Sanlucar de Barrameda and a visit to a Manzanilla Bodega

On my way to Seville from Jerez on Friday I passed by Sanlucar de Barrameda in the morning and visited the Bodegas Pedro Romero, one of the well-known makers of manzanilla in this coastal city. I was extremely fortunate to be offered a personal guided tour immediately upon my arrival there at 11 a.m. and did not have to wait until the scheduled visit time of midday. The guide available was a young German lady who, however, spoke little English. When she discovered that I spoke French though her face brightened and that's the language the tour was conducted in. I love the freshness of Manzanilla; it is a little lighter in style than fino sherry, attributed they say to the effect of the humid and salty air on the coast. The luscious Pedro Ximenez style was also a treat; I have only sampled this a few times before, but a bottle was included as one of the several bottles I acquired at the end of the visit!

Bodegas Pedro Romero, Sanlucar de Barrameda 23 MAR 2007 A view of a small part of one of the bodegas Staff at work carrying out the criadera and solera rotations Glasses of Manzanilla drawn straight from the barrel. Click here to see larger images.

On Saturday I spent a full day visiting the Alcazar and the Cathedral in Seville and took many photographs - once I've had a few hours sleep (and the clocks go forward an hour tonight!) I may get aroound to doing a post later in the morning about these visits, or possibly I'll do it when I reach Malaga in the late afternoon of Sunday.