One of the world's best fortified wines, but also much else in Andalucia
— In Andalusia in southern Spain, Spain’s most famous wine of all time, sherry, is made. The wine has a long and fascinating history. After being almost forgotten for a while, it is now back. Many wine lovers come to Jerez and its unique wines, not least the dry fino. It is no longer just sweet dessert wines, but also brilliant dry food wines. Discover this exciting district that has been given a new lease of life. With lovely summer weather when the darkness and cold sets in in the north.
Tour Highlights
- 4 nights
- Private tastings, approx. 10
- Stay in Jerez de la Frontera
- Price: [sample programme]
- Sanlucar de Barrameda
- El Puerto de Santa Maria
- Magnificent cellars
- Tradition and innovation
- Andalusian gastronomy
Please Note: This Is A Sample Programme
This is a sample programme, an example. Every wine and food tour that we organise is different and specially adapted for the season and the circumstances. Details in the programme, e.g. which producers we visit, will be different each time.
- This tour is sometimes available on our scheduled wine and food tour programme
- It can be designed specifically for you as a custom made private wine tour.
Next Wine Tour To Jerez-Sherry
- This tour is currently not on our tour schedule. Contact us for information about future dates or to discuss a custom tour.
Is sherry Spain’s greatest contribution to the world of wine? Some people think so, and we’re not contradicting. Sherry is a unique and outstanding wine. Few wines can compare with sherry.
The climate here in the south is hot and dry and can almost be a bit desert-like in the summer. It can be not easy to understand that you can produce wine at all. But the calcareous albariza soil absorbs water like a sponge when it rains and gives back moisture to the vines during the dry months.
We meet in the heart of the region, in Jerez de la Frontera. We stay here for four nights. It is easy to get there by train from Madrid, Seville or Malaga. If you have time, these are cities where you would be happy to spend an extra day or two.
During the tour, we will also visit the other two cities in the so-called sherry triangle, which includes Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Maria and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
Jerez de la Frontera (“on the border”) is the largest and undoubtedly the capital of the sherry district. The city got its name because it was on the border between Catholic Spain in the north and the Moors in the south (in the 15th century and earlier). The port, El Puerto, in Puerto de Santa Maria (not far from Cádiz) was where Columbus’ ship raised the anchor to set off for his first voyage across the Atlantic in 1492. The third city, Sanlúcar at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River, was the starting point for Columbus’ third voyage and also for Magellan, who set out from there in 1519 when he made the world’s first circumnavigation of the globe. What adventures!
There has long been talk of a sherry renaissance, and now we think it’s really time! Forget the gooey sweet wine that sat in the cupboard, opened, year after year. Today, it can be everything from dramatically austere, elegant (like a flamenco dancer) powder-dry fino, often with an alcohol content that hardly exceeds some red wines today, to nutty and subtle amontillado and oloroso (which are available both dry and sweet) and of course stunningly and adorably sweet ” PX”. There are even delightfully fresh light wines (table wines) made from palomino, the main sherry grape, with a saltiness to the taste that makes one think of the nearby sea.
As a small reminder, the main sherry types are
- Fino
- Manzanilla
- Amontillado
- Palo cortado
- Oloroso
But there is an endless variety in taste and style. There is a whole new universe of aromas to discover, even for those familiar with sherry.
Join us and discover “The New Sherry”. As an added bonus, enjoy the Spanish gastronomy, which has a global reputation. The Spanish chefs have received much attention in recent years for their quality and capacity for innovation. Our lunches will be at the wine producers’.
In the evenings, you are free to explore all the restaurants, cafés, and bars in Jerez de la Frontera.
The tour is led by one of BKWine’s expert guides.
Programme — Wine tour in the sherry region, Jerez and Andalusia
Preliminary programme.
Contact BKWine for more details.
Sample programme
This is a sample programme, an example. You can find the wine tours currently on the schedule here, or you can explore a custom designed wine tour by contacting us.
There may be changes to some details of the programme, e.g. which wineries we visit. We put great effort into making your visits both exceptional and memorable. For this reason we often visit other than the most obvious, big-name producers (where there are often a number of guides employed). Instead we chose to give you a more unique, personal experience at our carefully selected estates, often (but not always) meeting the owner or the winemaker.
Programme overview
- Day 1, Wednesday — Arrival in Jerez
- Day 2, Thursday — Classic bodegas in the town of Jerez
- Day 3, Friday —Sanlúcar de Barrameda
- Day 4, Saturday — Puerto de Santa Maria
- Day 5, Sunday — Heading back home
Wednesday, day 1 — Arrival in Jerez de la Frontera
You arrive and check-in at our elegant centrally located hotel.
