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Jerez de la Frontera - Five Fascinating Facts

Jerez de la Frontera is rich is history and culture.
Jerez de la Frontera is rich is history and culture.

Jerez de la Frontera - Five Fascinating Facts

by Fiona Flores Watson

Well-known as the place where sherry that classic English tipple, is produced, Jerez is also equally famous both for its horses and its flamenco. Situated in the province of Cadiz, and larger than its capital city, it is only 20km from the coast, but has an aristocratic, anglophile atmosphere all of its own. A major event in Jerez's annual calendar is the colourful, lively Vendimia (Grape Harvest) Festival in September.

Sherry and Tapas © Michelle Chaplow A chilled glass of Jerez-Xérès-Sherry with tapas, the sherry grapes and the branding irons used on the Sherry Barrels
Jerez de la Frontera - Fascinating Fact 1

The city's name started out as "Xeres" in Roman times (though the Phoenicians were here before them), then became "Sherrish" under its Moorish rulers (giving its name to the fortified wine,… More →

Visit a bodega to discover the different stages of the Sherry production process © Michelle Chaplow Visit a bodega to discover the different stages of the Sherry production process
Jerez de la Frontera - Fascinating Fact 2

You can visit at least 100 sherry bodegas (wineries) in Jerez itself, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria the three points of the so-called Sherry Triangle", to see how the… More →

Sherry tasting experience © Michelle Chaplow Sherry tasting experience
Jerez de la Frontera - Fascinating Fact 3

Fortified wines were first exported to England from Jerez as long ago as the 14th century; some British Catholics fled here in the 16th century and started up as wine-traders. Later, in the 17th… More →

The Jerezanos love horse-riding © Michelle Chaplow The Jerezanos love horse-riding
Jerez de la Frontera - Fascinating Fact 4

Unsurprisingly for somewhere with such impeccable upper-class credentials, the Jerezanos love horse-riding, and their annual Feria is second to none for equestrian attractions.

It is claimed that Jerez is the true "home" of flamenco. © Michelle Chaplow It is claimed that Jerez is the true "home" of flamenco.
Jerez de la Frontera - Fascinating Fact 5

One of the curious things about Jerez, is that alongside the wealthy (though less so lately) equestrian sherry barons, there is a vibrant flamenco tradition - two very different aspects of… More →

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