Tag Archives: jerez

jerez getaway march 2018

06 Tuesday Mar 2018

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This week I was supposed to be out on an Andalucía Adventure travelling around the white villages with Peter and our friends from Austin Texas Jane & John, but the rainy weather put the kibosh on that plan. Instead we opted for a return to sherry country with a side trip to Cádiz.

After arriving in Jerez and checking into our hotel we made our way to the central market for a quick breakfast of churros, followed by a market visit and a quick sherry at El Pasaje. Then it was time to visit Bodegas Tradición.

As most of you already know, Bodegas Tradición is a unique bodega experience. Not only do they only make VOR and VORS sherries (aside from one fino) but their private art gallery is a joy to behold. Sabrina put out some lovely snacks for us and we sat around chatting and sipping our very special wines. It was actually Tradición’s palo cortado that changed my life all those years ago at a bar in Sevilla, turning me into the sherry-obsessed person sherry professional I am today.

After leaving Tradición we made our way back to the city centre for a penúltima, in order to relax and figure out where to have dinner that evening. That’s when I heard from Rocío from Bodegas Urium and we ended up having an impromptu bodega visit there with the family: father and bodega founder Alonso, and Rocío’s husband Mario. This small family-run biz doesn’t offer public tours, but on occasion they very generously open up their doors to friends, and friends of friends. As always, Alonso was in fine fettle, regaling us with stories while pouring wines from the barrel. I think Jane & John came away from this visit a bit awe-struck, and to be honest, I always do too.

Dinner that night was at one of my favourite places in Jerez, the super traditional Tabanco Las Bandarillas. It’s all home-style cooking there, nothing fancy, but always fabulous. And with super friendly service. Then it was time for bed as we had another special bodega experience planned for the next morning.

anne & paul

05 Monday Feb 2018

Posted by in food & drink, friends, gastronomy, getaways, sherry, tapas

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I first met Anne and Paul last spring when I went to Jerez for a sherry tasting followed by a combined birthday/leaving party for our mutual friend Momoko. Since then we’ve stayed in touch and have also met up on other Jerez Getaways, such as this past weekend.

We all went to the Lustau sherry tasting at noon on Saturday, and afterwards met up with our friend Tomoko at nearby Albalá Restaurante for an amazing lunch. This (of course) was followed by a penúlitima and Paul chose a bar that I’d never been to before, but will certainly visit next time I’m in town. Then it was “suddenly” time to get the train home. Fabulous day… I look forward to taking Anne and Paul on a tapeo in Sevilla sometime soon.  🙂

Albalá: tuna tartare, asparagus in tempura, secreto meatballs,
pork tenderoin, wild boar, apple tart

La Penúltima with Tomoko, Anne, Peter and Paul

Paul & Peter at the Jerez train station

lustau sherry tasting

03 Saturday Feb 2018

Posted by in getaways, sherry

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Another Jerez Getaway, this time to attend a sherry tasting at the Consejo Regulador de Jerez (Sherry Council) in their magnificent Bodega San Ginés. As a Sherry Educator I like going to these tastings from time to time as a kind of “refresher course” because there is always something more to learn and experience about sherry wines, and on this occasion one of my favourite bodegas was presenting their wines.

Bodegas Lustau was the first sherry bodega I ever visited, with my friend Peter and I being given a special private tour by Director of Communications and Brand Ambassador for Lustau, Federico Sánchez-Pece, who took part in today’s presentation, along with Lustau’s master wine blender Sergio Martínez and César Saldaña, Director of the Consejo Regulador. Both Federico and César are gifted speakers and it’s always a pleasure to listen to them wax lyrical about their favourite subject.

After the cata Peter and I met up with sherry-loving friends Anne, Paul and Tomoko, but more on that later…

Federico Sánchez-Pece, César Saldaña, Sergio Martínez

Manzanilla Papirusa, Fino Puerto Fino, Amontillado Escuardilla,
Oloroso Don Nuño, Mostcatel Emilín

Bodega San Ginés

a day in jerez

04 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by in andalucia, food & drink, getaways, sherry

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Sometimes the best plans are the ones that are barely planned at all. I had started thinking about last year’s Birthday Month, when I took a short getaway trip each week of January to celebrate my big 6-OH birthday on the 7th (one day is never enough 😉 ). Anyhow, it seemed a bit much to celebrate 61 in the same way – but wait until I turn 65! – and yet I still wanted to do something special. So I decided that taking a day trip each week this month would be a fun thing to do. Then I realized that I was already in the middle of the first week and still hadn’t planned the first day trip!

Then by chance I got a “follow” on Instagram from Bodegas Fernandez Gao, an up and coming winery in Jerez I’d been interested in learning more about and, although I knew they still weren’t offering tours, I asked if I could pop by for a visit – and they said yes! So that sealed it. I decided to go to Jerez for the day. And of course I immediately got in touch with my friend Tomoko to see if she wanted to meet up. It turned out that there was already a little party planned at one of my favourite bodegas and I ended up getting an invite. But after our visit to Fernandez Gao we decided to stop off at Las Bandarillas for a quick lunch before heading over to Urium.

I can’t remember the number of impromptu fiestas I’ve stumbled upon at Bodegas Urium. At this point that place really feels like my second home in Jerez. This time expat pals Paul & Anne had arranged a little “sherry and Christmas cake” thing at the bodega, that ended up growing… and eventually included me and Peter.

It was a fabulous bodega party, with everyone (I think maybe 25 of us?) all standing around a long food-laden wooden table with sherry glasses in hand, all talking, all catching up. Some people I met for the first time, but it was mostly meeting up with old friends. Afterwards Paul, Ann and Tomoko joined us in the center of town for a “penúlitima” before we had to catch our train home. A perfect day out.