Jerez de la Frontera is a dynamic city with around 200,000 inhabitants. It is, of course, strongly influenced by the sherry industry. But flamenco and horse breeding are also important symbols of Jerez. In the city, there is the famous equestrian school, The Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art.
The Moorish influence in the cityscape is evident. The old quarters around the Alcázar de Jerez, a Moorish fort from the 11th century, have a very special character. The oldest part of the city, surrounded by a city wall, is classified as a cultural and historical monument.
Aristocratic private palaces and typical Andalusian residential buildings mix on the narrow streets. There are winding alleys, small squares with cafes, and, of course, a multitude of restaurants and tapas places where you can slip into. The district of Santiago is known for its beautiful whitewashed houses and flamenco clubs. You can certainly feel that you are far south in a city with a dramatic history spanning thousands of years.
Free evening to discover the city.
Thursday, day 2 — Sherry bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera
After breakfast, we head out into the city. We will be all day in Jerez de la Frontera to visit a couple of the most famous sherry bodegas.
Gonzáles Byass is, of course, on the program—a historic estate with superb wines. Here, we get examples of the incredible variety of sherry styles with just two different grapes, the white palomino and pedro ximénez. It is Gonzales Byass who makes the super dry world-famous fino Tio Pepe. They also make various amontillado, palo cortado, oloroso and sweet PX. Our tasting will be an excellent introduction to the sherry wines and the district.
The founder of the house was the entrepreneur Manuel María González in the mid-19th century. He named his very first solera “Tío Pepe’s Solera”, which actually means “Uncle Josef’s blend” (Pepe is a nickname for José). This became the world’s most famous fino in 1854, and Manuel Maria Gonzáles became one of the first to start exporting sherry. Soon, he brought in a partner, his English importer Robert Blake Byass and the new now famous name was a fact. The visit to the beautiful old cellar is about the history but also the present and future and, of course, about the entire production process.
Our lunch and afternoon visit will be at Bodegas Fernando de Castilla, housed in a beautiful winery built according to the traditional local architecture. Norwegian (!) Jan Pettersen took over Bodegas Fernando de Castilla in 1999 after working 15 years for Osborne, one of Spain’s largest wine and spirits companies.
Fernando de Castilla has long been one of our great favourites. Magnificent, outstanding-quality sherry is made here. We will taste fino, nutty amontillado, oxidised, dry palo cortado and more.
The lunch will, of course, be with sherry throughout, and we will be served local gastronomic specialities.
Late afternoon, we are back at our hotel, and the evening is free for new discoveries in Jerez de la Frontera. Remember that dinner is very late in Spain.
Friday, day 3 — Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Our bus picks us up in the morning at our hotel. We go north-westerly, out towards the sea, to Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This is where the super dry, salt-sprinkled manzanilla is made. We have an hour’s bus journey there.
We visit the exciting Bodegas Hidalgo “La Gitana”. The winery is located in the centre of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and is one of the oldest bodegas in the sherry region. The company was founded in 1792 and has since been passed down from father to son. It is one of the few producers in the region that is completely independent and entirely family-owned.
We eat lunch today at Hidalgo’s superb restaurant Entre Botas, where local specialities play the leading role, wall to wall with the barrel cellar. Their cheeses from Cadiz are delicious, and the aperitif will surely be a La Gitana En Rama, an unfiltered fino.
We have time for one more bodega in Sanlúcar during the day before it is time to return to Jerez and our hotel.
Late afternoon, we are back in Jerez. Free evening to discover more tapas bars. Of course, with another manzanilla or fino as an aperitif.
The dry-cured Spanish ham is absolutely delicious. It has its own appellations and comes in four quality levels, depending on how the pig lived and ate: jamon iberico: pata negra bellota 100% Ibérico, bellota, cebo de campo and cebo. There are also geographical designations, such as jabugo. Serrano is also a quality ham but from a different type of pig.
Saturday, day 4 — El Puerto de Santa Maria
Today, we go south, towards the sea. Just where the Guadalete River flows into the Gulf of Cádiz, just 20-25 minutes from Jerez, lies the historic town of El Puerto de Santa María.
El Puerto de Santa Maria is both a wine-producing town and fishing port, and nowadays, it is also a tourist resort thanks to its fine sandy beaches. When the Romans first came here, they started a salt industry that is still active today. It has been a prosperous city for many periods, evidenced by beautiful houses and palaces.
The sherry industry developed beginning in the early 19th century. Many bodegas were built along the river. The fino sherry style is aged in contact with the air (the casks are not full). The location of the bodegas, right by the river, close to the sea, is said to give the wines from El Puerto a very distinct and slightly salty taste. Some local wineries are still family-owned and sell sherry and vinegar by the litre straight from the cask, and people go there with empty bottles to have them refilled. The unique style that fino gets here at the port is called manzanilla.
