The Sherry and Manzanilla grape harvest has come to a close with a total of 115 million kilos of grapes gathered since harvesting began at the end of August. This year's figure is a 40% increase over last year's 86 million kilos of harvested grapes.

In the municipality of Jerez, where two-thirds of the region's entire surface area of vineyards is concentrated, over 70 million kilos of grapes have been picked, while total production in Sanlucar de Barrameda reached nearly 20 million kilos. The harvest in Trebujena ended with a total of 14 million kilos of grapes, while a total of three and a half million kilos of harvested grapes were delivered to the "lagares" (grape pressing rooms) located in El Puerto de Santa Maria. The season ended in Chiclana with three million kilos, and close to the same amount was harvested and delivered to Chipiona's lagares. The towns of Puerto Real and Rota, each with one lagar, have together harvested half a million kilos of grapes this season.

A total of 37 lagares (the installations where harvested grapes are delivered to) have been functioning this season and close to fifty inspectors from the Consejo Regulador were busy ensuring that the harvest went smoothly as they monitored the entire process from the picking in the fields to pressing in the lagares. The inspectors used a system based on scanners and PDAs used at the lagar of the nearly 10,100 hectares of the Denomination of Origin that are permanently connected to the Consejo Regulador.

Although we still have to wait for the final results of this year's harvest that includes the amount of grapes to be qualified for sherry and Manzanilla production, we can point out that the increase in total grape production has been a result of the climatological conditions that have characterised the agricultural year. Before harvesting began, rainfall had averaged 600 litres per square metre and had been advantageously distributed over the year for the different stages of crop growth, allowing the wine region of Jerez, after several years of drought and early harvests, to return to the usual starting date of its harvest season, which traditionally starts around the end of August or beginning of September.

As a result of how the agricultural year has progressed, the grapes reached harvest time in optimum conditions of quality and volume, portending what has proved to be an increase in yield.

Following its opening banquet, the Sherry Wine Association - Greater China (Shanghai), raised the curtain on a sequel, the second banquet. The gentleman who established the association - John H. Isacs, CEO of EnjoyGourmet Digital & Print Media, invited many socialites, including Jose Loira Pepe, Chief Market Analyst of the Economic & Commercial Office of the Embassy of Spain, Guang-Luen Chuei, the founder of the Chateau Harvest Wine Cellar, Wei-En Feng, Copyright & Foreign Cooperation Senior Manager of the Shanghai Literature & Art Publishing Group, Jin-Long Zhan, Editor in Chief of Food News, Qin-Qin Sun, Editor of Food Report, Jane Gao, Editor of Winkee.com, etc.

The banquet was held at the famous Crystal Jade Restaurant, located in the Mei Long Zhen Square of the Jiang'an District. A full collection of different styles of Sherries was prepared, from the most refreshing Fino, to the relatively more flavorful Amontillado and Oloroso, followed by a sweet, rich Pedro Ximenez. The guests then enjoyed a full experience of Sherry wines’ diverse attributes.

Denis Lin, Consultant of Enjoy Int'l Inc., Shanghai, was responsible for the food and wine combinations. The water-stewed cold dishes dominated the "Appetizers", which were complemented by the slightly sour and yeasty Fino, a combination that was quite delectable. The "Crispy Roasted Chicken with Taro Sauce" and the sweet Amontillado subsequently appeared, followed by the "Coo-Lao Meat" and the unsweetened Oloroso. While Guang-Luen Chuei pointed out that such arrangements produce dramatic and multi-leveled changes on the texture, the ladies smiled when the "Baked Bun in Two Varieties" was served with the toothsomely sweet Pedro Ximenez. The most special appearance of the evening was the Williams & Humbert, JALIFA Amontillado, which came from Spain and was the only existing bottle in China. This Sherry is extremely rare because even the youngest of its kind is more thirty years old, and the older ones are sometimes over one hundred. Towards the end of the banquet, the guests eagerly made plans for the next event, and we saw that the attraction of Sherry wines is very difficult to resist.