Sherry vinegar (Vinagre de Jerez) must be one of the most neglected condiments. It should really be a staple item in the kitchen cupboard. Chefs have been onto sherry vinegar for decades, but for some reason it has passed the general public by, pushed aside in the rush for “easy-drinking” balsamico style vinegars. Sherry vinegar is not “easy-drinking”. It is complex and intense, but works magic on many dishes and anyway, proper Gazpacho just doesn’t taste right without it.

For as long as wine has been made in Jerez, vinegar has been a by-product. In a sherry Bodega vinegar was seen as a failure, especially if too many of the butts turned. However from about the 1950s things started to change and most people I speak to around here agree that Pilar Aranda, owner of the Almacenista Fermin Aranda, was the first person to recognise sherry vinegar as a product in its own right and she started “looking after” her vinegars, ageing them in a solera system, just like her wines. Sherry vinegar is now even protected and is one of only three vinegars in the word with Denomination of Origin. More recently the Fermin Aranda business, with its fantastic vinegar soleras, was bought by the bullfighter Alvaro Domecq, along with his family. The Consejo Regulador, who regulate production, currently use the Alvaro Domecq Reserva vinegar as their house vinegar, so it is obviously still very good!

With advances in science sherry vinegar is no longer a mysterious and spontaneous occurrence and now the best vinegars are deliberately made, often by topping up butts already containing vinegar with sherry. The alcohol quietly converts into acid, which can take months, even years, in the cool bodegas.

Some cheaper sherry vinegars are manufactured …

Officially, we are melting into the Catalunyan soil. Temperatures have risen up to 94 degrees F, which may not be that hot many of you suffering in 100+ degree temperatures, but after 2 months of rain and chilly temperatures, this seems like a sauna to us poor folk.

Yet, despite the toasty weather, its exciting to finally ring in the season with our first bottle of Manzanilla. La Bota De Manzanilla #8 “Las Cañas”, by Equipo Navaras, is from the oldest manzanilla in the house of M. Sánchez Ayala, situated in the Barrio de la Balsa in Sanlúcar de Barrameda. This much I know to be accurate, but if you look at the bottle, listing the number “8″ and “Las Cañas” on the left hand side of the bottle, with “La Bota de Manzanilla” on the right hand side of the bottle, it tends to get a little confusing as to what this all means. Let’s see if I can sort it out a bit to give a little clarity to their story.

First off, Equipo Navaros is comprised of a group of sherry lovers who happened by a dozen old, and especially tasty, butts of amontillado in Sanlucar that had been left to age flawlessly without being sold. Seeing an opportunity in the making, they bottled the equivalent of one “butt” and sold it under Edgar Allen Poe’s famous short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” (highly suggest reading this wonderfully creepy story!). After experiencing the success garnered from this small 600 bottle production among friends and family, they continued seeking more rare sherry treasures, which resulted in two additional selections in 2006. Clearly, their success extended outside the bounds of their immediate circle, …