Sherry: History

Jerez is one of the oldest wine-producing towns in Spain. It may well have been established by the phoenicians who founded the nearby port of Cádiz in 1110 bc. The Phoenicians were followed by the carthaginians, who were in turn succeeded by the romans. Iberian viticulture advanced rapidly under Roman rule and Jerez has been identified as the Roman city of Ceritium. After the Romans were expelled around ad 400, southern Iberia was overrun by successive tribes of Vandals and Visigoths, who were in turn defeated by the Moors after the battle of Guadalete in 711 (see islam). The Moors held sway over Andalucía for seven centuries and their influence is still evident, not least in the architecture of Seville, Cordoba, and Granada. Under Moorish domination, Jerez grew in size and stature. The town was named ‘Seris’ and this later evolved into Jerez de la Frontera, when it stood on the frontier of the two warring kingdoms during Christian reconquest in the 13th century.