Sherry Wine

An array of flavours ranging from the driest wines in the world, made from the Palomino Fino grape, to the sweetest varieties of Pedro Ximénez. A beautiful colour palette that reaches from pale yellow all the way to mahogany, with touches of iodine in the most aged wines. With its wide variety of nuances and sensations, there’s a sherry for everyone and for every occasion. Discover them all!

vino-fino

Fino Sherry

The Soul of Jerez

vino-amontillado

Amontillado Sherry

Elegant and Complex

vino-oloroso

Oloroso Sherry

For Intense Sensations

vino-palo-cortado

Palo Cortado Sherry

The mystery of the unexpected

vino-dulce

Naturally Sweet Sherry Wines

Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel

vino-blend

Cabeceo and Blends

Cream, Medium Cream y Pale Cream

The region

Marco de Jerez

This comprises the growing area of D.O. Jerez, in the triangle formed by the towns of … A winegrowing region with more than 3,000 years of history.

This name refers to the 7,000 hectares that comprise the growing area of D.O. Jerez, a triangle formed by the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, although it also includes Trebujena, Chiclana de la Frontera, Puerto Real, Rota, Chipiona and Lebrija. This is a winegrowing region with more than 3,000 years of history, which has created some of the world’s most prestigious wines and brandies.

An exceptional environment

The climate

Located on Spain’s Atlantic coast, the Marco de Jerez is the southernmost winegrowing region in Europe. Its wineries face westward, where the Atlantic humidity softens the dry, hot summers. Eastern winds blow in from the Mediterranean, accelerating the ripening process of the grapes. It’s a specific microclimate that can’t be found anywhere else on earth, making its wines truly unique and inimitable.

More than 300
...sunny days a year

17,3º C
average annual temperature

600 L/m2
per year on average

Western and eastern
prevailing winds

Authorised varieties

The grape

The grape is one of those characteristic features that gives wines from the Marco de Jerez their own personality. Currently, the Regulatory Council’s regulations only authorise three grape varieties, all of them white, as suitable for the production of sherry wines:

Palomino Fino

The predominant variety in the Marco de Jerez, due to its perfect compatibility with the soil, climate and regional cultivation techniques. It matures late and is highly resistant to drought, with large, long and yellowish green clusters.

Pedro Ximénez

Its strength and concentration of natural sugars makes it ideal for the production of sweet wines, after being subjected to the asoleo (sun-drying) process. Fun fact: it’s named after the German soldier who introduced it to Andalusia, reflecting a loose pronunciation of his name – Peter Siemens.

Moscatel

This grape is used to produce sweet wines of the same name, and grows very sparsely, usually in coastal areas. It may be one of the oldest varieties in the world; its usage is cited in the writings of the Roman farmer Columela.

- The soil -

Albariza

The vast plains and rolling hills of the Marco de Jerez are characterised by chalky soil with a high calcium carbonate content, which lends it a distinctive whitish hue. It’s known as albariza.

Formed during the Oligocene period by sedimentation of the waters of an inland sea, albariza is very rich in calcium carbonate, clay and silica, which makes it ideal for the production of grapes for sherry wines.

Besides being very easy to work with, it’s notable for its high moisture retention, a vitally important feature in a region where vineyard irrigation is prohibited by the Regulatory Council.

Its high salinity lends a uniquely salty character to sherry wines, and especially to dry varieties like Fino and Manzanilla.
During the rainy season, it absorbs water that it will retain in order to sustain the vines during long, hot summers.
The best albariza has a greater proportion of limestone and siliceous minerals, resulting in finer and more complex wines.
The unique characteristics of Albariza endow sherry wines with an unmistakable personality.

- The legacy -

A brief history of sherry wine

Over 3,000 years, Jerez has been shaped by diverse civilisations and circumstances. These have influenced not only its winemaking culture, but the deepest aspects of a region whose very name is evidence of its cultural plurality.

Xera

In the year 1,100 B.C., the first vineyards arrive with the Phoenicians. In addition to instilling the art of quality wine production in the region, they christen it as Xera.

Ceret

Roman rule in 138 B.C. marks the first milestone in the internationalisation of these wines, sparking an important trade flow from Ceret (now Jerez) toward the great Roman cities.

Sherish

The Arab invasion begins in 711 A.D. and lasts more than five centuries. During this time, the production and commercialisation of wines from Sherish, as it was then known, remains a highly important activity despite the Quran’s prohibition of alcohol.

Xerez

The town becomes a border of the Reconquista – hence the origin of the name Xerez de la Frontera. In the 12th century, Henry I decides to exchange sherry for English wool, leading to the popularisation of these wines in the British Isles.

Jerez

The discovery of the Americas and the continued expansion of Jerez creates a need to store large quantities of wine, giving rise to the system of criaderas and soleras.

Two hundred years ago, the velo de flor emerges by accident. This natural phenomenon occurs only at wineries in the Marco de Jerez, and changes the history of sherry forever.

In 1894, phylloxera devastates the vineyards, forcing vintners to graft the region’s vines with the roots of stronger American varieties.