
Sherry Lover ❤️
10 Wednesday Jun 2026
Posted in humour, photography, photos, sherry, spain
04 Thursday Jun 2026

I’ve known Reggie (aka @winecasual) for YEARS. First of all virtually on Twitter and then last year at the Copa de Jerez this charming young man came up to me and said “are you Sevilla Tapas?”. At some point I asked if he’d also be going to the next Vinoble and… he’d never heard of it! So now I can honestly say that I have changed someone’s life.
Reggie had a great time at Vinoble and, being young and mobile, went to both the morning and evening sessions and also managed to attend a couple of tastings. We also had a memorable lunch together after he recommended a new place he’d tried called La Gloria Taberna, which is now on my top five list of favourite restaurants in the city. Then, on his way to another wine event in Galicia, he stopped over in Sevilla and we met up again for a glass (or three, maybe four?) of cava/corpinnat at a little bar near me.
Such a lovely guy and I’m so happy to have him as a friend now. Although wine is his “hobby” (or at least, not his main job) he also writes for Wine Enthusiast and travels extensively, mostly on sponsored trips to further his wine knowledge (which is already impressive, even intimidating). He was truly a bright spot in these past few days and I hope he’ll be back soon.
03 Wednesday Jun 2026

This was my 5th Vinoble, the prestigious biennial exhibition of international noble wines, held in Jerez de la Frontera. The first time, in 2014, I was invited by González Byass, and since then I have attended with a press pass. This year was particularly challenging due to the knee situation and being on crutches (two years ago I was “just” using a cane). I hobbled around the best I could but the most I could manage was a couple of hours at a time. Luckily I had planned to attend all three days so that was enough, though I didn’t get to a couple of areas because access to them was on somewhat treacherous pathways. I also didn’t manage to get into any of the tastings, which now tend to sell out within minutes of going online. Oh well.
Anyhow, for me this year Vinoble was mostly about seeing friends and I was happy to meet up with many people I haven’t seen in, well, two years. Also met a couple of new friends. And of course tasted some amazing wines. Hopefully by the edition I will be more mobile.

31 Sunday May 2026
Posted in music, sherry, sunday song
Tags
Yep, still at Vinoble.
13 Friday Mar 2026
Posted in sevilla, sherry, spain, tapas, tapas bars, tapas tours, wine

This past week I redesigned my Sherry & Tapas Experience because I realised, if I offer it to larger groups only (6-10 people) and keep it down to two stops, as I have been doing with Katie’s Bowland & Bay groups, then I can just about manage it. It’s still a long painful hobble getting to the first bar, but a short distance to the second one, and from there I can grab a taxi right out front to get home.
Today seemed like the perfect opportunity to try it out with the slightly smaller group option (6 people) as Pam & Gilbert were in town (again!) with friends and wanted me to give them a little sherry education. So I booked Las Teresas and showed up a bit early, as usual, to help get things set up and… omg. Instead of the usual dining area next to the bar, which is lovely enough, I was directed to the family’s private dining room across the street and saw this amazing table already set up for me. Honestly it felt like Christmas. I felt so happy and honoured that they did this for me. And it really made a difference as this is the longest part of the experience, trying four wines over two courses (starters and mains) before heading for desserts and sweet wines at Vineria San Telmo. In this smaller more private space (the owner and a friend came in for lunch, and there was one other table of family friends, but that was it) is not only much quieter but it really does feel like an extra special experience.
So now I will keep my other Sherry & Tapas Tasting at Casa Morales open for 2-4 people, and for groups of 6 or more I can offer this option with two stops. I am SO excited about this, though I realise that larger groups interested in sherry are a bit niche. Still, it’s out there now. Sooooo grateful for all the bars who help me out with this. I (obviously!) couldn’t do it without them.

