Sherry
We discovered Bodegas Sanchez Romate a few years ago, located in the very heart of Jerez, the city at the centre of Sherry production.
Here's a bit of history from Sanchez Romate, to give you a feeling for the essence of Jerez:
At the end of the 18th century, the busy streets of Jerez de la Frontera was proof of the bustling activity in the city, which was thriving thanks to the exports of its renowned wines.
The wine sector’s boom attracted merchants from near and afar. However, it was a Spaniard, Juan Sánchez de la Torres, who established the foundations of the firm Sánchez Romate Hermanos, one of the few remaining wineries in the Jerez Designation of Origin which is still in the hands of local owners.
In addition to achieving market recognition for the quality of his wines, Juan Sánchez de la Torre soon earned the appreciation of his fellow Jerez inhabitants: this wine-producer was restless, educated and a man of his time – the Age of Enlightenment – who lent firm support to progress in education and the arts in Jerez.
Over time, the winery grew and adapted to the successive technical advances that were taking place while maintaining their respect for traditional methods. Over a century after its founding, the firm reached a milestone when in 1887 the fourth generation of the Sánchez Romate decided to create an exclusive brandy for the family and their closest circle of friends. This was the beginning of Cardenal Mendoza Solera Gran Reserva, the firm’s flagship brand.
While maintaining their independence up to today, the winery has witnessed other important events in during its history. For example, in 1909 they were appointed as Official Purveyor to the House of Lords in the United Kingdom and shortly afterwards, in 1917, they were appointed as Official Purveyors to the Sacred Apostolic Palace of the Vatican.
Today, the wines and brandies of Sánchez Romate maintain their international spirit, with a firm commitment to expansion across the rest of the world.
With evocative names such as Soportales (Arcades), Viñas (Vineyards) or La Sacristía (The Vestry), Sánchez Romate’s different ageing rooms comprise a well-designed complex, as if it were a city in itself within the city of Jerez, the origin of the firm’s wines and brandies and the place which gives them their name – vino de Jerez, or Sherry wine.
Jerez de la Frontera lends personality to the wine. The city’s energy stems from centuries of passionate wine tradition. Surrounded by Europe’s southernmost vineyards, the history of Jerez is the history of its wineries, bright white limestone soil and copper stills.
How did this all begin? Over 3000 years ago, the Phoenicians who disembarked in the Bay of Cádiz brought the first vines with them. These vines adapted perfectly to the fertile limestone soil, which is as white as the sunshine which drenches the area. Later civilisations – Romans, Visigoths and Arabs – extended the vineyards under a dry, sunny climate that received the refreshing caress of the sea breeze.
In Sherish – the ancient Muslim name for Jerez – they experimented with the first distillations to make perfumes. Later, these processes were consolidated in Christian Xerez in the 14th and 15th centuries. It was then that the wines of Jerez began to gain international acclaim, as they began to earn fame across Europe. Over time, merchants and wine producers who were attracted by Jerez’s potential flocked to the city from all over, founding wineries that are still trading today. Sánchez Romate is one of the most emblematic of them.
Aside from its renowned wines, Jerez is also the birthplace of flamenco and horse shows, late Gothic convents and churches as well as 18th and 19th century bourgeois architecture. A stroll through the city, along streets lined with lilac and orange trees, stimulates your senses and helps to understand the magic of its most universal gifts, the wines and brandies of Jerez.
