So there I was – as usual – making last minute bodega visit plans via Twitter and WhatsApp the day before my trip… and mostly that worked out, except that two of the bodegas I wanted to visit weren’t available at such short notice. Really, it was probably enough seeing five bodegas in two and a half days, but I am always left wanting more. I think I might plan a longer stay in Jerez soon and make day trips to Sanlúcar and El Puerto while there, and keep it down to one bodega a day. Well, maybe two now and then… 😉
This time the bodegas were all very special in their own way, as bodegas tend to be, but there were also a couple of totally blow-me-away moments. I’ll write about this more over on my BRAND NEW Sherry Educator pages on Sevilla Tapas. But please be patient, because it may take awhile to get them set up properly. You can have a look now, but things are very much still “under construction”.
Meanwhile, a sneak peak of where I visited this time…
After a two-hour BUS RIDE FROM HELL we arrived in Sanlúcar with just time to drop off our bags and make it to the first bodega visit. Much later we returned to the hotel to find this lovely room and lovely view. So far not as rainy as I’d feared. More later… 
By happy coincidence this Saturday’s sherry cata at the Consejo Regulador in Jerez happened to be on the same day as a combination birthday-farewell party for our friend Momoko, who has been living in Jerez for the past three years. Now that her book research is done she has to return home to Japan, but we are all hoping she will be back in Jerez – her true home – before long. 
Momoko was taken totally by surprise and spent much of the time at her party – at the fabulous Bodegas Faustina González – with happy tears in her eyes. I’m glad I had a chance to see her before she leaves next week. And as always it was great catching up with Jerez friends, and also meeting some new ones.
At least that was the plan. Today is 
It’s going to be a very sherry month while I prepare for the Big Event in London. And what better way to start my extra practice than with my friend Silvia, a sommelier, fellow sherry educator, and daughter of a master sherry blender? What’s going on here is simply helping me focus on what I am able to identify and giving that structure.
casa azahar 