Sherry Tasting

In late September thru early October, we visited several places in Spain and Portugal. We relied heavily on our Rick Steves guidebooks for the entirety of the trip. We were traveling in the Jerez de la Frontera area and decided to book a sherry tasting. We all knew very little about sherry - especially Spanish sherry - but were interested after reading about it in the guidebook. On short notice, we were able to contact the Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla via email. They responded back in a timely way and we booked a tour for five. Upon arrival, our small group was greeted at the door. It was only the five of us, yet they booked us anyway. It was an amazing tour. We learned a lot about sherry, brandy and vermouth. The aged storehouse was really interesting. We sampled right from the barrels. At the end, we went into the tasting room. The owner happened to be there and he joined us for some drinks - including a great discussion (and tasting) of Vermouth. After being on the road for a couple of weeks and doing other tastings - it would have been easy to bypass this. I am so glad we didn’t! It was one of the better and more unique experiences of this kind. There are other Bodegas in the book, I can guarantee this one was not touristy, etc. A truly fine authentic experience.