Today we took a bus tour around Cadiz. Because it is on the coast there was need for fortifications. We saw several castles and city walls. Cadiz is the capital city of a province of the same name. The Moores were overcome in 1262, and today there are 41 Catholic churches.
Excuse the window reflection, but we saw this amazingly huge tree. See the trunks?
A prop holding up one of the branches
Then we were off to Jerez, where we got to get out and walk around.
This is Tio Pepe, “Uncle Joe,” who started the sherry bodega that we toured.
There were something like 345 barrels in this room, each with a national symbol to show where they ship their sherries.
The barrels are stored four high. The barrels are never moved. Every so often they remove 1/3 of the sherry from the bottom barrel and bottle it. They take 1/3 of the sherry from the 2nd row, and replace the sherry removed from the bottom barrel, and do the same with the 3rd row. When they remove 1/3 from the top barrel, they refill it with 1/3 barrel of new wine. So all the sherry is well blended.
In another room they store some very special sherries in huge barrels. Each is named for one of the apostles, and they are arranged as pictured in the Last Supper painting. In the center is the gargantuan barrel representing Jesus Christs.
I am standing in front of the Jesus barrel for comparison.
At one time they were having a mouse problem. They solved it (I guess) by giving the mouse a sweet sherry to drink. Now the mice are very happy!
Here is the mouse setup on the floor.
Next they took us to a sherry tasting. It ranges from very dry to fairly sweet.
We confirmed that we are not sherry drinkers.
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