28.12.13 Various Items of News

Last night Gonzalez Byass hosted the annual charity dinner for the Reyes Magos (the three Kings or Magi) at their bodega Los Apostoles. Each year three people are chosen to dress up as the three Kings, Melchor Gaspar and Baltasar, and distribute sweets to children in the streets on the night of the 5th January. All those attending the dinner who had previously done their royal duty received a gift from the Reyes Magos Association, as well as advice from past masters.

(Reyes Magos past & present, Imagen Diario Jerez)

The High Court has annulled another fine imposed on Jerez by the Spanish equivalent of the Office of Fair Trading. This one was for 22,000 euros and was imposed on COAG, an agricultural organisation, for allegedly fixing grape prices with bodegas. Luckily the Court seems to have a better understanding of how the wine trade works.

Journalist Javier Benitez has written a book about Sherry for children, published by Peripecias Libros and approved by the Consejo Regulador. The protagonist is a mouse called Balti who, along with another, English, mouse called Monti, discovers how things work in a bodega. The book is illustrated by fellow Jerezano Jose Juan Romero, and is sold under the title "Balti: Aventura en la Bodega. It will hopefully prove useful to Jerezano children who have little understanding of their heritage.

(The author with Consejo Director Cesar Saldana and book Imagen Diario Jerez)

Gonzalez Byass Cuatro Palmas has received 97 points from Robert Parker, and has been rated among the best wines tasted by the organisation in 2013. Parker recently appointed a new man to cover Spanish wine, Luis Gutierrez, who pointed out the quality of the other wines in the Palmas range, awarding 90 to the Una Palma, 91 for the Dos Palmas and 95 for Tres Palmas. It makes a pleasant change to have a Spaniard tasting the Spanish wines, someone who has a better understanding and capacity for criticism than his predecessor.

6.1.13 New York Times; Wine Spectator; Reyes Magos

New York Times visits Sherry Country

The New York Times travel section decided to delve into the mystery of Palo Cortado, and visited two bodegas in El Puerto and one in Sanlucar for their report. They visited Gutierrez Colosia and Obregon in El Puerto and Hidalgo La Gitana in Sanlucar, three family-run bodegas who stock these wines, as complex as they are beautiful, to try to understand Palo Cortado.

The NYT discovered (what we all know) that Palo Cortado is a chalk cask marking which identifies the wine in the form of an angled stroke with a short horizontal line crossing it. Juan Carlos Gutierrez told them that he couldn’t tell them how to make PC, it just happens. Sherry is not just any wine; there are factors which can’t be controlled by humans. Manolo Obregon agreed, saying that PC is an accident. It is quite a rare one too, Obregon rarely sell any, but the picturesque bodega attracts many visitors.

Javier Hidalgo, one who really knows Sherry and has written books on the subject, declared that “it is no accident. We make a quite a lot and it has taken generations of family to do it. It lacks the delicacy of Amontillado, the structure of Oloroso and the freshness of Manzanilla. We only sell about 800 bottles of PC a year and that’s more for prestige than profit”. He then put the remains in his glass back into a butt - of Amontillado. When quizzed about this, and would that not change the style of the wine, he shook his head, saying no, it’s like a tear in the ocean. Then he switched off the lights.

Source Diario de Jerez

For actual article:  http://travel.nytimes.com/2013/01/06/travel/sharing-a-sherry-treasured-in-spain.html

Wine Spectator listing for Lustau

The American publication The Wine Spectator publishes a list of the 100 best wines of the year, all having been awarded 90 or more points, and in position 82 is a Sherry - Amontillado Solera Reserva Los Arcos from Emilio Lustau. Other Spanish wines also feature in the list, from Rioja, Almansa, Ribera del Duero and Bierzo.

Reyes Magos (Three Kings) visit Jerez

The Kings' cavalcade hit the streets today, throwing millions of sweets to the children.

Source Diario de Jerez

13.12.12 Three Kings Sherry; Rutas del Vino

Sherry for the Three Kings

Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh will be replaced this year by Sherry and Vinegar in a singular initiative to raise funds for social work.  Rey (King) Melchor Fino Oro, Rey Gaspar Incienso Cream and Rey Baltasar Vinagre Mirra will be sold at events attended by the kings and in commercial outlets which wish to participate. A pack of three half bottles (I of each) will sell for 10 euros and a pack of 75cl bottles 18 euros.  A presentation was held at the Consejo Regulador attended by the three presidents (Wine, Brandy and Vinegar) at which, as usual, a donation was made to the Kings’ campaign.

Rutas del Vino

A meeting was held yesterday in El Puerto of the new board of the Association of Rutas del Vino and Brandy which now includes representatives from the Consejos Reguladores. It was agreed that sectorial groups would be set up to bring together the different segments of activity to improve the tourist experience. Among the projects is a plan to restore old “casas de la vina”  (vineyard houses) which could be used for wine tourism purposes. Another project is to improve the communication of the offer by using the internet and social networking sites.