Visitors or residents living near Cádiz have the perfect opportunity to sample a sherry wine from its source, in particular, Manzanilla sherry wine.

The only place you should try manzanilla for the first time is in Sanlucar de Barrameda and only in Sanlucar de Barrameda.

I find that most people I talk to about the subject don’t know what a Manzanilla is let alone what a sherry wine is, and if they do then it usually wasn’t something they enjoyed.

According to my research, sherry is marketed in over 100 countries but, when I ask my US clients about sherry, some have only used it for cooking or have only tried it once or twice at a special event. My UK clients usually know it as a beverage their grandparents once drank or as a special wine brought out at Christmas Parties.

What is Sherry?

Now, this blog is not about sherry wines so I don’t want to get too much into detail. Technically sherry wines in their varieties are best explained in a winery or a bodega tour. But, one thing to know, is it is a fortified wine meaning having an alcohol content of 17-20 % compared to 10-15% for traditional wine.

A famous 19th century sums up his take on sherry with this quote:

The destiny of a thousand generations is concentrated in each drop. If the cares of the world overwhelm you, only taste it, pilgrim, and you will swear that heaven is on earth.

Pedro Antonio de Alarcon

This quote is by a sherry lover to be sure, but I have found sherry is not for everyone. It seems to be an acquired taste. Like all wines, I think the best ones are the ones you like and sherries are no different. I prefer manzanilla over fino but then again it all depends on the wine and its maker.

Sherry wine is a fortified wine made from Palomino, Moscatel, and Pedro Ximenez grape varieties. It can only be considered sherry if it is produced within the sherry triangle which includes the cities of, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Jerez de la Frontera, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, as well as a couple of outlying towns.

The driest of the sherries are Fino and Manzanilla, the differences are the location they are aged. I will leave it to the experts to indulge you more in the intricacies of sherry making.

Fino is from Jerez de la Frontera and el Puerto de Santa Maria which are located more inland and Manzanilla is from Sanlúcar de Barrameda which sits on the mouth of the Guadalquivir river. What makes manzanilla so special? Location, location, location…!

Sanlúcar de Barrameda is an Atlantic coastal city situated at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river, with Marshes of the Dona National Park across its banks. Because of the high humidity in this region, Manzanilla ages in a unique manner found nowhere else in the world. This is evident in its dry delicate flavor.

Manzanilla & La Gitana

La Gitana’ is a truly independent family business also known as Bodega Hildago.

It is situated in the barrio Bajo or the low neighborhood of Sanlúcar de Barrameda in the downtown area.

Typically, before covid, most places did not require a reservation but now post-pandemic Cádiz has become accustomed to prearranged walk-ins. So I would call (+34 669 743 992) or book online beforehand.

The English tour is at 11:00 but they want you there at 10:45 prepaid.

Reservation can be done online or in the bodega store.

The meeting point, so you know, is not the same place as the location online. It is at the ‘La Gitana’ restaurant inside the bodega which is about a 3 min walk down the street from the bodega store here ( Cl. Banda Playa, 49, 11540 Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Cádiz).

Despite visiting many bodegas La Gitana is still one of my favorites. I give it a 5-star rating, and here is why…

Why I loved my visit

Star #1

Upon arrival, you are presented with your own glass of manzanilla, YES! The 11:00 am sherry lover in me was pleased.

Star #2

The Bodega is beautiful! Designed in the typical winery architecture, the rooms were built with high ceilings and giant columns, and they are filled with big black wine barrels. There are several Spanish-style courtyards decorated with old tiles and large colorful bougainvillea.

Star #3

Please do not hate me for this but the guide’s English was really good and understandable. I have an ear for English with a Spanish accent. Often times I find visitors have a difficult time understanding the southern Spanish pronunciation of English.

Star #4

The Story

Every place needs a good story and this bodega has one.

A century after the bodega was founded back in 1890, the bodega’s owner made, what we would consider a fabulous marketing decision today, and changed his company’s brand and symbol to ‘La Gitana’ or The Gypsy Woman.

Why? Well, supposedly in that era Mr. Hidalgo would only sell his wine unbranded and in bulk to other smaller wine sellers. One of his best customers was a beautiful gypsy woman who would sell Mr. Hidalgo’s wine in her own despacho de vino or wine office (or sherry bar) in Malaga. This manzanilla wine soon became famous among the locals who called it “The Gypsy’s Manzanilla”.

Due to her success, Mr. Hidalgo decided to meet this gypsy woman. It is said they became good friends (or as rumor has it, it was a bit more than friendship). A few years later, in 1900, the winery decided to commission a Sevillana painter Turina, the father of the famous composer Joaquín Turina, to immortalize the gypsy lady in two portraits.

One was painted on a tambourine, and the other on a canvas. And thus the symbol of the bodega was born.

Star #5

What gave this bodega its 5th star was we were able to try 3 Manzanillas all with their own flavor profiles. Plus we were able to try several other of their sherry wines such as their Amontillado, Oloroso, and Cream.

Historical Anecdote

Being the history lover that I am, the very last comment that I want to include in this blog about ‘La Gitana’ and their delicious manzanilla wine is a fun little historical anecdote:

Back when Napoleon’s forces occupied Spain in the 1800s, the Bodega decided not to take sides. Being the savvy businessmen that they were, they made sure to keep the French troops happy by serving them Sherry wine called Napoléon. Then when the British forces came to help remove the French troops, the winery switched the name Wellington, after the 1st Duke of Wellington the general who led the British into Spain, to keep the British happy.

Now, you can find both of the names represented on two different sherry wines in their wine stores: Amontillado Napoleon and Palo Cortado Wellington wines.