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Tasting Wine Older Than I Am In Spain With Osborne

Ever wonder what wines would taste like if they were older than you?

In this installment of our trip to Spain, we answer that question and more!

READ MORE: Rediscovering The Importance of Food & Drink Around The Table With Osborne

We traveled with Osborne to one of the most southern locations in Spain, Jerez.

On our way from the airport to our spirited destination, we started seeing large presences of the famous Osborne ‘El Toro’ statue all the way from the airport to our first stop, the Osborne winery, where the magic of this Spanish wine is brought to life.

We barely squeezed through the thin, cobblestoned streets of Jerez on the way to the winery. This is where we would learn all about the background, the process of their wine is made, and the amazing sherry wines that are housed inside.

This winery is more of a one-stop shop for all things Osborne.

Everything from a tapas restaurant, an apparel store, wine store and more fills the property, all add to the winery itself.

After leaving the lovely, air-conditioned restaurant, we headed to where they barrel-age the wines for well, years, decades, and for the most part, centuries.

When you step in from the courtyard of tan coloured stone and walls with lovely greenery, you are contrasted with such a different feeling. You step into a tall, cold and dark building, filled with oak barrels of aging wine. The feeling of the dark and cooler building is overwhelmed by warm senses and curiously about what goodness is in the barrels all around.

Row-by-row, more and more barrels all filled the rooms as we stopped at one, and like a flair bartender, Rocio, our host, poured each of us some Sherry wine in a dramatic and entertaining fashion.

We learned about the different barrels used, the way they are stored and how much that affects the colour and taste.

We then briefly moved onto Brandy before heading into our favourite part of any wine tour, the tasting.

I tasted six of the Sherry wines and I have to say that the Santa Maria Creme, really stood out for me. I found out that I was in luck! That the Santa Maria Creme was actually the only one out of the lot that was available in Canada!

After a wonderful tour of the stately winery, tasting all of the different Sherry wines Osborne has to offer, we headed out to our next opportunity, a boat tour to Cadiz.

Cadiz is a small island off of Jerez, with beautiful architecture and tight little streets. We took a guided tour through the streets to learn about the heritage of the place and take in some beautiful sunshine and coastal views. This is where some of our favourite Spanish city photographs originated from on the trip.

We took the boat back to Jerez and found ourselves back at the hotel for the night before heading out to dinner.

There we had dinner in the front room with wine racks on wine racks stacked high beside our table. This is where we all enjoyed some beautiful fish dishes, appetizers and more and of course, wine. I have to say, one of the highlights of that meal had to be the wonderful nightcap of Brandy that ended the meal, cutting through the sweet dessert that was the finale of our dinner.

We ended up back at the hotel, excited to see what the next destination would be.

The Bottom Line

Osborne’s love for beautifully aged Sherry and Brandy wine goes back centuries, with their love of the process being shown through the generations of people that have worked there. I am sure, with anything, there is a challenge to change, adapt and be trendy. It’s refreshing to see these facilities that double as museums for the brand exist. The heritage of not only the wines that are in the barrel but the El Toro symbol, prevalent both through art, Spanish culture and prominent throughout the past decades. There is definitely an experience, tasting Sherry that is older than you are. Not a lot of things in the world you can experience as old as you or if not older. Overall, it just goes to show you that great things in this world take time, the right environment and the right people to care for things they believe is worth it.

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