September 14, 2015
“If I had a thousand sons, the first humane principle I would teach them should be, to forswear thin potations and to addict themselves to sack (Sherry)” Shakespeare, Henry IV, Part 2.
We spent a week in Jerez – anglicized to “Sherry” – during the Vendimia (grape harvest festival). Local tabancos (traditional Sherry bars) all have a 1€ for a wine and tapa deal so we just had to tapear (tapa crawl).
The festivities start with the blessing of the new season’s grapes on the steps of the Cathedral, which was built from the taxes on Sherry. The grapes are then trodden till the first juice runs. The crowd growled; where was the Vendimia Queen with her beautiful hand maidens dressed in white, the color of the soil and blue, the color of the sky that give life to the grapes?

Sherry and cheese tasting at the Tabanco - from dry to sweet: Fino, Amontillado, Oloroso, Cream, Pedo Ximénez
A day trip to Arcos de La Frontera, an iconic white village running along a ridge, 30 kilometers and 40 minutes by bus from Jerez.
In 1255, Arcos was conquered by Christians and it was on the frontier (de la Frontera) between Moors and Christians until the final reconquest in 1492.