21.10.17 Sherryfest New York to Open to the Public; VT Cádiz in Peñín Shortlist

The VI edition of Sherryfest will take place in New York between 27-29 October, and for the first time it will be open to the general public.  This will be a great event with dinners, seminars, cocktail events and the Grand Sherry Tasting on 28 October. Twenty bodegas will be pouring 150 Sherries at the Astor Center and this is not to be missed. The event coincides on the 27^th with the XII edition of the Sherry Cocktail Competition. Booking is vital and should be done as soon as possible at: https://www.sherryfest.com/events  where more details can be found.

The Sherryfest team

After long and intense rounds of tasting for the latest Guia Peñín, the tasters have selected the 10-wine shortlist for their “revelation” wines. These were chosen for their singularity and quality, and the only requisite for inclusion on the list is that they haven’t been tasted before. You won’t be surprised to learn that one of them is from Cádiz, and that it was made by Ramiro Ibáñez; his Ube Carrascal 2015. The Guia Peñín describes the wine as “a race apart, a vintage wine with a little flor, made by a young grower and oenologist who in recent years has set his sights, along with another group of rebels, on giving back to the wines of the area their sense of place. To achieve this he has simply revised and readapted the winemaking of the past, knowledge of which had been based until now on historic archives. His perspective goes back to times when wines were aged statically, when winemaking was not the most important aspect of the wine, when the vineyard character shone through and when extreme age was not necessary for quality.”

27.6.15 Ruiz Mateos Home; Sherryfest New York

José María Ruiz Mateos has been released from prison on health grounds after his doctor submitted a report citing Parkinson’s disease. The 84 year old had been taken from the prison after one night to the Gregorio Marañón hospital after his condition worsened. His family have taken him back to his matrimonial home in Madrid.

New York has enjoyed the return of Sherryfest which ran from the 23^rd to the 25^thof this week. After the event’s success in 2012 it has moved around other cities in the USA, Canada and Spain. The Big Apple seems to have a thirst for Sherry which is winning great popularity among experts and wine lovers, chief of whom is Peter Liem, who initiated the 2012 event with the support of the Consejo Regulador.

L-R Peter Liem, Antonio Flores, Cesar Saldana at Sherryfest NY

The formula works, and the city was inundated with all things Sherry including seminars, tastings and gastronomic events. The Grand Tasting beat the previous record of 500 tasters leaving Peter Liem in no doubt as to how popular Sherry is becoming. The tasting featured 20 bodegas showing 140 wines, and top bodegueros were on hand such as Paola Medina (Williams& Humbert), Montse Molina (Barbadillo) and Lorenzo García Iglesias of Tradición.

Consejo Director César Saldaña participated in sessions aimed at young restaurant professionals and wine lovers on subjects like Crianza Biológica, Palos Cortados, VOS and VORS Wines and the Diversity of Sherry. They were delighted to try wines hitherto unavailable in the USA and in the opportunity to try them with menus prepared by the restaurants. In César’s words “Sherryfest is a magnificent example of the interest these great wines are awakening in professionals all over the world. It is very satisfying to have such a professional and young audience which has real admiration for the quality we produce and its great potential in world gastronomy.”