Wine

Overview

Jerez-Xeres-Sherry, Manzanilla Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Condado de Huelva, Montilla Moriles and Málaga are all ancient and traditional Spanish wines that came into being between the 15th and 17th centuries. Later they were the first quality wines (vinos de calidad producidos en region determinada – vcprd) to be officially recognised (1935) in Spain. They were all regulated by 1945 with sherry being the very first in 1935. These days there are also light and fruity white wines – mostly from the province of Cádiz – which are gaining in popularity and quickly establishing a good reputation. There are 4 wine areas in Andalucía which have a designated Denominación de Origen (D.O.).

Huelva

Huelva's wines are made with Zalema, the indigenous white grape of the region. Traditionally it is used to make an amber-coloured, oloroso-style, fortified wine, Condado Viejo. This earthy, nutty, mouth filling wine goes well with the famous hams of the Huelva sierras.

It is said that Huelva was the first ever province to export its wine as Columbus set off from here to America with a good quantity of it! However no one is sure if it ever arrived. After the Reconquest, the repopulation in Andalucia led to the cultivation of vineyards in the Condado de Niebla in the 14th Century. Export tradition in the region carried on for several centuries reaching its peak of splendour in the 16th century.This century has seen a marked decline in the wine production of Huelva because of the serious competition from its neighbour Jerez and many of the wine growing regions have been given over to Huelva’s biggest cash crop, strawberries. However modern techniques are helping Huelva make a comeback, producing lighter table wines (Condado de Huelva Blanco Joven) and Andalucia’s only sparkling wine, Raigal.

Cádiz

Sherry takes its name in English from the town of Jerez in the province of Cádiz. This was the first wine ever exported from Spain during the fifteenth century and most went to England where there was a great demand for the sweet sherries. The Spaniards have always preferred the drier versions.

Strictly speaking sherry (or Jerez) can only be made in one area because of the particular conditions of the soil and the only wet part of Andalucía. The area lies between the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Cádiz.

There are more than 10,000 hectares producing grapes for wine in the Jerez region. The dominant grape is the Palomino, which in combination with the climate and soil produces particularly dry sherries. The special sherry taste is due to the unique production methods used in the bodegas of the Jerez area. The wines are aged in loosely stoppered casks, where a special yeast growth known as flor prevents oxidation. The flor is finally killed off at the end the maturing process by fortification (the addition of alcohol) and the Jerez is moved to the solera – this is a vertical row of oak casks, designed to gradually mix old wine with new to achieve a consistent final product, year after year. The mixing process happens by drawing off wine from the bottom row, then topping up the casks with wine from the next row up, and so on until you get to the top row where the new wine is added. If you see something like "Solera 1856" on a bottle, this is the year the solera was originally put on line. In Spanish if you say that something has solera, it means it is very old with a lot of tradition – not difficult to see where this comes from!

Besides several varieties and types of sherry there is also a wine very similar to sherry called Manzanilla made exclusively in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. The high humidity close to Doñana makes this wine much paler and drier than other sherries of the region and it is a great favourite with the andaluces at aperitivo time.

In all cases sherry is a fortified wine meaning that extra alcohol is added to bring up the alcohol content to between 16-20%. There are five main styles of sherry:
• Fino - a light, pale-golden coloured, dry wine with an alcohol content of between 15.5-16.5%. Best drunk shortly after bottling so be careful to buy from a reliable source.
• Manzanilla - very dry, pale sherry, lighter than fino, 14-15 %. Very popular at tapas time, with cold salty meats or fish. The most well known is called La Guita made only in Sanlúcar.
• Amontillado - an older fino, richer in character with a soft copper or amber colour and an alcoholic content of between 18-20%. Well known ones are Gonzalez Byass and Domecq.
• Oloroso - a rich, dark, dry, mahogany wine with a full rich nose with an alcoholic content of 21%. These are usually drunk in Spain after meals.
• Cream sherries - a blend of dry Oloroso and sweet Pedro Ximénez normally with an alcoholic content of 20-22%. These wines are usually drunk after meals as you would brandy or to accompany sweets and cakes.

Córdoba

Montillo-moriles is located in the south of the Córdoba province. Its wines are similar to sherry but have often suffered in comparison to Jerez and never became as well known. The wines produced here are dry finos but are considered to be rougher than the exceptionally smooth Jerezs. However a good Pedro Ximénez is considered to be a match for any Jerez. The biggest wine producer (bodega) open to visitors is Alvear, who make a best selling dry fino. This bodega’s Pedro Ximénez 1830, won the award for the best wine in the whole of Spain in 1999.

Málaga

Málaga is an area that has produced sweet wines since Roman times. In the 19th century several plagues and a gradual change in European tastes in favour of drier wines severely affected the production and export of Málaga wines. In some areas Málaga is making a comeback using modern technology. The wines are made mainly from Moscatel and Pedro Ximénez grapes and there are three main wine producing regions.

The full flavoured wines are considered to be good accompaniments to patés and are served as after dinner wines or desert wines. Some of the best are: Cartojal from López Hermanos, Carpe Diem from Tierras de Mollina and the best selling brand of classical Málaga wine, Málaga Virgen from López Hermanos.

Other Areas

Besides the denominciones de origin almost every area in Andalucía produces some kind of wine. Most of it is produced for local or national consumption in small quantities and is not exported, so take the opportunity to try out some local wines while you are here. They range from the heady coastal wines of Granada to light, fresh table wines like Barbadillo from Cádiz which is much favoured all over Spain as a wine to drink with fish and seafood.

Modern processes and developments in production methods and the importing of grapes from France has now meant that Andalucía does not have to rely on its traditional varieties of Palomino, and the northern Spanish Tempranillo grape has been imported into the region. The andaluz government has introduced an experiment in each of the eight provinces to try out different kinds of grapes and to see which give the best results. If you are feeling adventurous when visiting different towns and villages ask for a glass of vino de la zona and you will get a chance to try out something new.

Vinos de la tierra
Additionally there are 9 vinos de la tierra in Andalucía:
(Jaen) Bailén
(Cádiz ) Cádiz
(Almería) Desierto de Almería, Ribera del Andarax
(Granada) Contraviesa-Alpujarra, Granada Sur-Oeste, Laujar-Alpujarra, Norte de Granada
(Sevilla) Los Palacios

Visiting and tasting

Most of the bigger bodegas welcome visitors. They most commonly open to visitors on weekday mornings when they are also working. There is usually a small entrance fee of around €3. All of the old bodegas have their own stories and legends to tell and many present in several languages, particularly in the summer months. You will often be shown a short film describing the history of the company and then taken round the bodega and told about the wine making process, followed by a tasting session where you can also buy the wines in any quantities you like. Before setting off on a visit, ask in the local tourist information office for a list of bodegas and their opening times. Some close in August. To find wine producers by town in the province of Cádiz, use this link (in English): http://www.guiadecadiz.com/web_ing/ing_bodegas.asp

The two most famous guided visits are in Jerez:
González Byass Home to Tio Pepe the most famous aperitif sherry in the world.
Domecq At 269 years old, this is the oldest winery in Jerez

With thanks to the Consejo Regulador Condado de Huelva for permission to use their photo.