Today, El Puerto de Santa María does not have the same reputation in the sherry industry as the other two towns. It is hard to understand why. It is very well worth going here. We will visit, e.g. Bodega Gutiérrez Colosía, which claims to have a perfect location and the perfect humidity level needed for developing “flor“, the thin layer of yeast that gives fino its distinctive taste. The impressive old cellars were built in 1838 and bought by the Gutiérrez family in the 1920s.
We then go through the city to the large and well-known firm Osborne. We will have lunch here at their restaurant, Toro Tapas. The venue is a sherry bodega transformed into a restaurant with fine interior details. The cuisine is based on fresh, seasonal products, typical of the gastronomy of western Andalusia. A speciality is 100% Iberian acorn-fed cured ham (the Spanish ham has its own appellations), red tuna, fried fish from the Gulf of Cádiz and other local recipes. There will be a fun tasting of different sherries for lunch.
After lunch, there will be a tour of Osborne’s and then a short walk on the seafront. Then, it’s time to return to Jerez de la Frontera after an intense day.
Free evening.
Sunday, day 5 — Heading back home
The tour ends after breakfast. Departure.
There may be changes to some details of the programme, e.g. which wineries we visit. We put great effort into making your visits both exceptional and memorable. For this reason we often visit other than the most obvious, big-name producers (where there are often a number of guides employed). Instead we chose to give you a more unique, personal experience at our carefully selected estates, often (but not always) meeting the owner or the winemaker.
Go For It!
We’d love to have you with us.
More travel information
Here are some useful pages and guides about this travel destination:
Even more info
We have written a lot about Spain and about wine touring in the region, what to do and what to expect.
- Read more about travelling in the Spanish wine regions on our wine travel blog.
- You can also find more information on BKWine Magazine on the wines from the sherry region, our online wine magazine.
- Our YouTube videos on Spain.
Wine books
We have written more than ten wine books. They have won both national and international wine writing awards.
No other wine tour organiser has a comparable knowledge, competence and experience.
Tour Details — The Sherry Wine Tour, in Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia
Dates: [this is a sample programme]
Price per person: [this is a sample programme]
Single room supplement: [this is a sample programme]
Sample programme
This is a sample programme, an example. You can find the wine tours currently on the schedule here, or you can explore a custom designed wine tour by contacting us.
Included in the price:
- 4 nights hotel accommodation, double occupancy, including breakfast in Jerez de la Frontera
- 4 nights in Jerez at a four-star hotel
- Meals as described in the programme above (*):
- 3 gastronomic multi-course lunches including a tasting of different wines; at wine estate or local restaurant
- Start and end point: Jerez de la Frontera
- Bus transport during the whole trip
- All vineyard and winery visits
- Private, high quality tastings at wineries, approx. 2-3 per day
- Interpretation from Spanish as needed, although most visits will be in English
- Wine guiding and wine tutoring by an expert BKWine guide
(*) See below for more important information on our meals.
Not included:
- Travel (flights etc) to the destination and back to your home location.
You are responsible for organising your travel to and from Jerez de la Frontera yourself.
If you would like assistance organising your flight tickets etc, please contact us.
We warmly recommend that you plan a few extra days here if you have the time. It is a very interesting place and well worth some regular, non-wine related tourism too. We can assist you with booking additional hotel nights as needed.
For this tour to take place we must have a minimum of 4 participants registered by the “book before” date. Maximum number of tour participants: 10.
“I want to book this tour” or “I want more info”
Book This Tour
Book before: [this is a sample programme]
Booking is confirmed by paying the booking fee of [sample programme, this varies by trip]. Full payment should be received at the latest [sample programme, usually one month or 60 days, depending on the trip] before the departure date (see our terms and conditions). Details on how to pay will be sent to you when you register.
It is important that you read our travel booking terms and conditions.
We also invite you to read more on why you should travel with BKWine, about customer protection, and about what you can expect from our wine tours in the section below “More on our wine tours”.
You book by contacting Britt Karlsson, BKWine:
- phone: +33 1 58 88 04 66 or +33 6 80 45 35 70 (+33 is the country code for France)
- Skype: “bkwine”. Call us on skype.
- email: info@bkwine.com, or use the contact form below
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More on our wine tours
Why travel with BKWine?
We are Britt and Per Karlsson. We are specialists in wine and food tours and wine tourism, but also experts in wine in general. We are internationally published wine writers and have written ten award-winning wine books.
No other tour operator has a comparable knowledge and experience of wine, wine regions, wine tourism and gourmet travel.
