businesstraveller.com NOVEMBER 2018
WINE
morning, followed by an afternoon getting to know the
world-renowned horses of Andalusia. The bodega’s
proximity to a nearby equestrian school produces a
surprisingly pleasant combination of horse and wine
odours. Tours start at €8 (US$9.4) per person for
three sherries.
Bodegas Real Tesoro and Valdespino (grupoestevez.es)
have a stunning collection of contemporary and modern
art, a museum of horse carriages, and a stud farm of rare,
blue-black Spanish stallions. Tours start at €10 (US$11.7)
per person.
You can stroll over to the Royal Andalusian School
of Equestrian Art, with daily performances of dancing
stallions, or the Recreo de las Cadenas Palace, where you
can visit the Horse and Carriage Museum, the gardens and
palaces, training areas, riding arena and stables. Shows
with dancing horses (including a museum tour) start at
€25 (US$29) per person. You can also book riding lessons.
Reservations online via realescuela.org
Personalised tours: For the ultimate experience, have
a tour of the area designed specifically for your needs.
Cadiz Guia is a specialist tour company that puts together
bespoke sherry trips with your own personal guide. He/
she will be on hand to answer all your questions, arrange
travel, and give tips on tasting and buying sherry. Having
a local person show you around provides real insight into
the area, with insider knowledge of the best bars to visit
and the best prices to pay at the markets. Cadiz Guia ofers
a tour for two people, visiting three bodegas and including
transport, from €250 (US$293); cadizguia.com
Where to stay: Take your bodega visit to the next level
by staying at the Hotel Palacio Garvey, a 19th-century
neoclassical mansion house and the former home
of sherry barons the Garvey family, which has been
converted into a 16-bedroom luxury hotel. There is an old
bodega connected with the hotel that you can explore. The
hotel is in the centre of the old part of Jerez and provides
a perfect retreat after a morning exploring the area. Sherry
is served on arrival, and the chef in the hotel’s restaurant,
La Condesa, serves dishes paired with local sherries.
hotelpalaciogarvey.com-cadiz.com
Getting there: Daily flights are available from Madrid to
Jerez, or you can travel by train to enjoy the countryside
en route. Trains run hourly with return tickets from €79
(US$92). The journey takes three hours and can be booked
online at renfe.comPLANNING A TOUR
The three principal towns of the Sherry Triangle – Jerez de
la Frontera, Sanlucar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa
María – are hidden gems with some of the best beaches
and architecture in Europe. Touring the triangle gives you
a chance to combine the best of Spain – the sea, sun,
flamenco and of course sherry – in a way that will delight all
five senses. And if wine tasting isn’t your travel companion’s
cup of sherry, there is the possibility of combining the sherry
tour with something that does appeal. Check out the website
rutadeljerezybrandy.es (Sherry Triangle and Brandy Route),
which can help you plan your tour with information including
days out, language lessons, and accommodation availability
and pricing.
Sherry and art: In Jerez is Bodega Tradicion
(bodegastradicion.es), whose rare, single-barrel aged
sherries sit beneath a well-presented collection of more than
60 pieces of Spanish art. Works include pieces by Goya,
Velazquez, Julio Romero de Torres, El Greco, Francisco de
Zurbaran and Pablo Picasso’s series of etchings known as
the “Suite Vollard”. Wine tasting tours are available every day
in various languages, though the art gallery is not open on
Sundays. Tours cost from €30 (US$35) per person.
Sherry and horses: Bodega Sandeman (sandeman.com)
provides an ideal opportunity for sherry tasting in the61