UK Great Sherry Festival announced

Independent wine merchants are being called upon to take part in the UK’s Great Sherry Festival with the event officially announced at the Great Sherry Tasting in London this week.

The tasting on 15 September, hosted by the Consejo Regulador of the Denominations of Origin (CRDO) Jerez, saw some 250 trade professionals taste their way through a host of Sherries and take part in a series of masterclasses designed to drive Sherry sales in the UK.

Beltran Domecq, president of the CRDO Jerez, said:  “The Great Sherry Tasting has become the world’s largest Sherry event and is now firmly established in the UK’s very busy wine trade diary. It is a great pleasure for me to preside over the event, not least because there is such a wide range of Sherries available, but also because it remains an exciting time for Sherry in the UK.”

“With a record number of British companies importing our unique wines, Sherry is also ‘officially’ a trendy and fashionable drink, attracting a new and younger audience. This is a great achievement and something we have long campaigned for. Educating UK consumers has been a mantra for us and we believe this has, in part, contributed to its recent rise in popularity.”

The Great Sherry Festival will take place from Friday, 17 October, to 2 November with independent wine merchants across the UK invited to take part by hosting an in-store event, promotion or tasting having registered the event on www.sherryfestival.co.uk.

Up to 50 participating merchants will also be able to select from a range of supporting POS material specially designed for the festival, with the most inventive and successful campaigns winning a trip to Jerez, Spain in early 2014.

For more information visit sherryinstitute.co.uk