Sherry Wines disembark in San Sebastián for the Sherry Festival

Gourmet experiences, tutored tastings, films, promotions and a professional trade fair will seduce the city for ten days as it did in Madrid (2014), Barcelona (2015) and Valencia (2016).

Jerez de la Frontera, 28 April 2017.- The Sherry Festival is making its final preparations to submerge San Sebastián in the enticing aromas, flavours and gastronomic harmonies which only Sherry can arouse. For ten days, 5 – 14 May, the Basque public will be able to discover this rich oenological universe at first hand through various activities with the participation of many of the main establishments of the Basque capital who responded to the call from the Consejo Regulador of the DO Jerez. 

Famous gastronomic establishments of the Basque country like the Basque Culinary Centre, the catering schools of EGIBIDE and Leioa, the restaurants Hidalgo 56, Gandarias, Aitzgorri, El Pescaíto de la Bahía de Cádiz, Saltxipi, Arteaga, Zezilionea along with Essencia Wine Bar, Vintage Bar de Vinos, Arraunlari Berri or the Hotel María Cristina will be welcoming an ambitious programme to highlight the multitude of possibilities of wines considered internationally as jewels of oenology for their singular method of production, their extremely high quality and their versatility in the world of gastronomy. 

The Sherry Festival will facilitate a deep understanding of the wines of Jerez, as much for students and professors of the education centres of San Sebastián as for the general public via tastings and seminars. Among these will be “An Introduction to the wines of Jerez and their versatility at table” imparted by José Ferrer, ambassador of Sherry and gastronomy at the Basque Culinary Centre, “The great Sherry match: Wine and Flamenco” by Vintage and featuring unexpected harmonies between styles of Flamenco and the wines of Bodegas Sánchez Romate. 

As a result of the gourmet experiences, all of San Sebastián will be able to encounter at first hand the close connection between the wines of Jerez and haute cuisine by way of menus specially created for the enjoyment of gastronomic harmonies which only outstanding wines like Oloroso, Fino, Manzanilla, Pedro Ximéez, Palo Cortado, Cream etc, could offer. Among the dishes to be presented at the festival one will be able to try classic combinations such as cod fritters with sautee of wakame from Arraunlari Berri accompanied by Manzanilla Micaela from Bodegas Barón, or presa (a cut of Iberico pork) at low temperature in a herb crust with potato from the Hotel María Cristina accompanied by Palo Cortado Leonor from Bodegas González Byass. 

Showroom at the Hotel María Cristina
As the central event of the Sherry Festival, the Hotel María Cristina will host on the 8th of May a trade tasting with some 200 brands of Sherry from some 20 bodegas belonging to the Denominaciones de Origen Jerez and Manzanilla. This is an essential fixture for more than 300 wine professionals including restaurateurs, sommeliers, chefs, educators, distributors and journalists interested in discovering the sheer depth and richness of the Sherry universe.

During the event those attending will be able to enjoy three exclusive tastings; “Biological ageing and En Rama wines: a vertical tasting”, “Treasures of the Sacristy: a tasting of VOS and VORS” and “Sherry wines and gastronomy: a food and wine workshop”. 

A day later on the 9th May the Cine Principal will show the film “Sherry and the Mystery of Palo Cortado”, the 90 minute documentary directed by José Luis López Linares which looks into that secrets of the most enigmatic of Sherries; a wine which to some is the result of an error and for others is a work of art never to be repeated. The film was shown at the Berlinale and the Málaga Film Festival in 2015 and is now to be shown at another film capital; San Sebastián. 

In parallel with all the Sherry festival activities, Basques will be able to take home Sherry at a special price thanks to attractive promotions. One is a free copy of the film “Sherry and the Mystery of Palo Cortado” for the purchase of Sherry at Goñi Ardoteka, Essencia, Solbes Gourmet, Mimo Food, COVYLSA and Vinos Martínez y Ezeiza among others. 

About the Sherry Festival 
The Sherry Festival has consolidated itself as the great annual fixture for Sherry wines. It is an itinerant festival which brings together in a single city all the tradition, oenological wealth and gastronomic possibilities of the wines produced in the Jerez area. The event highlights the great times Sherry is enjoying; it has always been considered a jewel among wines, but is now in fashion more than ever, thanks to the predilection for it shown by wine shops, gastrobars, tabancos, and Sherry Bars which replicate in Spain the trend in numerous world capitals like London, New York, Tokyo or Sydney.