6.11.15 BIB Rebels Respond to Fedejerez; XX Jornadas del Vino Fino

The Sanlúcar bodegas who have decided to sell Manzanilla in BIB despite the prohibition of the DO are now questioning the authority of the Consejo to determine which containers are permitted for the sale of wine to restaurants and bars. In a communiqué responding to recent the words of Evaristo Babé, president of Fedejerez, they state “We are absolutely going to try and sell Manzanilla outside the rules of the DO” and because of “pressure” from Fedejerez “they are forgetting that there are also European Community rules which do not regulate packaging for wine sold to the catering trade.”

The Manzanilleros, who are working on the constitution of an association to defend their interests, are casting the credibility of the Consejo into doubt. “Despite the quality of the Manzanilla packaged and sold by this group of bodegas, they deny us the formality of a DO label which casts doubt on the credibility of the institution for not representing the general and legitimate interests of the sector.” They criticised the Consejo for “bending to the will of Fedejerez which was fined not so long ago for restrictive practices to free competition.”

The Sanlucar rebels' press conference

The group complains about the “aggressive” stance adopted by Babé which they consider a “fair reflection of the arrogant and disdainful conduct” which Fedejerez has “imposed” on the Consejo. The communiqué continues “we understand the nervousness of Babé as while he must account for his actions to those who think they can run the Consejo as if it were their own, we have the freedom to act in defence of the interests of our town, Sanlúcar, which is proud to produce its own unique wine – Manzanilla.”

The Manzanilleros say they do not need reminding that belonging to the DO is voluntary, but they joined in the conviction that it was the right thing to do. Nevertheless they feel that the Consejo is not fulfilling its commitment as it is subdued by the “impositions of a minority group of industrial wine companies whose sole objective is the concentration of economic power.” According to the rebels these companies, which they blame for the loss of so many bodegas in the last 30 years, care little about Manzanilla and we face these problems as a consequence.

The Sanluqueños’ communiqué ends: “We obey the law. We are humble working people whose only wish is to sell freely our genuine product subject expressly to the organs of quality control and for this we seek the support of the authorities.”

 The 20^th and 21^st of November are the dates for the XX Jornadas del Vino Fino in El Puerto de Santa María. Organised by the cultural association of wine in El Puerto, the first day consists of the nomination of the member of honour, Pilar Plá Pechovierto of bodegas El Maestro Sierra followed by a debate on The International Market for Fino Sherry with Beltrán Domecq and representatives from bodegas Caballero, Estévez, González Byass, Osborne, Fernando de Castilla and Williams & Humbert. The debate, whose moderator is César Saldaña will be followed by a tasting of these bodegas’ wines. The following day there will be a visit and lunch at Williams & Humbert. Day one is free but one needs to register, and there will be a charge for lunch on day two.

Bodegas: Miguel Guerra SL

Established as a business in Chiclana in the 1930s by Miguel Guerra Virtués, but winegrowers since 1850, this is still a family bodega. Miguel was an active and enterprising  man whose family had long owned some fine vineyards and run a firewood business with a warehouse in the Calle de la Plaza where a few butts of wine from the vineyard were always kept. The size of the vineyard and the amount of wine in his solera were gradually increasing in this warehouse where he also stored pine vine stakes nicknamed “palillos” (little sticks). Thus the name of his Fino came about.

Before long he bought another bodega in the Calle Jesús Nazareno where he concentrated on the wine side of the business, going on to acquire part of the famous Fino Sanitario solera which he added to his own Fino Palillo solera.  Sanitario belonged to the descendants of Juan de Diós Guerrero, great-grandfather of Miguel Guerra Guerrero.

In 1940 he bought another bodega in the Calle Mendaro. This bodega was built in 1880 and became the firm’s main bodega under the name Bodegas Miguel Guerra SL. Miguel passed on his skills and the business to his son, Miguel Guerra Guerrero who did the same for his son, Juan M Guerra Vélez, who is the sixth generation of the family to be making wine in Chiclana. Now thousands of butts of wine fill the bodegas and there is a large range of wines on offer:

Fino Palillo, Finito

Oloroso Gran reserva

Moscatel Naranja, Moscatel Oro, Moscatel de Pasa, Cream Tarugo

They also make White table wine and vinegar

Address: Calle Mendaro, 16, 11130 Chiclana de la Frontera, Cádiz

Telephone: (+34) 956 400 501

Website: www.bodegasmiguelguerra.es

Visits? Yes, by arrangement

4.11.15 Sherry Symposium

The Consejo and the University of Cádiz (UCA) are holding a scientific symposium called “Sherry in the 80 Years of the Denominación de Origen 1935-2015” which will be the climax of the large range of activities organised by the Consejo in celebration of its 80^th birthday. The symposium will run from the 26^th – 28^th November and it is hoped that it will fill a gap in the History of Sherry: the last 80 years, which, as the Consejo director César Saldaña explains, have been poorly documented in comparison to the multitude of documents and studies which exist from the XVIII and XIX centuries.

The press conference at bodega San Gines (foto:diariojerez)

César Saldaña appeared at a press conference yesterday with Beltrán Domecq and Casimiro Mantell, vice rector of research at the UCA, to present the official programme for the symposium which will have a multi-disciplinary character covering science, history, economy, society, companies, commercialisation and more through nine lectures from academics and experts in the relevant areas. There will also be a series of round tables and 16 communications selected from the many brought by the researchers with the idea of collating it all in a book for publication.

Subscription remains open as there are 20 places left at €40 from the original 100 and they can be applied for at the Consejo website (www.sherry.org). Bodegas Tradición and González Byass will be offering a glass of Sherry to everyone present.

