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Return to page one of sherry wine tour
At Bodegas Tradicion we were greeted by the owner's brother-in-law.
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The difference between being part of a massive tour group and receiving a private wine tour from a family member of a bodega is striking. Family members have that personal connection with the bodega's history and the family's vision.
Photo left - with the owner's brother in-law we tour the wine cellars of Bodegas Tradicion.
Prior to entering the wine bodegas we are escorted into the special bodega. The owner of the Bodegas Tradicion is a connoisseur of Spanish art, the art of the painter and the art of the wine maker, epitomized in sherry wine making. To our astonishment here in a district of warehouses we were shown a superb collection of Spanish art. |
 Photo above - before entering the art bodega, notice the series of tiles on the wall to your left, they were completed by a very young man named Pablo Picasso.
A small portion of the owner's private Spanish art collection can be viewed in the converted Bodega (a link at the bottom of this page will take you to a photo page of some of the art in the collection).
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While the art collection was an unexpected delight, we had come to see the wine bodegas.
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Management of the wine during the aging process is the key to making excellent sherry.
Bodegas Tradicion presents to the public only the oldest sherry, 20 years and older.
As sherry ages it will lose moisture through the walls of the cask (barrel), this is why the humidity of a bodega is so important to the aging of the wine. At the proper time, younger sherry is added to the older sherry, it is done for a variety of reasons: taste, replacing lost moisture and in the lighter sherries proper management of the sherry yeast.
During the aging process samples will be extracted from a cask, tasted and graded. The markings on the outside of the cast denote the quality of the wine and the position of the cask in the sherry mixing process
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Another key to the sherry making process is the adding of alcohol (fortification). Fortification is done at various times for various reasons but it too effects the yeast growth and thus the final taste of the sherry wine
The adding of wine at various times in the aging process means old sherry is a mixture of wine vintages. A 30 year old sherry wine is a mixture of some wine vintages younger than 30 years and some older than 30 years. In the end it is all about the taste.
Photo Above - getting ready to sample some of the best sherry of our wine tour.
We learned a lot about Sherry wine during our tour but as always the proof is in the taste. Like everything else at Bodegas Tradicion the wine tasting area was a step above all the other bodegas we had toured and, in our judgment, the sherry was a step above too.
After enjoying some sherry and conversation with our host it was time for lunch so we headed off with our guide to Sanlucar, but that's another story.
Photo page on the art of Bodegas Tradicion
A more authoritative article on sherry written by our guide
Learn more about Jerez de la Frontera
Or view our tour of the Rioja wine region
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