I am Sherry

I kiss the lips of the most stunning women and the most attractive men and even those of the wisest and most discreet......  

In my name glasses are raised and solemn toasts made at every celebration. Lovers finish me off in one swallow before surrendering and those who love solitude open their hearts to me. I am consolation for loss, joy in success and happiness in friendship. I know how to break the ice between strangers and make acquaintances more intimate. Through me flow words and feeling. I am seduction. 

To compose their verses and find the perfect words, poets drink of my inspiration, priests bless me and doctors recommend me as a cure for all wounds, visible or invisible. As a parent watches their child grow that special day arrives and a glass is served to celebrate coming of age. I am company for mankind throughout life. He who knows what to drink knows how to live. 

I have always been a traveller. When the ships set sail for the new world I travelled in their holds for the evangelisation of America. Foreigners traded me and Jerezanos have always held me close to hand in their cupboards, in their humble tabancos, in their throaty flamenco voices. 

The Phoenicians discovered me and since then I have been ageless as I am constantly rejuvenated with the new wine. The bodegas erected their walls like churches to give me freshness, silence and rest. The streets took on my aroma, the countryside my name, my presence. The city surrendered to me and together we have ruled the world. 

Now they say I am fashionable and the gurus of cuisine love me and flirt with me as they discover my intoxicating power in the kitchen, my prestige on the table, my generosity. I can be found on the wine lists of the best restaurants, in the finest wine shops while I am the focus of study by the most famous sommeliers because my personality is multifaceted and unique at the same time. I am straw coloured or golden or amber and when I am sweet my slow tears exude love and emotion. 

Those who know me know I am the song, the word, the silence. I am the memory of a special moment. I am the instant which remains forever. I am the generous friendship of one who offers me in their glass. I am the eternal spirit in those who know how to love. I am Sherry, the celebration of life.

Original article published in Spanish in the Diario de Jerez 16/5/17