Why Jerez?

We did it almost solely for the he Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.

If you like horses, it's a great couple of hours. The town itself? Not as exciting. But the show and the stables & carriage museum was worth the trip (for us). The sherry tour conflicted too much with the show, so we skipped trying to do one (and aren't big drinkers in any sense).

I agree. When the bodega tours were free (decades ago) and one got unlimited samples after the tour, plus a free gift (small bottles of sherry) to take home, Jerez was worth visiting. When I lived near there in the late 70s we used to go to it because it had the only super Wal-Mart type store south of Sevilla. My opinion of Cádiz is much the same; it’s nice to walk around for a day.

Some friends of mine were in Jerez in 2022 during its big fair and thoroughly enjoyed their visit.

We went to Jerez as a day-trip by train while we were spending a week in Cadiz. We went to attend the horse show. We walked from the train station out to the horse show, had lunch in town and a delicious gelato, and went back to Cadiz. I agree with your general comments.

Actually, the OP's question implies its own answer -- that is, for some of us, the appeal of Jerez de la Frontera lies in its difference from more typical tourist towns. Among my five trips to Spain so far, Jerez (which I visited in December 2019) is one of my favorite cities, not only for its own qualities, but for the absence of tourist crowds (at least in December), and the absence of the detritus of global tourist-culture that they drag with them everywhere they go. If I were a typical travel writer I might call Jerez the "real Spain"; here I'll just say that I encountered a certain authenticity that I appreciated. I felt I was experiencing Spanish Spain, not Tourist Spain.

I thoroughly enjoyed wandering, flâneur-style, the winding, cobbled streets of the city's medieval center, as well as the straighter streets of the quaint adjacent neighborhoods, checking out the various points of interest as I came across them -- and there were several of them, even if they weren't Grand Visual Spectacles on the order of Granada's Alhambra, or Cordoba's Mosque. (Actually, the old Moorish fort is fairly big, if Big Things are what you require.)

But most of all I enjoyed the flamenco. I'm not referring to the grand nightclub-style venues like the ones in Madrid where tour groups are taken (though perhaps some of those are to be found in Jerez), but rather to the more intimate performances I found in small, humble tabancos -- traditional sherry bars -- where you order not "sherry," but your preferred kind (oloroso, manzanilla, fino, etc.).

I'll admit that Jerez may not be for everyone. There may not be any of those Grand Visual Spectacles that Mr.Steves classifies as the "best of Europe," except maybe those horse shows (which I had no interest in). I have no idea whether Jerez has changed since my 2019 visit, or what it's like in high tourist season (if it has one), but if you're one of us who seek not just to see Spain, but to experience Spain, you may want to look into Jerez.

Not every town you visit in Spain needs to be like a ride in Disneyland.

I think Flamenco is native to Andalucia - including Seville, Jerez, Cadiz, etc. The flamenco shows in Madrid and Barcelona are like going to NYC to see a Louisiana blue's guitarist.

there is nothing wrong with Jerez, its just not worth much effort to visit. There are few cute nooks and crannies, and a nice restaurant or two, but it also has a bit of a vibe like some of those French towns where all the young people leave and the town is a bit dead.

By the way, I was in Vigo, Spain, and really liked that place - not much tourism that I could see, but a nice healthy town with character. Perhaps Girona too.

I realize that a forum like this is for personal opinions; and having already acknowledged that Jerez isn’t for every tourist, I normally woudn’t have commented further. But I would advise readers to be wary of those “not worth it” comments that many forum posters toss out. It’s legitimate for tourists to say they were unable to appreciate an historic city like Jerez, but that has nothing to do with the city’s inherent worth. (I would never write that Orlando Florida “isn’t worth it,” though I have no intention of going back there myself.)
I’m writing, not so much for the OP but for readers who, like me, have an interest in Spanish history and culture, for I suspect many of them will find Jerez well “worth it,” as I did. And now that I’m at it again, I’ll add by way of observation, not opinion, that in Jerez I found not just a few cute nooks and crannies, but a large and well-preserved (but not “pretti-fied”) centuries-old historic center. I also encountered many restaurants, and innumerable sidewalk cafes, though I don’t know whether any were hip-fusion or “Celebrity Chef” establishments. Unless something has gone badly wrong since my late-2019 visit, I’ll assume it’s all still there.
(Incidentally, I visited Cordoba just before going to Jerez, and even in that off-season month of December, I could easily see that Cordoba was a dedicated tourist-town in a way that Jerez was not — which is one of the things I loved about Jerez.)

