Bodegas: Manuel Moreno de Mora

Manuel Moreno de Mora y Cabeza de Mier (Cádiz 1781-Cádiz 1861) was the youngest son of Juan Moreno de Mora from Santander who had married María Cabeza de Mier from Cádiz. He had established a wine business in 1783 with bodegas in Jerez, El Puerto and Sanlúcar, but on his early death Manuel’s older brother Pascual took over the business and became de facto head of the family.

Jose Pascual Moreno de Mora y Viton

 José, Manuel’s brother represented the firm’s wines in London, a major market. The Napoleonic War caused immense problems for the family with the Gibraltar border closed and a naval blockade which restricted exports to next to nothing. The actions of the occupying French army made things much worse. Pascual feared for the lives of his family, and like many other families, planned to leave, but his mother’s age and the thought of all he had worked for being confiscated changed his mind.

Manuel's business card (foto:todocoleccion.net)

Manuel married Rosario Vitón Santibáñez in 1818 and they had a son, José Pascual Moreno de Mora y Vitón (1825-1908) and a daughter María Manuela who married John Peter Gassiot. His firm, best known as Martínez Gassiot, bought their Sherry from Mora. In 1830 Pascual died without issue leaving everything equally to his brothers and sister, but it was Manuel who inherited the business. 

The Puerto de Santa María bodegas were in the Calle Valdés, Calle de los Moros and various other locations in the Campo de Guia area and in Jerez. He was intelligent and hard-working and built up the business considerably building a magnificent house in the Calle Ancha and many other properties.

Vineyards and caserio (foto:todocoleccion)

With the failing health of Manuel, José Pascual took over the running of the firm in 1857 being very successful in both the wine and other businesses. He was a well-known figure in the circles of the Cádiz bourgeoisie, and became a great benefactor. Manuel died in 1861 aged 79, a very successful and wealthy property owner and bodeguero. The firm was awarded the Royal Warrant in 1875 by King Alfonso XII who later visited with Queen María Cristina in 1877. 

Jose Moreno de Mora (foto:lavozdigital)

When Henry Vizetelly visited in 1876 he was impressed. He noted stocks of 10,000 butts and the use of wheeled platforms for the arrumbadores which avoided them having to climb up and down the rows of butts repeatedly. There were floral parterres, orange trees, steaming machinery for washing butts and moistening staves, cooperages and beautiful Moscatel at £300 the butt, expensive then.

The bodega La Mora in El Puerto (foto:Osborne)

José Pascual was getting old and as he had no children the firm was sold off to Cuvillo and Carlos & Javier de Terry except for one bodega which was bought by Osborne who named it bodega “La Mora” in honour of this respectable old firm. José Pascual died in 1908.

Bodegas: Martínez Gassiot

Sebastián González Martínez was the nephew of Sabastián Martínez Pérez (1747-1800), a successful merchant from the Rioja who had established himself in Cádiz as an exporter of Sherry to Britain. He married Jane Gobbett, the widow of his partner Martínez de la Cuadra and had various children.

Sebastian Gonzalez Martinez (foto JL Jimenez)

In 1790 he founded his own company specialising in the export of Sherry, Port and Habana cigars from an office in Mincing Lane, London. In 1822 John Peter Gassiot (1797-1877) joined him forming the firm Martínez Gassiot & Co. Gassiot was an enthusiastic amateur scientist whose particular interest was electricity, and he did much work with James Clerk Maxwell. He and Martinez acquired a lodge (bodega) in Oporto in 1834, leaving its management to John Fleurriet Delaforce, who would go on to found the famous Port house of that name.

John Peter Gassiot Senior (foto JL Jimenez)

Soon they were joined by John Peter’s sons Charles Ware Gassiot (1826-1902) and John Peter Jr. (1820-?) who married María Manuela Moreno de Mora y Vitón whose family were important in the wine business in El Puerto de Santa María and had business connexions in England as well as Habana and Honduras. It is very likely that this was a source of both cigars and Sherry, though the firm did buy a lot of wine from Cuvillo, also in El Puerto de Santa María.

Label for the American market (foto JLJimenez)

Sebastián retired in 1849 when the firm was the largest importer of Port and Sherry to the United Kingdom, and its control passed into the hands of the Gassiot family. Charles really helped the business to thrive, and with no children he built a collection of art and contributed much to charity. On his death he left his art to the City of London and his money to St Thomas Hospital. John Peter Jr. also died childless, leaving a fine portrait of his father to the Vintners Company.

On the death of the brothers, and with no children from either, the firm became a public company in 1902 and was eventually taken over by Harveys in 1961 and merged with Cockburn, so there was no more Sherry. The old offices in Mincing Lane were destroyed by the Luftwaffe during the London blitz in 1940. The Martínez Gassiot brand is now more of a sous-marque, especially since the firm was acquired by the Symington Group in 2006, but there have been quite regular Martinez vintage port declarations since.

Much information from Jose Luis Jimenez

See also post on Sherry shippers who also dealt in Port