sherry educator – 10 year anniversary!

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10 years ago today I became a Certified Sherry Educator! 🥂 It was a very proud moment and it’s been a long and delicious journey ever since. Always learning and sharing, recruiting new sherry converts along the way. Many thanks to the Sherry Council for always being so supportive. And of course to all the amazing sherry bodegas 💛 ¡Salud!

(wine: La Gitana Manzanilla en Rama, copas: Lama La Uva)

ICYMI: How I Became a Sherry Educator

debbie love love

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So I finally got to spend time with Debbie Love Love! We’ve known each other online for years, and have briefly met up twice at two of our mutual friend Jeanine’s (then) bars, but we never really had a chance to sit down and talk until now. A lunch date was set and it HAD to be at Barra Baja in “our corner” at the bar – by chance both Debbie and I have adopted the end of the bar at BB as “ours”, so this time we shared. 

Debbie’s is in the process of ending one chapter of her life and beginning a new one, closing her business Cookie Love Love after 11 years. She is still unsure about what lies ahead but I am sure she’s going to find her new passion before too long. We had a great time talking non-stop for ages and it was great getting to know each other a bit. 

Anyhow… lunch. You guessed it…

It went on a while, ending with a penúlitima at another favourite place, Bar Rioja La Esquina, where we were joined by Jeanine. A good day. 

bodegas gĂłngora

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Bodegas Góngora is the second oldest active winery in Spain (the oldest in Andalucía), founded in 1682 and located about 17 kms outside Sevilla in Villanueva del Ariscal. In 2020 the winery was bought by the Howden group, though seventh generation Ignacio Gallego Góngora remains involved in the project as technical director. The bodega has recently pulled out all the stops with a more than 12 million euro transformation including a wine museum, a boutique hotel and an event space, aiming to become one of the most innovative Sevilla bodegas in terms of wine marketing and luxury wine tourism.

Guided visits began this month and today the Gastro GuĂ­as were invited on a private tour hosted by Ignacio GĂłngora himself. This was a real treat for us because Ignacio was not only a wonderful storyteller, but sharing his own personal family experiences and obvious passion really made it an extra special visit. After being told we would probably be there just over an hour, we didn’t leave until more than three hours after arriving.

The winery continues to produce three categories of wines: white, aromatised and a classic (fortified) range. During our visit we tasted five of the classic line: fino, amontillado, palo cortado, oloroso and pedro ximĂ©nez. At the moment there are four types of visits to choose from. The hotel is projected to open in March 2026, along with a “showcooking” restaurant that will be available for private events.

blue monday

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Hobbling along I looked to my left up a side street and was stopped in my tracks by THIS. Just look at that gorgeous mackerel sky! đź’™ 🤍 Very autumnal though you wouldn’t know it by the temperatures, which are still above average but at least not high enough to need the AC. This is fine by me as it means I can put off the dreaded shoes & tights for a while longer. How are things where you are?