We have organised hundreds of wine and food tours, and this is what we love to do. We take it very seriously – it is not a sideline or a hobby – and what we want more than anything is to share all these wonderful experiences with you.
All our tours are led and managed by guides who have in-depth wine knowledge, and in many cases we lead the tours ourselves.
Read more on why you should choose BKWine for your wine and food tour.
Thousands of happy customers
Over the years, thousands of wine lovers have travelled with us. Many come back to tour again and again with BKWine to new wine regions. Our record-breaking client has been on more than ten BKWine tours. We are happy and proud to have such faithful customers.
Read more on what travellers have said about our tours.
Awards and Mentions
We’re pleased and proud to have received many accolades, including:
- “World’s Top Wine Tours”, Travel+Leisure Magazine, the world’s biggest travel magazine
- “Best wine tasting holidays”, AOL Travel’s list of top wine tours
- “Recommended Wine Tours”, Munskänkarna, the world’s biggest wine appreciation association
- “World’s Best Wine Book for Professionals” as well as “Best Wine Book of the Year”, Gourmand International awards, and many other book prizes
- Three OIV book awards, International Organisation of Vine and Wine
- “Wine Personality of the Year”, an honour bestowed on Britt Karlsson by Munskänkarna in 2011, the world’s biggest wine appreciation association
- Inclusion on the Wine Media Power List, by Wine Business International magazine
About the wine producers and wineries we visit
Our aim is for you to experience some of the very best and most interesting aspects of the wine world, in terms of wine and food.
We put great effort into creating outstanding winery visits, and in this way we are quite different to many wine tour organisers. It is not always the most renowned, internationally known estates that offer the best experiences. Organising a wine tour featuring famous names of the wine world is relatively easy: it is merely a question of making lists and ticking boxes. On those kind of “bucket list” wine tours, you rarely meet the winemaker or the owner. You will simply be one of thousands of visitors they receive each year.
We do things differently. With BKWine Tours, you will meet the people behind the label, often the winemakers and/or the owners. Thanks to them, you will have a unique, truly personal experience and an insight into the wine world that no one else can offer. When you travel with BKWine, you are more like a special guest than a tourist.
We have personal connections and unparalleled knowledge thanks to more than 20 years as wine journalists, with 10 wine books published, and as wine tour organisers with more than 30 years’ experience. You can be sure of getting the best wine travel experiences with BKWine Tours.
Read more on the wine producers and wineries we visit.
A true gourmet experience: food and gastronomy
For us, wine and food are intimately linked, and this is a fundamental part of our wine travel philosophy. For this reason, a wine tour with BKWine is always an outstanding culinary experience both for the wine enthusiast and for the gourmet. A BKWine tour is a gastronomic voyage that explores the deep relationship between food and wine.
Read more On Meals: Food and Gastronomy on Our Tours.
Customer Protection, Financial Travel Guarantee, and Terms and Conditions
You can always feel safe when you book your tour with BKWine. BKWine has a bonded bank guarantee that gives full protection according to EU and Swedish law. BKWine is a Swedish limited company and as such is regulated by strict rules.
Read more on Customer Protection, Financial Travel Guarantee. and our Terms and Conditions.
When you book a tour it is important that you read the terms and conditions. BKWine’s booking terms and conditions follow the guidelines developed by the Consumer Protection Agency.
Health, vaccination and allergies
Our tours have no particular health requirements although inevitably we will be walking a certain amount in wine cellars and vineyards. Sensible footwear is a must.
Most of our travel destinations have no particular health guidelines or requirements for vaccinations or medical certificates, but if in doubt, you should always consult a medical professional, vaccination centre or relevant embassy in your country of origin.
We can always accommodate food allergies. However, in order for us to manage such requests you must let us know about any allergies before the tour starts.
Read more in our FAQ and in our Terms and Conditions.
Travel insurance
BKWine does not sell travel insurance. If you want travel insurance, check if your regular home insurance policy includes some kind of travel insurance, or contact your regular insurance company or a travel insurance specialist.
Custom Tours
We also offer custom wine and food tours if you want to travel on different dates, or if you want something different to what we currently offer on our scheduled tours. This tailor-made service can be offered for individuals, companies, professionals, wine tastings clubs etc.
Important information
Our groups are always small. The number of people in the group may vary. The maximum can range from 8 to around 20; check the details in each programme. But our groups are always modest in size. This is important because it guarantees a quality experience and a personal welcome at the wineries we visit.
Read the BKWine Booking Terms and Conditions here. They are important to you!
You are expected to organise your travel independently to the destination for most of our tours, but once you are at the location, we take care of everything.
For more inspiration
Read our wine travel blog. For more, read our online wine magazine the BKWine Magazine with articles from all over the wine world.
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