In September 2010 I visited several sherry bodegas. Here are pictures and a few notes from Bodegas Williams & Humbert.
(The bodega is absolutely enormous.)
(There's a horse show inside the bodega for visitors.)
(For barrel tasting, the venenciador (in this case, the chief oenologist) inserts the venencia into the barrel to pull out a cup of liquid, then pours above a glass to aerate.)
(From a high perch in the bodega, you can see nearly the whole thing. Center in the picture is a tour group.)
- They make Dry Sack – actually a medium sweetness sherry
- Huge tourist visitor center- enter through the bodega and go to the horse show
- Brandy de Jerez is very popular in the Philippines
- Bowmore 1964 was aged in their casks
- Macallan new casks prepared here
- New wood with aged sherry added to them
- The sherry is not sold afterward- too woody
- Fino was first developed in an industrial way in the 1920’s and 30’s
- Dry sack is the top selling medium sweet sherry in the world.
- Tio Pepe is top selling fino. (Not made here.)
- Harvey’s Bristol Cream is the top cream. (Not made here.)
- Dry sack is blended with PX right at the beginning before it enters the solera system
- 15 year oloroso is very yummy.
- I also liked Gran Dulque de Alba XO
- They make the Dos Maderas rums
- Liked the VORS amontillado, VOS Palo Cortado