Sherry Tasting in Jerez

Saturday, during the day, a couple of my friends, Maria and Jessica, and I decided that it would be fun to go to one of the best known areas for sherry in the world-- Jerez. In history, sherry has been known as more of an English drink, but overtime, it has become very Spanish, and it is common to have sherry with tapas during a meal. Many think of sherry as a desert wine, but the evolution has lead it to be, at least in Spain, a drink accompanying a meal.

Some other people from our program had done this day trip, so we got some tips from them, and left at 10:30am by bus for Jerez. The bus ride was only about an hour and 15 minutes long, so we were off on the town in no time! We got our bearings and started to head toward a winery that was well recommended in Rick Steves. Walking around town, I noticed that Jerez is very quaint and extremely beautiful (it helped that the weather was phenomenal!) Everyone around town, tourists and locals alike, were just strolling; there wasn't any rush to do something other than enjoy the day. We found our ways to the center of town, where we got to see the aftermath of a Spanish wedding ceremony. It was very interesting to see the people who were there: many of them were wearing blue, especially the kids. Then the groom was wearing a very formal tuxedo, and the bride was wearing what appeared to be a traditional Spanish bridal dress, which was also blue--not white. Yet another difference between Spain traditions and U.S. traditions.

The winery that we had intended to go to ended up being closed, so we decided to head to (arguably) the world's most famous sherry winery and company: Tio Pepe. We got there just in time to go on a tour of the "winery," which is really just where the original winery was, and has a few fake winery areas, but nowadays it is mostly just buildings with barrels, both old and new and in use. The winery fields for Tio Pepe our now outside of town. So, Maria, Jessica, and I took the tour with a handful of other tourists, and the entire experience was rather informative. It included taking a train around the compound, and stopping in each of the buildings to learn about the history of Tio Pepe, also known as González Byass (which celebrated it's 175 anniversary last year), and also learning about the process to make sherry and brandy. At the end of the tour, we had the chance to taste a couple different types of sherry's. The biggest difference between the two were the length of time they spent in the barrels (which, by the way are made of North American Oak trees). The first, which had spent less time in the barrel, was not as sweet, and was more strong because the sherry hadn't had enough time to absorb the "flavor" from the barrel. The second, whose grapes had also spent more time in the sun drying (and therefore leaving more sugar than water), had also spent more time in the barrel, and was very sweet. I liked both of them, but naturally, I enjoyed the second one more!

Once we left the Tio Pepe grounds, we headed to a plaza to enjoy lunch outside. The food was great, and it was a beautiful place to eat and people watch (which is a fun activity in Europe-- plenty of characters around!) After lunch we headed back to the bus station, and by 5:15, we were back home in Sevilla. It was the perfect time to spend in Jerez, and we could still enjoy the evening in our home town!

This upcoming weekend I am headed to Lagos, Portugal with a group of 4 other friends. Lagos is known for it's world class beaches, and I am more than ready to spend some quality time on them!

An interesting statue in Jerez  

The tranquil streets in Jerez

Mmmmmmm!!!                                                       

The plaza where we ate lunch

Enjoying the weather!

Tio Pepe and I!

Inside the grounds of Tio Pepe

Training around the area

Some of the "vineyard"

The black on the walls is from erosion, from the alcohol in the air from years and years of sherry making.

Maria in front of some of the first machines used to make sherry.

A "who's who" of international drinkers

Jessica and Maria at our sherry tasting

Lots of fun with friends!