Not every town you visit in Spain needs to be like a ride in Disneyland.

I never encountered a single city in Spain that was remotely like a Disneyland ride. Where are they? I love Disneyland rides.

Our party of 4 will be spending almost a $1000 for hotel, food, and trains for a single day in Seville, so I would say that "worth" is very much relevant. Of course, each place, and its streets, history and inhabitants are worthy of respect. But as a traveller paying $$$ and with limited time, does a visit to a city justify the expense and time. And in that regard, I would come down on the "no" side.

It's not a matter of having a prettified inner city. I have seen a number towns in France with ancient medieval winding ramshackle streets which has a lot of character without being prettified. With Jerez, the train station is actually somewhat impressive, But as you walk toward the city center there are plenty of 5 euro dress shops. Perhaps it was a long siesta time or something, but most of the shops were closed the whole afternoon. The city center looks like it was prettified about 40 years ago but not since.

Each traveller is different, but I look for some combination of beautiful scenery (rivers, castles, etc), history (Roman ruins, important buildings, a famous battle or someone famous born there), good food, and a friendly/authentic vibe.

As I have travelled many times over many years, I too am quick to sniff out tourist areas. And so I do give credit to Jerez for not being such a place. But a city needs more than a lack of tourist overgrowth to be charming. There is clearly a sweet spot. A completely undeveloped old city is probably going to look like crap - and even in places like Porto or Catania there are abandoned buildings with caved in roofs which are not appealing. On the other hand, there are many prime tourist destinations which are essentially like Disneyland themed villages where everything is fake, and you wonder if anyone actually lives in the place.

Regarding Cordobo, I did not really care much for that place. The cathedral.mosque is an impressive visit inside and out, the Roman bridge is not. What I discovered there is a whole other side of the town closer to the train station where the real people go. And that was fine.

There are winding streets of the old city of Seville which were cleaned up, but it was still nice, and I saw the best flamenco show ever in one of those shops. So there are many shades of touristic.

Maybe a little more about your visit would help folks flesh out what you did and didn't do while visiting Jerez, and, equally important, when did you go.

Here's Rick's effervescent Jerez video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPNllwa84_E - and I think he focuses on three real and WORTHWHILE things to do.

The sherry is one of those that is hit or miss items depending on one's enthusiasm for alcohol or wine production, but if that's in one's wheelhouse, Jerez is THE spot for sherry, just like Porto is THE spot for port. We skipped a port wine experience in Porto, and we skipped the sherry one in Jerez, but plenty of folks would want to do both.

The horse academy - show, stables, museum, and grounds - is another hit or miss item depending upon one's enthusiasm for horses. I enjoy watching trained horses, and the show there was not one I would get to see easily anywhere else except the rare spots like in Vienna for the Lipizzan horses. Easily worth time and a visit for many folks.

The horse festival - only in May - is a typical RS recommendation, and hit or miss mainly due to timing. Like Oktoberfest in Munich, Rick is going to recommend the experience. We weren't there in May, so we didn't see it, but if we had been nearby, I can imagine it would be a fun experience.

IOW, looking back at RS's video on Jerez, it's pretty hard for me to think it isn't worth a visit for many/most folks. Heck, you had a great meal (we packed a picnic), so couple that with the other three sggestions (and the nice train station mentioned by someone else), and Jerez is definitely worthy of one's time - assuming one has time. If folks are pressed for time, obviously prioritization of what is most important to see and do makes Jerez a "must see" or a "skip this time" or a "maybe eventually" item.