Home to some of the world’s oldest productive vines – there are Albariño vines in DO Rías Baixas that have been producing grapes for over 200 years - Spain is also believed to be home to more hectares of old vines than any other country.

Sherry producers like to say they deal with two types of terroir. “First,” says Fermin Hidalgo, owner of leading Sanlúcar de Barrameda-based Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana, “the ‘classic’ terroir we all know: climate, soil, etc. The second terroir is the one related to the wineries… Biological ageing is part of our terroir.”

Nearly 30 years after gaining Denominación de Origen status, Galicia's most “heroic” wine region is facing some familiar challenges.

Of all the styles of sherry, palo cortado is the most ambiguous, and indeed, deliberately so. The Consejo Regulador, sherry’s governing body, defines every other style of sherry in relatively specific detail, yet when it comes to palo cortado, the rules describe it simply as a wine combining the delicacy and aromatic refinement of an amontillado with the structure and body of an oloroso. In addition, nothing is mentioned about its method of production, which further allows the definition of palo cortado to be left open to interpretation.

Watch the recording of this event on our community pages here Description

From April 16-21, 2023, Wine Scholar Guild will land on the shores of southern Spain to host a special session of our internationally-recognized Spanish Wine Scholar® study and certification program in the beautiful coastal town of Málaga. If the spectacular weather and roughly 112 miles/180 kilometers of coastline are not enough to entice you, then consider some of the other top reasons to visit and study in one of Spain’s most beautiful cities. See more about this unique opportunity to study Spanish wines with WSG in Spain here.