International Sherry Week |
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INTERNATIONAL SHERRY WEEK
International Sherry Week is an annual global fiesta to celebrate and promote this unique southern Spanish wine. The event, which takes place under the auspices of the Denominacion de Origen Xerex-Jerez-Sherry, was celebrated for the first time in November 2013.
Thousands of restaurants, wine bars, wine shops, hotels and bodegas across Andalucia, especially in the "Sherry Triangle" where the drink is produced - Jerez, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa Maria - hold events offering sherry cocktails (very popular in the US) and special pairing menus, as well as tastings and other Sherry-themed events. The idea is to introduce people, both newcomers and aficionados, to the idea of pairing the wide range of sherry wines, from bone-dry to sweet, with many different types of food, from cheese to fish, meat to desserts.
But these celebrations also extend further than just the area where sherry is made - across Spain (nearly 400 events), and the world - Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the USA, Russia and all around Europe.
More than 1,000 events are registered in 24 countries, including Australia, Belgium, China, Germany, Holland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, the UK, and the US, from pairing sherries with meat and fish conserves, to live webinars, sherry and tapas tastings, twitter tastings, and a pop-up wine shop. The countries with most events are Spain, China, the UK, Japan and the US.
Previous worldwide sherry events organised by aficionados in 2013 and 2014 resulted in side participation, with more than 2,000 events in 22 countries, and an estimated 100,000 people taking part. You could try sherry and sushi, sherry and film viewings, venencia sherry pourings, and sherry and flamenco performances.
Read our interview with the woman behind International Sherry Week (ISW), Australian marketing professional Chelsea Anton.