Spain’s Andalusia – What a Grape Place!

Beyond the museums and bullfights, Spain is a slow-paced, tranquil land where time seems to stand still. Hidden somewhere among the rolling pale-green hills of Southern Spain is one of Europe’s oldest wineries - the Bodegas Alvear. We are deep in Andalusia, Spain’s heartland, near the ancient Moorish city of Cordoba. This is a region renowned for its fine wines, beautiful women, and the people’s closeness to the soil.

Here among the beautiful, white-washed villages dotting the manicured countryside, the wine-making tradition is as strong as the taste of their sherry wines.

Not much has changed in the wine-making process since the winery was founded in 1729 by the flamboyant Don Diego de Alvear. Eight generations later, the Alvear family offered to take Marie Claire on a tour of this time-honoured craft; a craft which defines all of southern Spain.

Don Miguel Sanchez, the cellar master of the Alvear, is an amiable bear-like man with smiling eyes and a clear passion for his wines. After a quick introduction, he is keen to show us his wine cellar. As we walk between fields of freshly picked vines towards the massive cellar on top of a hill, Don Miguel spills forth in broken, eager English about what makes the Alvear wines so special.

This region, centred on the charming, town of Montilla with its cobbled streets, is famous for four white wines, all made from the distinctive Pedro Ximenes grape - Fino, Almontillado, Olo Roso, and the famously strong Pedro Ximenes.

Ahh, the famous Pedro Ximenes, Don Miguel rolls his eyes with delight. This wine, generally considered the best sherry in the world, is made from a variety of grapes by the same name – only they are not allowed to call it a ‘sherry’ as that name is jealously protected by the sherry-producers in the name-sake town of Jerez further south.

Make no mistake when you order your wine around these parts. The Pedro Ximenes is strong - up to 18% alcohol when normal table wines rarely exceed 15%. This is because the grapes are laid out in the hot autumn sun to shrivel up into raisins, thereby concentrating the grapes’ sugar level and flavours.

After a thorough pressing, the ‘raisin juice’ is mixed with an older wine (at least 3 years older) to fortify it further and give it character. Because of this ancient mixing process, there’s no vintage date given!

The dark and spacious wooden cellar, itself 200 years old, must be kept at a steady 12-23C year-round, even in the dead of summer when the sub-Saharan sun scorches the air with 40+C. The secret to keeping the cellar cool is the 'albero' soil sprinkled on the floor. It is the same soil used in bullfighting rings to absorb the bulls’ blood. Due to its absorbency, water is sprinkled throughout the cellar every morning to maintain a cool humidity through the heat of the day. This prevents the oak barrels from shrinking and cracking.

The result? A sweet, rich wine said to taste 'como el sol' (like the sun), and makes an excellent partner to ‘tapas’ - typical Andalusian cuisine.