The very first mention of sherry wine comes from the Greek geographer Strabo in the 1st Century BC. In his book Geography (volume III) he writes that the first vines were brought to the Jerez Region by the Phoenicians in 1100 BC.Archaeological sites of Phoenician origin have been discovered in excavations at Castillo de Doña Blanca, located just 4km from Jerez, where the remains of wine-presses have been found. This discovery confirms that the same people who founded the ancient town of Gades, or Cádiz, brought with them the art of cultivating the vine and wine making from the far off lands of what is now known as Lebanon.

From Xera, the name given by the Phoenicians to the region where Jerez stands today, this nation of traders produced wines which were then exported throughout the whole Mediterranean Basin, especially to Rome. Thus, right from its most remote origins, sherry wine acquired one of its most important characteristics, one which has become an identifying factor over the centuries: that of being a wine which "travels".

Greeks and Carthaginians also had an important role to play in the history of the region, rooted deeply in the Mediterranean culture of wine and moderation.

Around the year 138 BC the Betica Region was pacified by Scipio Aemillianus, who established Roman rule and opened up a substantial flow of trade between the region and the metropolis. The people of Cádiz, the Gaditanos, exported local products to Rome: olive oil, wine from the Ceret region and garum (a kind of marinade sauce made from leftovers of salted fish). By this time the fame of "Vinum Ceretensis" had already crossed over our frontiers and was not only highly appreciated in Rome but also in many other parts of the Empire, a fact proven by the discovery of numerous archaeological remains in the shape of amphorae which, for tax purposes, bore a stamp on their clay surface which stated their content.

The Roman writer from Cádiz, Lucius Junius Moderatus Columella (born during the first years of the Christian era), in his De re rustica, in which he lays down basic rules for vineyards in the Jerez area which have survived to the present day: soil and grape types, vineyard location, various vineyard tasks and at what time of year to carry them out, the quality of must obtained, and so on...

The year 711 AD marked the commencement of Moorish denomination in Spain, opening a period of history which in the case of Jerez would last for over five centuries. During all this time Jerez remained a large wine producing centre, even though the Koran prohibited the consumption of alcohol. To a certain extent the production of raisins, the distillation of alcohol for a variety of different uses (perfumes, ointment, etc…) and the use of wine for medicinal purposes provided the pretext to continue growing vines and making wine. In fact, in 966 the Caliph Al-Haken II decreed the grubbing up of the Jerez vines on religious grounds, only to be informed by the people of Jerez that the grapes from their vineyards were used to produce raisins to feed the troops fighting in the Holy War, which was indeed partially true, and thus ensured that only a third of their vineyards were grubbed up.

In any case we know that during specific periods of reduced religious fervour wine was both widely appreciated and consumed, especially in the more elite social circles of the time.

A map of the region dating from 1150, designed by the Moorish geographer Al-Idrisi and commissioned by King Roger of Sicily is kept in Oxford University's Bodleian Library. A curious feature of the map is that the North is at the foot of the page and the South at the top. The map clearly shows the name given to the city by the Moors, which is no other than Sherish.

This map was the key to settling the first lawsuit brought by the sherry firms of Jerez against so-called "British Sherry", a beverage produced in the United Kingdom making improper use of one of the names belonging to the Denomination of Origin. The map proves that the word "Sherry", name by which our wines are known throughout English-speaking world, is clearly derived from the ancient Moorish name for the city of Jerez.

Shortly afterwards, in 1264, King Alfonso X of Castile reclaimed Jerez from the Moors, and life in the sherry region changed radically. Located at the frontier with the Nasrid kingdom of Granada - hence its full name, Jerez de la Frontera - the city underwent years of bitter struggle, violence and bloodshed, during which replenishment of both population and crops became essential. A reward system associated with the Conquest had been created, with the Crown distributing specific units of land on the basis of social prestige and merit. Vines and cereals, obligatory crops by law, became the economic and dietary lynchpins of a territory of which Alfonso was very fond and where he owned his own vineyard. Tradition has it that one of his most important military officers, Fernán Ibáñez Palomino, gave his name - Palomino - to the variety of grape that later became a local classic.

Around this time, and even in the 12th Century, sherry wines were being exported to England, where they were known by the Moorish name for the city: Sherish. However, our wines became popular in this country when Henry I proposed a bartering agreement to promote national produce: English wool for sherry wine. The Jerez vineyards then became an important source of wealth for the kingdom, so much so that King Enrique III of Castile prohibited the uprooting of even a single vine by Royal Decree in 1402. Even going as far as to forbid the placement of bee-hives in close proximity to the vineyards in case the bees should damage the grapes.

