Travel bucket list idea:
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Jerez de la Frontera is synonymous with sherry (the very word is an Anglicization of Xeres or Jerez), and according to DOP regulations it can only be made in the ‘Sherry triangle’ – Jerez, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria.
Made with white Palomino grapes, the wine is then fortified to various degrees, from pale dry Fino and Manzanilla to Oloroso and the very sweet, very alcoholic (up to 22%) Pedro Ximenez.
Many of the bodegas (wine cellars) have a British connection, a love affair that began in 1587 when Sir Francis Drake brought back 2,900 barrels of sherry after destroying the Spanish navy in Cadiz. The tours, some including serious tastings, food and even art, are fascinating; the grandest bodegas are breath-taking wine cathedrals.
After a bodega tour, linger in Jerez to sip more sherry-like a local in its traditional, often quirky tabancos – wine shops combined with tapas bars.
Cadiz, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
Sanlucar de Barrameda is renowned for its Manzanillas, and Barbadillo, founded in 1821, makes one of the best; visits to their cathedral-like bodega includes a Manzanilla Museum. They also do optional self-guided visits and tastings.
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Jerez del Fontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
One of the oldest bodegas, from 1650, and supplier to the British Royal family in the 18th-century, where the tour includes one of Andalusia’s top private art galleries, with works by Goya, Velazquez, El Greco and Zurbaran.
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
In the centre of Jerez, a bodega in beautiful vaults dating back to 1760; they also do sherry cooking and vineyard tours, and special tastings of VORS (Very Old Rare Sherry).
Adult price: £10
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
Founded in 1835, the makers of Tio Pepe (named after the founder’s beloved uncle) offer tours with optional tapas tastings of their stunning bodega in central Jerez, their vast cellars partly designed by Gustave Eiffel.
Adult price: £13
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
A variety of bodega and vineyard tours, plus beautiful horses in the Real Tesoro stud, tack and carriage museums to admire and art by Picasso, Miro, Botero and Dali.
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
Half-day high end private tours of two completely different bodegas, with tastings and a gourmet lunch with wine pairings, but endlessly adaptable to suit your requirements.
Adult price: £30
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Duration: Half day
Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
Specialists in both sherry and port, founded by Scotsman George Sandeman in 1790 and close to the Royal School of Equestrian Art, so an easy bodega to visit if you’re in Jerez for the horses.
Adult price: £8
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
Puerto de Santa Maria, Andalusia, Spain
Experience
In Puerto de Santa Maria, book morning tours in English and learn about the sherry and their famous hilltop Osborne black bull silhouettes, so striking they’ve become a symbol of Spain itself.
Min age 18
Good for age: 18+
With its many downtown bodegas, Jerez is perhaps the only wine region you can visit without a car – but’s also a beautiful area to explore behind the wheel. Get inspired by downloading the free Big Book of Sherry Wines and check out the sherry wine road website crammed with useful practical information on visiting the bodegas outside of Jerez, along with restaurants, museums, and a remarkable range of experiences you can book along the way. If you don’t want to drive, Toma and Coe offer 4-day tours of the Sherry Triangle.
The bodegas are open all year round, seven days a week, although April and May are ideal, when it’s not too hot, the vines are in full leaf and you can often combine a visit with a fiesta. Late summer, when temperatures have dipped and the vines are laden with grapes is beautiful too; the vineyards will be busy but visitors are welcome, and you can combine a visit to the beach.
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