Sherry Tio Pepe

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Sherry Tio Pepe

La Gitana, drawn straight from the solera

Sherry & Andalucia

14 - 20 February 2010

Andalucía is startlingly beautiful with the Sierra Nevada rising dramatically from the sea. Being on the coast in Southern Spain the area has a temperate Mediterranean climate and most years that we have offered this tour in February we have had lovely blue skies, and a welcome escape from the depths of our winter!

We visit leading Sherry Bodegas, where we are offered fascinating tastings and welcomed to delicious traditional Southern Spanish food as private guests. This region is also legendary for almond blossoms in the early spring. Local legend has it that Al Mutamadid, a Moorish poet-prince of Seville in the 11th Century, introduced almond trees to the region specifically for his bride, a slave girl from the north of Spain, famed for her beauty and intelligence. She was home sick for the snows and the winters of the North, so to please her, he planted almond trees under the palace windows so she could look out in winter at the blossom, which as it fell looked like snow. The Moorish influence is still there in deep-seated traditions, gastronomy and architecture.

Sherry is an English word, a corruption of Jerez, and the name of the province where Sherry or Jerez wines are made. Sherry as a wine has remained for many years in the doldrums - it suffered from the rise of sparkling wine, which replaced it for celebratory occasions and as an aperitif. However lately there has been a revival based on the higher quality wines such as nutty Finos and gloriously voluptuous Oloroso. We spend a couple of days exploring the "sherry triangle" - visiting bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda and our base town, El Puerto de Sta Maria. We stay in a very comfortable 4* hotel in this sea-side town. And, as for the food, the tapas here are of some of the best and varied in Spain, perfect to accompany the wines of Jerez.

We then continue to two of Southern Spain's gems - Ronda and Cordoba. In both of these cities we stay in the famous paradors. Ronda sits in a spectacular position between two cliffs and Cordoba is famed for its magnificent Mosque. Cordoba is just to the North of the Montilla Morilles wine region and so of course we take the opportunity to have lunch with the leading producer.

Superb hotels, tasty, traditional food, luscious wines, fascinating architecture and the promise of perhaps a little winter sunshine.