Close Menu
News

Benevolent at Bar Pepito

Gonzàlez Byass is raising funds for drinks industry charity The Benevolent with a Sherry masterclass.

The event takes place next Monday, 22 March, at 7pm in Bar Pepito, London’s first Sherry bar, which opened last week as a collaboration between Gonzàlez Byass and the owners of Spanish bar & restaurant, Camino.

Martin Skelton, managing director of Gonzàlez Byass UK, will lead guests through a flight of six Sherries, accompanied by a selection of authentic tapitas.

As anyone who has already visited Bar Pepito will know, space for this masterclass is limited, so click here to secure your place.

Tickets cost £40, to include a goody bag containing a half bottle of Tio Pepe and Solera 1847.

If you can’t make this fundraiser, then it’s worth finding another excuse soon to venture up to King’s Cross and visit Bar Pepito.

Given the steady downward curve for Sherry sales in the UK, on paper it might seem like a foolhardy idea to open a venue dedicated to this category.

Step inside however, and you find an almost perfect showcase for the type of quality Sherry experience the trade yearns to offer potential and existing fans.

Equally bold, but unashamedly authentic, is the decision not to give in to the British demand for seats and super-sized tapas portions.

If you want a restaurant, go next door to Camino; Bar Pepito is about leaning up against a barrel with a bowl of olives or a few small slivers of venison carpaccio to whet your appetite and help the Sherry slip down.

The drinks list is understandably weighted towards the Gonzalez Byàss range, including some wines from the company’s other estates around Spain, but this is complemented by a strong selection from producers including Hidalgo, Lustau and Fernando de Castilla.

More than any other tapas joint in London, you get the feeling here that you really have walked into some bar down the back streets of Córdoba.

Just don’t let this deceive you into leaving your jumper at home – chances are the wine trade throng alone will mean you’re pushed out into the courtyard in chilly north London.

Gabriel Savage, 16.03.2010

It looks like you're in Asia, would you like to be redirected to the Drinks Business Asia edition?

Yes, take me to the Asia edition No