The 7 Best Sherry Bodegas in Jerez de la Frontera

Sherry might be Spain’s worst-kept secret.

It’s not one of those secret wine gems that only the trendiest sommeliers know about (looking at you, Georgian wine). But I’ll admit, when most people think of sherry, they think of their granny.

Tiny glasses of sickly sweet, treacly booze… that’s the image most people have of sherry wines.

But what those people don’t know is that the good stuff is a secret. Sherry wines are some of the best in Spain, and some of my favourite wines in the world! And the best sherries come from Jerez de la Frontera.

This sleepy town is quintessentially Spanish. It’s got tapas, flamenco, siesta, and of course, vino. So if you’re visiting Jerez, why not check out some of the best bodegas in town? These wineries are the perfect place to get to know Spain’s best-kept wines.

What is Sherry Wine?

“Sherry” doesn’t refer to a particular grape (or the name of the woman who makes it). No. Sherry is a place. In Spanish, it’s Jerez—a triangle of wine-making land between three towns in Andalusia. And the largest and most important of those towns is Jerez de la Frontera; the ancestral home of sherry wines!

Ask most winemakers, and they’ll say their wine is made in the vineyard. But the magic of sherry takes place in the winery! These are the great resting places of the vinos de jerez, where the wine ages in barrels for years before release.

The wineries smell of old barrels, old wine, and the earth beneath your feet. (The floor is covered in soil and sand to keep the humidity high). Here, the sherries are mixed and raised under the watchful gaze of the cellarmaster, in a complicated system called “fractional blending”; of blending old wine with new, year after year.

If you want to learn more, you can check out my ultimate guide to sherry wine. But if you want to get a real feel for sherry, why not head to where it’s made?

These wineries are where the story of sherry is told, and where you can drink the product of all that careful work! Here are my favourite sherry bodegas to visit in Jerez.

Once you’ve planned your visits, you might also want to check out my tips on where to eat in Jerez!

The 7 Best Sherry Wineries in Jerez

González Byass

If you’re new to sherry wines, González Byass is not a bad place to start your journey. This is the producer of arguably the most famous wine of the region: the iconic Tío Pepe.

There are multiple tours every day, run by slick tour guides. It’s a well-polished machine, but a bit too on-rails for my liking. But the wines are good, and the tour is a good intro to sherry. I’d just recommend heading to another, smaller winery afterwards to get a more intimate experience!

Tours start at 16€, in English and Spanish.

• Bodegas Gonzalez Byass: Calle Puerto, 19.

Bodegas Lustau

Lustau is one of my favourite sherry bodegas in Jerez. The wines are exceptional, and the vermouth is delicious! (Almost as good as my homemade vermouth). Luckily, you get to try both on the tour of the winery!

It’s also a beautiful winery: over 100 years old and counting. The tour snakes through the cathedral-like barrel rooms, with tastings as you go.

Tours are in English and Spanish, starting at 18€ for the basic tour and tasting.

• Bodegas Lustau: Calle Arcos, 53.

Bodegas Díez Mérito

You’ll likely be the only ones on the tour at Díez Mérito. It’s not that the wines are bad, in my opinion they’re the most delicious in Jerez! It’s just that it’s fairly off the beaten path.

This is an 18th-century winery, with gorgeous architecture and orange tree patios. You’ll taste a variety of the bodega’s premium sherries, and get a personal tour from a family member or family-friend!

Tours are available in English and Spanish, starting at 12€ per person.

• Bodegas Diez Merito: Calle Diego Fernández Herrera, 10.

Bodegas Tradición

As the name implies, Tradición is one of the oldest and most traditional sherry bodegas in Jerez. In fact, it goes all the way back to 1650! That’s old.

In keeping with traditional themes, there’s not much modern wine-making technology here. No modern additives sourced from a lab, no high-tech stabilisation… as close to 17th century sherry as possible!

Tours are in Spanish, English, and German, for 35€ per person. It’s more expensive than the other bodegas on this list, but you get to try much older wines from their collection. You also get a guided tour of their extensive art collection thrown in!

• Bodegas Tradición: Calle Cordobeses, 3.

Bodegas Fundador

Since 1730, Fundador has been producing some of the most sought-after sherries in Jerez. The winery complex itself is the oldest in town, so it’s worth the visit just to get a close-up look at the architecture.

Tours are in English and Spanish. Tastings alone start at 9€, with tours + tastings from 10€. If you’re into this sort of thong, you van also do a chocolate and sherry pairing! (P.X. sherry and chocolate is one of the world’s greatest pairings, just try it).

• Bodegas Fundador: Calle Puerta de Rota, s/n.

Bodegas Álvaro Domecq

Álvaro Domecq is a quality bodega, if a little less famous than the others. The Domecq name, however, is very famous in Jerez! This family has been involved with sherry for 300 years—as winemakers, landowners, and aristocrats. (Infamous might be a better description, given the family’s odd and at times problematic history!).

Following in his family’s footsteps, Alvaro opened his bodega in the 1990s, taking over a 18th-century winery.

Tours are in English and Spanish, prices are subject to group size.

• Bodegas Álvaro Domecq: Calle Madre de Dios, s/n.

Bodegas Dios Baco

With origins dating back to the 1730s, Dios Baco is another winery with a hell of a history! The Morilla family has owned this bodega since 1992, and chances are if you take a tour, one of the family will be leading you through the barrel rooms.

Tours are organised by emailing with the winery. When I visited, I did a tour for 18€ per person (including some generous light tapas).

• Bodegas Dios Baco: Calle Huerta Pintada, s/n.

Read More

Thanks for checking out my picks for the best sherry bodegas in Jerez! You can read more about local vino on my guides to Spanish wine.

And you might want to check out my practical guides to drinking wine in Spain, like how to read a Spanish wine label, and what temperature to serve Spanish wine at!