Alvaro Domecq, Jerez

Alvaro Domecq is one of those rare things — a Sherry bodega that’s locally owned. We visited one chilly winter morning and were impressed by its family atmosphere.

The good thing about getting out of bed early is that you often end up being the only people on the tour, which was the case today. Our guide Maria welcomed us and explained that since there were only two of us, she’d change the script a little. After a quick explanation about the different types of Sherry and brandy the bodega produces, she led us into a large cellar stacked with barrels. Behind one of the rows, twenty or so chairs were arranged in front of a screen, and we settled down to watch the show.

We’ve visited several wineries now, and we’ve got the hang of how Sherry is produced. Maria explained all this, so if you’re choosing just one winery to visit you won’t be missing out. But Alvaro Domecq had a couple of points of difference that we really appreciated — for one, although the video was a little cheesy, it referenced the history and culture of Jerez as well as that of the bodega. It also discussed the flavours you could expect to taste in the wines that the bodega produces.

Secondly, later in the tour Maria took us into a small cellar with a strong smell of vinegar, and explained how Jerez vinegar is made. Most bodegas produce vinegar, but it’s noticeably absent from many of the tours we’ve been on. It was interesting to finally learn a little about it.

Duration: 75 minutes
Hours: Monday-Friday 10am, 11.30am, 1pm.
Address: Calle Madre de Dios, s/n
More info: alvarodomecq.com

After explaining the vinegar-making process, Maria led us into a large salón with a bar at one end, and poured us tastes of the three most popular Alvaro Domecq wines: Fino, Oloroso and Cream.

Overall, it was a good, solid tour that’s a great introduction to both Jerez and Sherry, with a couple of points of difference to other, similar tours.