23/1/18 Sherry is Becoming Fashionable in Britain Again

It looks as if 2018 will be the year Sherry will take off again in the UK if distributors’ sales and the amount of press coverage are any indication. Specialist retailers have seen considerable growth and Majestic, the largest with 200 stores, has seen sales grow 25%. Customers are younger, between 20 and 30, and hopefully the notion of “a granny wine” will finally disappear as these new consumers are buying the dry styles, mainly Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado and Palo Cortado. This new interest in Sherry is put down mostly to the explosion of Sherry bars and tapas bars. Sales of the better quality wines are growing fastest and in the £10-15 range sales at Majestic are up 71%. It is gratifying to see, but while about 10 million litres were sold in the UK last year, in 2005 it was 22 million, so there is still much work to be done.

London's Bar Pepito (foto:pinterest)

The Sherry Bar Scene

Sherry bars have exploded in London, on the back of the popularity of tapas, and Sherry is fast becoming the after-work drink of choice. Bar Pepito, established March 2010, was the first to open, with backing from Gonzalez Byass. They are all styled, more or less, like Spanish bars, and mostly – but not always - run by Brits. Due to their popularity, you need to get there early.  The following are the top 10 as selected by the Drinks Business Magazine, although there are even more. So if you find yourself in London – or even live there - it is your duty to pay a visit (if you see what I mean!)

Tramontana, 152-4 Curtain Road EC2A 3AT, 020 7749 9961

Donostia, 10 Seymour Place W1H 7ND, 020 3620 1845

Rosita, 124 Northcote Road SW11 6QU, 020 7998 9093

Morito, 32 Exmouth Market EC1R 4QE, 020 7278 7007

Copita, 27 D’Arblay Street W1F 8EP, 020 7287 7797

Opera Tavern, 23 Catherine Street WC2B 5JS, 020 7836 3680

Barrafina, 54 Frith Street W1D 4SL, 020 7813 8016

Jose, 104 Bermondsey Street SE1 3UB, 020 7490 379

Capote y Toros, 157 Old Brompton Road 020 7244 8970

Bar Pepito, 3 Varnishers Yard N1 9DF, 020 7841 7331

The tapas revolution is sweeping the country - and not just the UK, there are tapas bars in New York and elsewhere - and Sherry is thus being introduced to new consumers all the time. After all, there is no better combination of food and wine.

Viva la revolucion!!

What has happened to Sherry?!!

It was once drunk by everybody, now it is all but a niche wine. It seems very strange that one of the world's finest wines is drunk by so few people, especially when one takes into account its extraordinary value for money. The usual reasons appear to be that it is old fashioned, and drunk by grandmothers because it is nice and sweet. Some people don't even know it is a wine! Sherry has a real mountain to climb to regain sales and consumer confidence. That is not to say that a lot of Sherry isn't drunk here, but it could be much, much more - and much better. Current sales are poor compared to, say, the 1970s.

With any product, marketing is essential, along with promotion, or consumers will know nothing of it. One only has to look at the Scotch Whisky industry to get some idea of how to promote an "old fashioned" drink - and their success in recent times. There are whisky ambassadors worldwide; constant new "expression" releases; limited editions; releases of rare bottlings; single cask expressions to encourage collectors; whisky societies; whisky magazines; whisky blogs........ There is a dynamism there which is infectious. The Scotch Whisky Association is constantly in court somewhere to protect the integrity of whisky. It is paid for by a levy on its members - the majority of the trade. Not unlike the Consejo Regulador of Jerez.

All is not doom and gloom, however; many bodegas are doing their own marketing and innovating. A while ago Lustau introduced the "Almacenista " range. More recently Hidalgo La Gitana, Barbadillo and Gonzalez Byass have introduced the lovely Manzanillas and Finos "En Rama", and the latter also a range of "Palmas". Equipo Navazos offer a wonderful range of single barrel Sherries, and a sort of Fino-style table wine made by Dirk Niepoort of Port fame. Some progress has been made in establishing PX as a dessert wine or one for pouring onto desserts, but this all amounts to very little compared to whisky.

Hopefully the recent wave of new Sherry bars in London (Pepito's et al), New York (Tertulia), Tokyo (Sherry Club), and Chicago (Vera Bar) will help, and they should be encouraged by the Consejo. We should  remember, however, that only about 4% (in cash terms) of fortified wine sold in Britain is sold by the pouring trade, so they really need promotional help.

I realise the Consejo is short of a president at the moment, but surely a lot more could - and should -be done to really get Sherry going again. Britain has caught on to Tapas, so let's promote Sherry - the ideal Tapa wine - with them. It has already happened a bit in London, but needs to be nationwide. What about ambassadors? There are the Sherry Educators, could they be increased in number and work with restaurants, bars and wine merchants offering promotional and educational help?

The Media need to be exploited - the press, celebrities, Facebook, Twitter, bloggers - with an educational campaign to dispel the myths that Sherry is old fashioned and all sweet. What about a Sherry movie? It worked for table wine and whisky. Could the tourist agencies in Spain offer Sherry-themed holidays? There is already a Ruta Turistica de Bodegas.

So come on, Consejo and Bodegas, such a good wine at such a good price can't be too hard to promote!