Sherry Festival in Jerez de la Frontera Spain

A trip to Spain of any tourist no matter whether the person is a first timer or it is his/her nth visit, is not complete without attending the Sherry Festival in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. Sherry of Spain is a drink that you must taste in any bar or pub in Spain, even if you have tasted before. The sherry festival in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, is a celebration of color, pomp and splendor. Jerez is a place lying in the Albarriza zone of Spain and its fertile soil is responsible for the excellent quality succulent grapes which have made the town as one of the three major sherry producing town of Spain. However, only the good quality Palomino grapes are not enough for making the lovely sherry in your table. To make it, a long process takes place. Visit to any sherry making factory and you will understand that. First the grapes are pressed and then the juice is stored in oak butts. Very soon flor or yeast appears on the surface of the juice fermenting it and giving it a distinct flavor of its own. Remember, sherry of two places never taste the same, because the yeast formation depends on the climatic condition of a place. After this fortification then the sherry is blended with other wines of varying ages and stored. The sherry festival takes place on the first Saturday of September and is the celebration of wine harvest! You must watch the festivities from the beginning to enjoy the color and the pomp of the festival where you can see the wonderful flamenco dancing of Spain. You will find the beautiful queen of the vintage in tow with her hand maidens in a beautiful chariot adorned with satin, silk drapes, flowers and grapes. The queen of sherry then begins her journey in the chariot with children running after it and trying to catch the sweets thrown to them by the queen’s masked guards. Follow the masses running with the chariot of the queen of the vintage and you will see them go towards the Plaza de Arenal for paying respects to the queen and then the local sherry houses open the doors to the customers and the famous sherry of Spain starts flowing. Join the church mass and then take the blessings of the vines. After this the parties begin! Do not miss the bullfights that take place soon after and you can even take part in the motorcycle races, or if you are daring enough then shake your legs with the flamenco dancers.
Before going to the sherry festival in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain, make sure that you book a hotel in advance because the festival is famous and popular not only all over Spain but also in other countries.