The growing demand for sherry wines from English, French and Flemish merchants led the town council to establish the Regulations of the Guild of Raisin and Grape Harvesters of Jerez on 12th August, 1483. These were the first rules governing our Denomination of Origin: regulating all the details of the harvest, the characteristics of the butts, the ageing system and commercial procedures.

By then, the two other enclaves - the seafaring towns of El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda which, together with Jerez, would make up the Marco de Jerez region several centuries later - had long before discovered in these wines a major source of wealth. In the case of El Puerto, the vineyards extended almost as far as Rota, while Sanlúcar's Duke of Medina Sidonia, admitted in 1469: "considering that this, my town, had no other legacy but its vines, they provide me with so much income and service..."

Overseas sales of Sherry Wines underwent a further period of expansion after the wedding of Catherine of Aragon, youngest child of the Catholic Monarchs, first to King Arthur of England, and later to King Henry VIII. Catherine, an educated woman, voiced the complaint that "The King, my husband, keeps the very best wines from the Canaries and Jerez for himself".

But Sherry Wine was not just exported to Europe. The discovery of America was to open up new markets and business flourished as a result. This was the period of epic voyages and geographical discovery. A series of historic events were celebrated with sherry wine, as proven by the fact that Magellan purchased 417 wineskins and 253 kegs of sherry before setting out on his long voyage, which means that sherry was the first wine to complete a voyage around the world (that is if any remained by the time the Nao Victoria returned to Sanlucar under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano). There is also evidence that sherry wine was present at events celebrating the conquest of new territories such as Venezuela and Peru.

Exploitation of this 'immense New World' was effected by the Spanish Crown through the port of Seville and the commercial exchange known as the Casa de Contratación (House of Trade), also in Seville, the sole government agency authorised to control Spanish exploration and colonisation of the new lands. This circumstance was extremely favourable for sherry wines as, being so close to Seville, they formed an essential part of the provisions for all those vessels sailing to America. The wine-growers of the Jerez region took advantage of a provision which stipulated that a third of the cargo space in each ship on each vessel trading with America be reserved for goods from the Cádiz area. This was especially beneficial as from 1680 when the head of the fleet moved to Cádiz, thus bringing to an end the monopoly over all trade with the Indies held until that time by the Port of Seville.

This trade with the Indies transformed small family wine businesses into truly large, industrial operations. Numerous Italian investors and traders, such as Lila, Maldonado, Spínola, Conti, Colarte, Bozzano and Zarzana settled in Jerez during the 15th Century.

The sale of Sherry in the Indies was frequently hampered by pirates who seized the fleet's cargo and sold it in London. The greatest haul of sherry wine was made in 1587 when Sir Francis Drake attacked Cádiz and carried off 3,000 kegs of sherry. When this booty arrived in London it made sherry fashionable in the English Court and Elizabeth I even went as far as to recommend it to the Count of Essex as the best of wines. As a consequence of this rapid increase in the consumption of sherry and a limited supply, King James I decided to set an example to his subjects by ordering that the Royal Cellars should limit the amount of sherry brought to his table to a modest 12 gallons (48 litres) per day!

The works of William Shakespeare give us a good idea of the popularity of sherry wines in those days. Together with his friend Ben Johnson he used to drink a good few bottles of sherry each day at the Bear Head Tavern. The Bard frequently refers to sherry in many of his plays: Richard III, Henry VI, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Henry IV, etc… In his Palinodia (1619), Pasquil declares that "all drinks stand hat-in-hand in the presence of sherry."

The demand for sherry rose steeply and the English decided to obtain our wines by fair means or foul. In 1625 Lord Wimbledon attempted another attack on Cádiz, this time unsuccessful. It was probably this failure which led the English, Scots and Irish to guarantee their supplies of sherry through the usual trading channels by establishing their own businesses in the Region. The 17th and 18th Centuries saw the arrival of wine merchants such as Fitz-Gerald, O'Neal, Gordon, Garvey or Mackenzie. Later they were followed by Wisdom, Warter, Williams, Humbert or Sandeman. Being British subjects some Jerez wine-growers were able to bring pressure to bear on the British government to lower excise duties, achieving their objective in 1825 with a reduction of two duros (a Spanish coin of the time) per butt. This led to a four-fold increase in sales of sherry between 1825 and 1840.

Investment in the Region is very profitable and attracts Spanish capital, above all the so-called "returning capital" which was flowing back into Spain after the decolonisation of the American possesions. This period saw the arrival of the González family (1835), the Misa family (1844), and a veritable battalion of Basque families: Goytia, Apecechea, Aizpitarte, Otaolaurruchi...

The commercial boom of the 19th Century would not have been possible, however, without the existence of a series of favourable conditions which will be analysed in the following section.