, the most “British” of the Sherry dynasties, who speak the best English and are extremely well educated and refined.

According to Jaime, with Tio Manolo there was never a problem. “He was like Vaseline”. A problem would come up, and he would solve it. On one occasion he was with the local agent in Extremadura and asked him to take him to all the bars which did not sell their products. They arrived at one, and Manolo got out of the car and stood waiting all morning at the door. The owner gave in: he came out of the door and said “You are the most stubborn man I’ve ever come across in my life. Send me three cases!”

His elder son, Mauricio, who needs no introduction, pointed out his father’s humanity, something that proved useful in business negotiations. He knew how to convince people, and he did it. On the highways, he would constantly stop at ventas (roadside inns). On one occasion he stopped forty times between Jerez and Madrid. He didn’t want to drive past without stopping and saying hello. He didn’t normally drive himself, but gave constant instructions: “Wait… stop..STOP! Out you get, we’re going to see the man in charge here.” He would arrive and say “Antonio! Good morning! Did your son pass or not?” He knew the man was called Antonio because days earlier the man had told him he was worried that his son might fail. “He passed!” “Great, well let’s have a copita!” But the new motorways did away with most of the old ventas.

When Manolo reached 87 years old, he was still firing on all cylinders except for his sight. He was once asked what advice he would give for living to 87 years and a hundred more. He replied that drinking Sherry in moderation certainly wouldn’t do any harm. He died in 1980 aged 93 (his father was 97). Mauricio is already 90, his cousin was 97, and his wife 94. Mauricio and his wife share a bottle of Tio Pepe every day, half each.

Every year Manolo would go to the Feria with three other GB executives. They would visit four or five casetas and always have a half bottle of Sherry, which conveniently gave four glasses. In each caseta Manolo would greet people, the owner, the waiter, see how things were going, and always leave a tip before moving on to the next caseta.

He was a deeply religious man, he was always there for, and honest with, the employees. He always used to visit employees on their deathbeds, and some superstitious ones would ask him not to visit. When he himself died, it was a quiet affair, safe in the knowledge that the business would remain in family hands, the family united. Especially in times of war. Once Don Guido (Williams) advised Manolo that he should send his young children Maria Dacia and Mauricio to London, where they had been born, for fear of reprisals during the Civil War. Manolo responded that he wanted all his children together, and their English tutor said “Well if they are going to stay, so will I!”

In a long life, Manuel Maria Gonzalez Gordon, Marques de Bonanza, achieved many things. He managed to get the monks to return to the Cartuja; he helped with the foundation of the religious brotherhood of el Rocio; getting the Consejo Regulador off the ground; protecting the Coto Donana -by buying 17,000 hectares of it; Grand Cross of Benificence; Knight of the British Empire (KBE); Hijo Predilecto de Jerez (Honoured Son); President of the Jerez Red Cross, etc.

And at the root of it was the wine, which he venerated and respected. One day he left the bodega and said “I’m finished with leaving the bodega with one fewer glass. I feel well, very well, and enjoying the euphoria which Sherry wines offer.”