Given Vinoble’s location, the presence of the
great wines of Andalucía can be counted upon, but it is more difficult to
attract those in other regions of Spain and abroad which add greater breadth
and variety to the event. In 2010 there were representatives from 17 other
countries, while this year there were only 5, though many did have some sort of
representation by their Spanish distributors. In all there were 62 stands
including various dedicated to food and wine matching. 7,300 people attended, with 20% from abroad representing 16 countries. Jerez City Council is already looking at increasing the number of stands; over a dozen applicants had to be turned down.
There were many unmissable tastings, tickets for which ran out in 48 hours, but I managed
to obtain tickets for four, all held in the Alcazar's XII century mosque: The Treasures of San Ginés – vintage wines from the
Consejo Regulador’s bodega, Liquid Relics from González Byass, A Journey
through the Albarizas and Vineyards of Jerez by Willy Pérez and Ramiro Ibáñez and
From Miraflores la Baja to Macharnudo Alto by Equipo Navazos. Tastings of such
a calibre inevitably attract many more than there is room for, and in the cases
of more than one, more time was needed, and this is something the organisers
could look into, however with certain very old and rare wines, larger
quantities could be a problem.
Alongside the official programme there were all
sorts of side events organised by individual bodegas. Fausino González offered
an event for restaurateurs and sommeliers, Díez Mérito offered tapas and Sherry
for friends, restaurateurs and distributors, Sánchez Romate offered a fiesta including
flamenco, Bodegas Tradición held a show-cooking event and González Byass showed
off their Botellero, the wine racks at the bodega containing ancient treasures. The Council held an event in its little bodeguita.
The stars of the show were the young, talented
and driven “rebels”, operating under the banner of Territorio Albariza and
members of the Manifiesto 119, an association dedicated to recuperating old vines,
winemaking methods and re-evaluating the pagos: Ramiro Ibáñez, Willy Pérez,
Primitivo Collantes, Alejandro Narváez, Rocio Áspera, Armando Guerra and
Francisco and José Blanco. Not only was their stand incredibly busy, but also
the tasting given by Willy and Ramiro was greeted by rapturous applause. These “rebels”
are at the root of the Consejo Regulador looking into including new products
into the Denominación de Origen and are pointing the way forward.
After three hectic days I left the Alcázar exhausted but with
a genuine sense of optimism. A lot is happening on the ground and even in
officialdom, there seems to be a new product every five minutes, something very few wine regions could boast, and the reins
of Sherry’s future are now at last firmly in the hands of its producers, who
seem ever more open minded and justifiably proud of their unique and
magnificent product. Only a few years ago there was only doom and gloom, but
now there is imagination, hard work and optimism. The Sherry Revolution is real
and unstoppable.
