Sherry is named after the city of Jerez de la Frontera, which got its name, "Jerez on the Border", because the city was for many years on the border between Christian Spain and Arab Andalusia. On 10,500 hectares of vineyards in the triangle between Jerez and two other towns, Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the grapes for the sherry grow.
Over the centuries the district has had a large export to England, so it was practical that it lay on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir.
In fact, the Spanish invented sherry for the sake of the English, and the wine was fortified with grape spirit so that it could last as a mulled wine on the long sea voyage to London or Bristol.
Originally, the area bore the Arabic name of Serish. It became Jerez, which in turn became Sherry, because the English had difficulty pronouncing Jerez, where the J in Spanish is almost pronounced like a snarl somewhere on the palate.
Sherry is named after the city of Jerez de la Frontera, which got its name, "Jerez on the Border", because the city was for many years on the border between Christian Spain and Arab Andalusia. On 10,500 hectares of vineyards in the triangle between Jerez and two other towns, Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, the grapes for the sherry grow.
Over the centuries the district has had a large export to England, so it was practical that it lay on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Guadalquivir.
In fact, the Spanish invented sherry for the sake of the English, and the wine was fortified with grape spirit so that it could last as a mulled wine on the long sea voyage to London or Bristol.
Originally, the area bore the Arabic name of Serish. It became Jerez, which in turn became Sherry, because the English had difficulty pronouncing Jerez, where the J in Spanish is almost pronounced like a snarl somewhere on the palate.