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SPANISH BRANDY

To many people Brandy means France. This is due to the
reputation of Cognac and Armagnac. Most French wine producing
regions make Brandy but it is mainly for local use or they distill the
left over stalks and skins to make Marc. For a country the size of
France there are few commercial Brandy makers. If you look at a
collection of a Brandy specialist the Cognacs far outweigh the
Brandies from elsewhere in the country.

It is surprising that Spanish brandy flies under the radar. Up until
the early 1990’s Spain produced more brandy than any other
country in the world. Then the gradual increase of government
taxes made it uneconomical for many companies to continue. In
addition only about 15% of the production was exported and most
of this went to South America. In 1985 Spain was producing about
185 million bottles of brandy.

It is thought that the Moors introduced distilling to Spain although
as they did not drink alcohol it was used only for medicinal purposes. The largest
Brandy producing area in Spain is Jerez. It’s full name is Jerez De La Fontera which
indicates that this was as far as the Moors reached in their conquest of Spain and
was the frontier between Christendom and Islam. Distillation disappeared after the
Moors were driven out of Spain around the end of the 15th century but it was revived
by the Dutch in the late 17th century as they were looking for Brandy for their sailors.
Holandas is still the local name for brandy.

The Palomino grape is used to make Sherry but the locals think it is too good to
make Brandy. They go to La Mancha and use the Airen grape. Wine drinkers used to
drinking Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc will be surprised to know that the Airen
grape is the most planted grape variety in the world. It makes tasteless wine which
makes it ideal for Brandy. To add some flavour the makers add fruit such as prunes,
almonds and nuts. This makes Spanish Brandy sweeter than it’s French counterpart.
It also makes a perfect base for long drinks. Many a tourist has awoken the next day
wondering what that they had drunk the previous evening. Do you remember David?

As brandy is made in the Sherry region it is natural that it is matured by the solera
system. The old sherry casks also impart more sweetness to the Brandy. When
Brandy is drawn off for bottling it is replaced by younger spirit which freshens up the
remaining brandy. The solera system greatly speeds up the ageing process. Basic
Brandy can be sold at 6 months, Reserve at 12 months and Gran Reserve at 3
years. These are minimum requirements and most companies age their product far
longer.

Over the next few miNiZ I will give you brief histories of the main brandy producers in
the region plus those from Catalonia. Here is a teaser to get started.

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