Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia, Spain

Horses, Flamenco, and Sherry

A charming alleyway within the González Byass Winery in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia

The confluence of ocean breeze and rolling hinterland felt almost theatrical. From the Atlantic air I found myself drifting across golden hills on the outskirts of Jerez de la Frontera, where vineyards rippled towards the horizon and grand fincas lay scattered among some eighty bodegas.

By early afternoon the city received me within its ancient Moorish walls. The Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera, once home to the Moorish, still presides, though the Reconquista softened its aspect with touches of Renaissance and Baroque. Ochre-framed windows glow against whitewashed façades, their colours intensified beneath the Andalusian sun. One senses immediately the city’s rhythm: horses, flamenco and sherry.

“How the Andalusian Horses Dance” at the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, Jerez de la Frontera

Jerez is inseparable from its magnificent purebred Andalusians, born grey and soon turning luminous white. To watch them gallop, manes and tails flowing, is unforgettable. At the celebrated Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art, their artistry becomes poetry in motion — disciplined, noble and supremely graceful. That same poetry echoes in flamenco, for some of the art’s most revered performers hail from these streets, where intimate bars pulse with song and rhythm.

The beloved Feria del Caballo in Jerez de la Frontera

In spring the city erupts into the Feria del Caballo, when life is lived exuberantly from noon until the early hours. Women swirl in vivid gitana dresses; men don short jackets and sombreros. Fried fish circulates endlessly, and rebujito — dry sherry lengthened with lemon soda — fuels the dancing in peñas and tabancos alike. After a glass or two, cries of “¡Olé!” ring out with unstudied perfection.

Los Vecendores: the traditional art of serving sherry in Jerez de la Frontera

My visit to the González Byass Winery proved revelatory: an immaculate world within the town where sherry has matured for generations. “Sherry,” my guide explained, “is simply the English rendering of Jerez.” Since Sir Francis Drake carried three thousand barrels to England in 1587, the British palate has remained loyal — favouring sweet cream styles, while locals prefer the crystalline Fino known as Tío Pepe, named for the founder’s uncle in 1835.

The author exploring the charming alleys of the González Byass Winery

I wandered among forty thousand casks, some signed by distinguished visitors and members of Spain’s Royal Family, all resting beneath vine-draped pergolas. As I departed with a chosen bottle and a book of González family history, my guide beamed with quiet pride.

“I am a very happy lady,” she said. “I am from Jerez.”

My book ANDALUSIA, The Jewel of the Light, is published in Greek

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