14.2.17 La Guita Launch 2017 Kit de Picoteo

In 2013 Grupo Estévez introduced the successful La Guita Kit de Picoteo (snacking kit) which consists of a box containing two bottles of Manzanilla La Guita and an assortment of up market tapas. Each year there is a new edition and for 2017 there is ham, cheese, hake roe, olives, piquitos (tiny breadsticks), stuffed chicken, red peppers and pâté, and of course the Manzanilla. According to the firm’s research 93% of La Guita consumers consider picoteo to be  their favourite food moment, ideal if friends come round or for watching a film or a match.

This is the 2016 kit

This clever idea is an exercise in co-branding with other products of excellent quality and over 1,000 kits have been sold each year. Promotion is done through social media and thus attracts the younger consumer. There is a draw to win a kit, and if you win one and send in a photo of it being enjoyed you can win a Super Kit with 12 bottles of la Guita and a load of snacks. To participate go to facebook.com/manzanillalaguita or vivaelpicoteo.com

La Guita Expect to Sell 680,000 Half Bottles at Feria

The legendary Feria de Abril in Sevilla (also known as el Real) kicks of on the 12th after the switching-on of 350,000 light bulbs and an evening of fried fish. There will be more food and flamenco than you can shake a stick at and huge amounts of Sherry will be drunk. La Guita alone expect to sell over 680,000 half bottles, being represented in 60% of the 1,047 casetas. In order to cope with all this, they have a nearby store of 6,000 square metres and 150 staff. They will also be a promotional campaign under the slogan "La Feria es mi Casa".

11.4.13 La Guita Feria Promo.; Sherry and Mrs Thatcher

Manzanilla La Guita is expecting to sell over 650,000 bottles during the Feria de Sevilla (the annual Seville fair) which takes place from the 15^th – 21^st April. This represents an increase over last year, despite the crisis. A special team was recruited to really market the wine, and has succeeded in getting it into 60% of the 1040 casetas (booths/tents) at the fairground, maintaining La Guita’s position as the leading Manzanilla at the Feria. In order to service the anticipated demand, the firm has rented a store of 6,000 m2 close to the fairground, and a team of 150 people. They will also have a major presence on Facebook.

Margaret Thatcher once visited Jerez with her husband Dennis. In 1998 she enjoyed a good lunch and a few copitas at Gonzalez Byass, before signing a butt.

Pictures:masjerez.com

Bodegas: Hijos de Rainera Perez Marin

This famous Sanlucar bodega founded in 1852 by Don Domingo Perez Marin, who came from Santander was originally at Calle Regina, 49, in the Barrio Bajo, later expanding into a bodega in Calle Banda Playa next to Vinicola Hidalgo. In the early XX century some of the sons of Eduardo Hidalgo Verjano left the family firm to their widowed mother and bought the Perez Marin bodega (now a block of flats). The firm was sold in the 1970s during which time it moved into the bodega in Calle Misericordia in the Barrio Alto and in 1990 it was bought by four ex-Rumasa executives who also bought the growers cooperative of Miraflores, guaranteeing grape supply from 150 hectares of vineyard.

In 2007 "La Guita" as it is known was sold to Grupo Estevez. The firm owns a certain amount of vineyard, but most must is bought in from the local Cooperative Covisan to replenish the 11 scale La Guita solera of nearly 20,000 butts, which are divided between two bodegas. Unusually for a Sherry firm, there are only two products, namely the Manzanilla La Guita and a very fine vinegar.

The older Calle Misericordia bodega in which some La Guita is aged is situated at one of the the highest points of Sanlucar,  so as to best take advantage of the fresh humid breezes. It was originally the most important hospital in Sanlucar, Santa Misericordia, from 1526 till 1589 when it was donated to the order of San Juan de Dios who changed its name to their own. In 1867-8 it was reconstructed as a bodega while retaining the name, which can still be seen on tiles on the wall. Before the arrival of Perez Marin, it was the bodega of Manuel Garcia Monge.

The company has other bodegas; Pago de Miraflores and Pago Sanlucar Viejo (bought 1993 and holding most of the La Guita wine and the bottling line).

The brand name "La Guita" has an amusing history. The founder, Don Domingo, was a stickler for cash on the nail ("guita" in local slang) and the bodega came to be known by that name. More recently the bottle had a piece of string ("guita" in Spanish) attached between the capsule and the label as a form of joke. The brand was first registered in 1908 and was sold as a Manzanilla Pasada but it was changed to a Manzanilla Fina in 1985 as it was felt that it would be more popular - and it was. More recently it was the first Manzanilla to print a bottling date on the back label.

In 1986 Rafael Rivas, capataz (cellar master) of Perez Marin set up a new 15 butt solera of Manzanilla Pasada in the expectation that the wine would be used to bolster or improve La Guita, but this was never needed, and he kept the solera going with tiny sacas (withdrawals) until he retired in 2010 and Equipo Navazos arrived. They were spellbound by this unused solera and bottled some of this wonderful wine with an average age of 15 years (eg La Bota de Manzanilla No. 30 - QV).

Meanwhile La Guita continues to be the most popular Manzanilla in Spain and abroad with sales of nearly 4 million litres annually, especially at the Feria de Sevilla. Here they go to inordinate lengths to ensure the wine is in perfect condition. The brand has a Manzanilla market share of over a quarter so sacas are frequent; every two months.

Contact
Address: calle Misericordia,1, Sanlucar de Barrameda, Cadiz
Tel: (+34) 956 319 564
Web: www.laguita.com or www.grupoestevez.es
Visits by prior appointment