Sherry Week Means Jamón with Sherry

Now that International Sherry Week has begun a lot of Ibérico ham will be enjoyed at events, so here is the latest on the ham situation. The “montanera,” a period of four months between October and February when the acorns (bellotas) ripen, has just begun and the pigs are released into the grassland and forest to wander freely and stuff their faces. During this time they nearly double their weight, and it has been a good autumn so far with more rain than usual so there is plenty for them to eat.

The last few years have not been kind to the industry with the economic crisis reducing demand and prices, but things are looking up now. At least they were until the recent pronouncement from the World Health Organisation which has worried many producers, who have always striven to make an extremely healthy product. They refer to the Ibérico pig as an “olive on legs,” and like Sherry many hams have a Denominación de Origen which guarantees quality. There is a new system “Itaca” which follows each pig from birth to sacrifice guaranteeing traceability, so you can safely ignore the WHO and enjoy Jamón Ibérico, the perfect partner for a glass of Sherry.

2.11.15 Evaristo Babé Explains BIB Situation

In today’s Diario de Jerez Evaristo Babé, president of Fedejerez, outlines the situation as he sees it:

"The problem, which is really an internal matter and a mere storm in a teacup if you consider the really important problems facing the Sherry business, is that a small but vociferous minority of ten bodegas in Sanlúcar is illegally using BIB to sell declassified wine – for which they have been denounced – and now they are trying to use the DO Manzanilla. The regulations for the sale of Sherry and Manzanilla state that “DO wines for public consumption shall be in a container of glass or any other material which the Consejo might specify." The BIB is neither made from glass nor approved by the Consejo, so it cannot legally be used. Like it or not those are the regulations.

Of course they could seek to change the rules, but this would have to be done through the proper channels as established in legislation. So long as nobody seeks to change the rules, those already in force must be obeyed. Anyone who does not agree with the rules can always leave the DO as there is no requirement to belong.

Beltran Domecq and Evaristo Babe

What does not fit in a democracy is flagrant breaking of the rules and the responsible public administration not acting immediately to ensure the law is observed. Public administrations are obliged to do this by checking, verifying, investigating and inspecting any activity which might be necessary. Given the importance of this matter, the need for the Junta to act is fundamental. It is not just a question of mediating between who is breaking the law and who is not, though efforts have been made to achieve a negotiated solution, but of making the former comply.

It is also worth pointing out that the illegal and churlish press conferences called by a small group of bodegas are very seriously prejudicing the trade and in particular the image of the area’s DOs. This is very serious. The ten bodegas in question read out a manifesto making them look like victims in this and advocating a sort of “civil disobedience” like separatist politicians in Cataluña, yet they only represent about 4% of the Sherry trade and 20% of the Manzanilla trade. What about the rights of the 96% and 80% who obey the law completely? Let’s be serious and show some respect please.

Another point is that the non-compliance is also affecting the business of those who are complying, though they could seek damages, and they should not have to put up any longer with unfair competition. They pay their taxes upon which many jobs most certainly depend, and they feel let down by a minority who for months have been refusing to obey the law.

We need to get things back on course as soon as possible, to calm down the lawbreakers and get them to obey the law. It is also necessary for the Junta to take action to ensure this by prosecuting those who seem proud to break the law and stopping them from doing such damage to a free market and to those who obey the law."

1.11.15 More Top Scores for Williams & Humbert

W&H have received some excellent scores from the influential Wine Spectator magazine. Fino Pando and Dry Sack Medium scored 88 while 90 went to the Manzanilla Don Zoilo Collection 12 years old and 91 to the Amontillado. That’s not all; 92 points went to Jalifa Amontillado VORS, Dry Sack Solera Especial 15 years old and Dos Cortados VOS.  

Meanwhile Dry Sack Solera Especial 15 years old also scored 94 at the “Ultimate Wine Challenge” in New York and a gold medal at the San Diego International Wine Competition, where Dry Sack Medium scored 87 and won a silver medal. It is great to see how much the wine press is beginning to rate fine Sherry.

Great Earthquake of 1755

Today is the 260th anniversary of the deadly earthquake which struck just before 10.00 on All Saints Day 1755. The epicentre was about 200 km into the Atlantic from the south-western tip of Portugal at Cape St. Vincent, and it is estimated to have had a force of 8.5-9ᴼ on the Richter scale. Forty minutes later a massive 20 metre tsunami struck. Immense destruction and loss of life was caused in Lisbon, the Algarve, North Africa, Huelva and Cádiz and the waves caused damage as far away as Ireland, Finland and Brazil. In Jerez the ground shook, buildings collapsed and many churches were badly damaged, though it was spared the tsunami.

Effects of the earthquake in Jerez (foto:masjerez)

In all approaching 100,000 people were killed (2,200 in Cádiz, 2,000 in Huelva) and religious belief could only explain the disaster as God’s wrath at their sins. The extent of the damage and lasting economic problems caused some to look at the event in a more scientific way however, and the Portuguese prime minister, the famous Marqués de Pombal, initiated a study which puts him as the first to investigate seismology.

Blessing of the sea to prevent tsunamis (well that's one way..) at Caleta beach, Cadiz, All Saints Day (foto:lavozdigital)

Now the Spanish Institute for the Reduction of Disasters believes that another earthquake will certainly occur as “all natural disasters will be repeated in time as they obey the laws of Nature.” There was a smaller earthquake out to sea in the Gulf of Cádiz quite recently but thankfully it did no damage. The Institute thinks that the big one could happen every 500-600 years, but is not sure, and is working on ways to mitigate the effects of any such disaster. “The important thing is to learn from history.”