Sherry: Geography and climate

The climate of the Jerez region is strongly influenced by its proximity to the Atlantic. Sea breezes from the gulf of Cádiz alleviate extremes. The oceanic influence is strongest in the coastal towns of Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Puerto de Santa María, where temperatures in July and August may be 10 °C/18 °F lower than in Jerez, 20 km/12 miles inland. Winters are mild and damp with most of the region’s annual average rainfall of 650 mm/25 in falling between late autumn and spring. There is almost no rainfall between June and October. Summer temperatures often reach 30 °C inland, occasionally rising to 40 °C with the levante, a piercing, dry, dusty wind from the south east.