Sherry has a good opportunity to recover its lost prestige.
The resurgence of interest in the wine and the elimination of excess production
have brought an air of optimism to the trade. The bodegas, the growers, the
institutions and wine experts all agree on this. Now is the chance to get out
of the rut of being forgotten, to leave behind years of decadence and
pessimism, of vine – pulling, abandoning vineyards, internal disputes and
ruinous pricing and get back to the top where Sherry should always have been.
Sherry could be at a crossroads. Interest in the wine is
increasing, albeit in export markets, particularly the English speaking ones,
and especially the USA. Grape and must prices are rising, growers are seeing
longer supply contracts, and the cooperatives are able to sell their produce.
The relations between producers and exporters are more cordial than they have
been for a long time, things are running smoothly and there is some profit to
be made.
There remains a lot to be done however. Jose Ramon Estevez
says a change of mentality is needed to ensure that the growers can make a
reasonable living and be incentivised to go for quality. He is among the more
optimistic and practices what he preaches. Asevi and Aecovi have applauded his (among
others’) attitude in helping the growers in hard times. They also cite
Barbadillo – one of the biggest buyers because of their best-selling table wine
Castillo de San Diego– Lustau and Beam.
The coops at Trebujena have a good friend in Williams & Humbert,
especially after the latter broke the long-established link with Coop Virgen de
la Caridad in Sanlucar when it was acquired by Nueva Rumasa. Jesus Medina,CEO
of Grupo Medina , owners of W&H is also optimistic. He says the important
thing is that everyone makes some money, although ex bodega prices will have to
rise.
Officials at the Consejo Regulador and at Fedejerez (the
bodega association) also see cause for optimism, but warn to avoid the pendulum
effect. The Consejo president, Beltran Domecq has been much involved with
promoting Sherry, with the Copa de Jerez and tastings in various countries, but
he is fed up with the lack of financial resources to really promote Sherry.
Others, perhaps with a slightly more pragmatic view believe that volumes should
be kept low and that Sherry should be promoted as a “fine” wine. To the connoisseurs it is, but far too many consumers drink bulk plonk from own-label
brands blended down to a price. The trade needs to get away from bulk.
Jesus Barquin, co-founder of Equipo Navazos believes the
mistake was the “factory mentality” wine and getting too disconnected from the
vineyards. Sherry should be a vineyard-driven wine, not some sort of homogenous
commodity like Coca Cola. Jose Penin, founder of the Guia Penin, is also
critical about affairs have been run in Jerez. Carmen Romero, manager of
Aecovi also says that Sherry must be
vineyard driven, and applauds those who have seen the light. Aecovi took the
bold step of marketing their own Sherries to ensure profitability for the Coop
members. It should be borne in mind that the cheapest grapes in Spain are those
of Jerez, and there is room for improvement, however if Sherry keeps to the
current path there may be even more room for optimism.
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