Hi! First post, so I hope it goes to the right place... Wife and I will be traveling in Andalusia in July and I was wondering if anyone had recommendations for small/boutique sherry bodegas to visit. We live in Oregon wine country and have found over the years that we're most interested in the less "commercial" types of producers. Complicating things, perhaps, is that we will be traveling through Jerez on a Saturday. I've seen many recommendations for the "big boys" but hadn't been able to find any posts with info for smaller producers so ANY info will be appreciated. Many thanks in advance! Jeff PS We will be driving, via Jerez, from Seville to Ronda.
Posted by
Houston, TX, USA
14 posts
We traveled that area about 4 years ago. We had a local travel agent do a lot of our tour bookings (hotels, trips, groups). She did not steer us wrong on anything. For Jerez, she booked us for a tour at the Gonzalez Byass/Tio Pepe Bodega. I know this is one of the larger ones, but we had an excellent time. We were there in April, and besides the 2 of us, there were only 2 other people so it was a nice tour, we could hear everything, we saw a lot of the whole bodega and a nice tasting afterwards. Sorry I cannot speak to any of the smaller bodegas. If you would like, you can email to me and I can give you the email address of our local travel agent, she may have more suggestions directly for you. [email protected]
Posted by
Columbia, MO, USA
249 posts
Can't resist putting a plug in for Sandeman. A Navy squadron, formerly based in Rota, Spain, now near you at Whidbey Island, has 'The Don' on its insignia. They treated us nicely. Also Pedro Domecq did a very nice job-don't know whether that's too big for you as well. Enjoy the area.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
2382 posts
I didn't go to any of the little guys, but Sandeman was actually very good and interesting (if not a bit Disney-ish). Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, compares to Oregon wine country (even though many of our "little" guys and gals fancy themselves quite fancy now). If you're in the area, I'd highly recommend visiting the Yeguada de la Cartuja (the breeding farm for the Royal Andalucian horses). I didn't get to see their weekly show (on Saturday, when you are there, but not when I visited!) but the farm and exhibits are pretty great and much lower key than the big fancy Royal School productions (appreciated by this farm kid from Oregon) Show is at 11, includes a tour www.yeguadacartuja.com.
Posted by
OP
Sherwood, OR, United States
2 posts
Thanks for the replies. Emailed a couple of the smaller folk and waiting to hear back. May have to default to the big boys... I guess I can think of worse fates... ;-) Safe travels everyone! Jeff
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7364 posts
If you are driving, I suggest keeping the addresses at hand, and bringing/renting a GPS. We found Jerez very difficult to navigate, even with Rick's book in the car. It's also the first time we encountered Ricks' "Bogus Traffic Wardens", but they do watch the lots. We weren't there so much for sherry, but make sure you know whether the tasting/tour is "open" or "by appointment".