The word sherry is an anglicised form of Jerez. The vines grow on albariza, a chalky white soil that holds winter moisture, and the wine matures in the solera system: casks are tiered, and young wine gradually tops up the oldest. Fino ages under a veil of yeast, oloroso in contact with the air. Very sweet pedro ximenez is a dessert wine.
The big houses are within walking distance of the centre, and their lofty aging halls, nicknamed wine cathedrals, are worth a visit even for light drinkers. At Tio Pepe, the guided tour with two wines costs 24 euros, and the tour devoted to very old wines 48 euros. Book ahead, because tour times are fixed. Two cellars of different sizes are enough to taste what separates the styles.
The tabanco is a local institution: a simple bar where wine is drawn from the cask, with a few tapas of cold cuts, cheese or stew. These places have multiplied again in recent years, and several host flamenco with no stage or microphone. They are the most honest way to compare a fino and an amontillado without paying for a tour. Many close early or on certain days, so check before crossing town.
Jerez flamenco comes from two working-class quarters. Santiago, north of the old town, was long home to the gitano families who shaped the local styles, starting with the buleria. San Miguel, on the other side, was the birthplace of Lola Flores. The Andalusian Flamenco Centre, in the Pemartin palace, keeps archives and recordings. In the evening, look for a pena, an amateur association, rather than a show for tourists.
Every year, from late February to early March, the Festival de Jerez brings together big names in dance and song for two weeks at the Villamarta theatre and other venues around town. It also draws students from all over the world, who come for dance workshops. This is the best time to see top-level flamenco, provided you book seats and a room several weeks ahead.
Founded in 1973, this school trains riders and horses in grounds laid out around a 19th-century palace. Its show, How the Andalusian Horses Dance, combines classical dressage and garrocha work set to Spanish music, for about an hour and a half. Tickets start at around 18 euros from resellers. On other days you can watch training and visit the museum. Check the official calendar, as dates vary with the season.
The 12th-century Alcazar, an Almohad fortress, keeps its mosque, baths and gardens, along with a camera obscura in a tower that projects the city live. Right next door, San Salvador cathedral, built from the late 17th century through the 18th, blends baroque and neoclassical styles. The centre, more commercial than monumental, is easily covered in a morning, between Plaza del Arenal and the lanes around the central market.
The Feria del Caballo takes over Gonzalez Hontoria park for a week in May, with its open casetas and carriage parades. In late April, the Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix fills the Jerez-Angel Nieto circuit, east of the city, and the hotels along with it. September celebrates the harvest, and December the zambombas, flamenco Christmas songs sung in the patios. Outside these dates, Jerez remains a very quiet city.
Jerez forms the sherry triangle with Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria. Sanlucar makes manzanilla, the only wine aged at the mouth of the Guadalquivir, opposite Donana. El Puerto is ten minutes away by train, and Cadiz is on the same line, which makes a car-free day on the Atlantic easy. Jerez fits well into a tour of
Andalusia:
Seville is just over an hour away by train.
