The Sherry Wine Region
The production region of Jerez D.o. and that of "Manzanilla
de Sanlúcar de Barrameda" is located in
the southern of Spain. In the so-called "Golden
triangle" formed by the cities of Jerez , El Puerto
de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda.
The Jerez Superior area includes the best vineyards
of the three cities mentioned above.The traditional
soil called "albariza" is made of white organic
loam.The rest of the demarcated region is formed by
clayey and sandy soil which are located in Chiclana
de la Frontera, Chipiona, Lebrija , Puerto Real and
Rota. The "albariza" (chalky) soil is formed
by sediment from the inland sea that covered the area
in the old times. It is made of calcium carbonate, clay
and silica and retains well the humidity that will allow
to nourish the vines during summer.
The Climate
The climate is that of a warm southern region , very
influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and its westerly winds
which bring humidity and moisture from the sea to the
vines and wine cellars . The vine is exposed to an average
temperature of 17º C and the region has nearly
300 days of sunlight per year. With nearly 600lt/m2
of rain that normally falls in October and may contributing
to the reserves of groundwater that the vines will draw
upon in the hot and dry Summer season. All these climatic
conditions allow the optimum development of the vines
, obtaining a perfect ripening of the grapes until the
moment they are harvested.
The Grapes
The autochthonous grape variety of Jerez (of the sherry
wine) is the Palomino Fino grape.A white grape variety
perfectly adapted to the region producing high-quality
wines. All the sherry wines are made of Palomino Fino
and some are blended with Pedro Ximenez or Muscat.
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