Collection: D.O. Jerez-Xérès-Sherry / D.O. Manzanilla - Sanlúcar de Barrameda

Sherry is a wine with a protected designation of origin and may only come from the southernmost part of Spanish Andalusia. This sherry region is officially named D.O. Jerex (Xérès) Sherry y Manzanilla. This region forms a large triangle on the map between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria. It's a beautiful area with picturesque white villages, rolling vineyards, exquisite palaces and a lively street life.>

Inland, at the heart of the region, is the city of Jerez de la Frontera. It is from here that the wine derives its name. Sherry is in fact an anglicisation of Sherris, the old Moorish name for Jerez. A lot of bodegas are to be found in the old Moorish city centre. You can nibble on delicious small eats in its many tapas bars, washed down with a little glass of sherry. You can also find a lot of bodegas in the fishing village of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This village is famous for a special sort of sherry, Manzanilla. The third most important place for sherry is the harbour city of El Puerto de Santa Maria. Sherries have been shipped from here for hundreds of years.

The sherry region is particularly well suited to the production of this special wine for two reasons. Firstly, the climate is extremely favourable to growing grapes. It's very hot in the summer, cooled by a west wind (Poniente) off the sea. Secondly, the region has a particular soil, known as Albariza. It is dazzlingly white in colour and very chalky. This allows the grapes to develop their elegant taste and aroma. The limestone soil is very good at absorbing rain water and so there is always an available supply of water in the soil for the vines, even in the dry summer months. Most of the grapes are grown on Albariza. Two other soil types are also found here: Barro (clay) and Arena (sand). Only a very small share of the grapes grow on these two soil types.

The Palomino grape represents 95% of the vines and is by far the most important grape for sherry. Additionally, Muscat (called Moscatel in Spain) and Pedro Ximénez are also used. Both of these grape varieties are often left to dry in the sun after harvesting. Their water evaporates and their sugar content becomes more concentrated. Sweet wines are often made from these dried grapes, but they are also used to make dry sherries somewhat sweeter.

© Photo: Bodegas Luis Pérez