Completely reconceived and redesigned, sherry.org brings together the global marketing strategy of Sherry Wines, unifying the brand on a worldwide platform with a consistent message. Initially the site, which marks a radical change in both design and usability, will be available in English and Spanish, with German and Dutch versions launching in October.
The new website combines deep roots with a projection towards the future,” says Cesar Saldaña, Director General of the Consejo Regulador. “We are appealing to a new generation of sherry drinkers. Sherry is integrally tied-up with the culture of this region, of Andalucia. There’s lots of passion here, and we want that to be a part of our identity.
The new global strategy is designed by digital agency ESOES, an international team based in Southern Spain which specialises in producing content marketing solutions that offer an enjoyable user experience across all devices.
Sherry is a wine
A key message of the new site is to remind people that sherry is a wine, and a versatile one – moving away from the traditional image of sherry as being limited to a pre-lunch aperitif.
Users will see that sherry is a drink for every dish, every culture, every hour – whether you’re drinking it with sushi at dinner time in Japan, with almonds before lunch in Spain, in an evening cocktail in a New York bar, or poured over ice-cream for pudding in England. Whatever you’re eating, there will be a type of sherry to match.
Sherry has such depth of character that it can thrive when paired with foods and flavours that are too strong for many other wines.
Of course sherry is not just one wine, but ten - from the dry fino, manzanilla and palo cortado, to the full-bodied amontillado and oloroso, and sweet cream and PX.
User-generated content
New sections on the site include Gastronomy, with pairing, sherry cocktails and sherry spots, plus Events, and Media and Trade.
The innovative site brings together a worldwide community of sherry aficionados, from chefs and sommeliers to bloggers and food writers, who can offer their ideas on sherry pairings – “Pour and Pair”, matching a wine to a dish of their choice in the Gastronomy section.
A simple, clearly-designed downloadable guide, ideal as a general introduction for those who are less experienced with this type of wine, describes each type of sherry and its taste, offering suggestions for foods and dishes to match with it, along with a “star pairing”.
Winning cocktails from the annual Sherry Cocktail Competition in the US, now in its 10th year, will inspire mixologists around the world to follow the hottest trend in America – sherry as a cocktail ingredient.
These ideas will be constantly updated and added to, so that there’s always something new to try.
Sherry Spots features bars and restaurants from all over the world which serve sherry, including Spain, UK, US, Australia and Russia, with a search facility.
In the Events section, users can find the latest information on Sherry events such as tastings, seminars and courses offered by both the Regulatory Council, as well as general events. This is also a valuable platform for local businesses to promote sherry education.
In addition the site will feature the upcoming 2rd International Sherry Week (2-8 November). Bars and wine merchants planning events can list them on the website, creating a worldwide sherry community which brings together sherry-lovers from all continents – in 2014, 22 countries hosted more than 2000 events.
The Media and Trade section has a Media Centre with a library of licence-free generic sherry images, which can be downloaded for use by the press, plus media releases.
Under Wines, you can find all the bodegas in the DO listed, along with full contact details and information about which sherries they produce; in future, this will also include opening hours.
A rich history
The DO of Jerez-Xeres-Sherry was founded in 1935 shortly after the Estatuto de la Viña y el Vino established the right of wine regions in Spain to declare themselves as a protected region, or Denomination of Origen. The sherry region was the first to take advantage of this new law, creating its own regulations to ensure the integrity its brand, in terms of both production process and geographical area, and as a result is now the oldest DO in Spain.
Editor’s note
• Sherry is a wine which can only be produced in the “Sherry Triangle” – the towns of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlucar de Barrameda in the province of Cadiz, south-western Spain
• DO Jerez-Xerex-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda is the oldest DO in Spain, and has 2,800 winegrowers. Wine has been produced in the area since Roman times, and sherry has been exported to the UK since the 16th century
• The Consejo Regulador’s role is to protect the Denomination of Origin (DO) Jerez-Xerex-Sherry and Manzanilla-Sanlúcar de Barrameda
