We went to the world renown Gonzalez Byass Bodega (winery) for a tour in Jerez Spain. The bodega is well-known for its sherry and it’s brand Tio Pepe. Its origins began in 1835 and was founded by Manuel María González Angel. Later a partnership with Robert Blake Byass created the Gonzalez Byass name. The winery is located on a large property which is beautifully landscaped.

The entrance to the main building is decorated with historic pictures of the winery which began in 1835.

When we finished exploring the historic photos in the main entrance, we were met by our guide. He was very enlightening and had a great sense of humor. We began our tour in a circular style  reception area which was very unique.

The guide explained to us the design of the reception area was mirrored similar to Saint Peter’s Square in Rome. The building was constructed this way to impress the visiting royal family of Spain.

We walked throughout the reception area looking at the different symbols of countries. The symbols on each barrel represented each country that Gonzalez Byass Winery exported their products to.

We walked around until we located Canada on one of the Barrels.

We then headed into another area of the winery which had a display of the equipment used to create wine over the years.

The guide provided us with the history of the Bodega and how it is known for their sherry. We then entered into the area of the Bodega where the sherry barrels are kept.

The barrels are painted black to make it easy to locate leaks. The wine will leave a shiny streak on the barrel making it very easy to find the leak.

Each aisle contains four rows of matte black barrels which contain wine from four different years. The wine in each barrel is  replaced and mixed with another barrel to make the sherry. There is an intricate and scientific process for making the perfect sherry.

We walked throughout the aisles looking at the different barrels of sherry.

There is also a special section in the barrel storage area for the royal sherry. The Queen of Spain attended the Bodega and had grapes crushed and put into a specially made barrel.

We then headed to taste some samples of sherry made by the Bodega. The tasting area was set up similar to a restaurant.

We tried several different types of sherry including their best-known  sherry “Tio Pepe”. We could see their logo throughout the bodega of Tio Pepe.

The sherry was very good and we decided to go to their sales area to take a look around. The store was very large with plenty of choices of sherry.

We walked around looking at the different displays including an area with their featured Tio Pepe Sherry.

We bought a bottle of sherry and took it home for a special occassion. It was a very interesting and enjoyable experience.

“Adios y que tenga un gran dia”