The production region of Jerez D.o. and that of "Manzanilla de Sanlcar de Barrameda" is located in the southern of Spain. In the so-called "Golden triangle" formed by the cities of Jerez, El Puerto de Santa Maria and Sanlcar de Barrameda. The Jerez Superior area includes the best vineyards of the three cities mentioned above.The traditional soil called "albariza" is made of white organic loam.The rest of the demarcated region is formed by clayey and sandy soil which are located in Chiclana de la Frontera, Chipiona, Lebrija, Puerto Real and Rota. The "albariza" (chalky) soil is formed by sediment from the inland sea that covered the area in the old times. It is made of calcium carbonate, clay and silica and retains well the humidity that will allow to nourish the vines during summer.
The climate is that of a warm southern region, very influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and its westerly winds which bring humidity and moisture from the sea to the vines and wine cellars . The vine is exposed to an average temperature of 17 C and the region has nearly 300 days of sunlight per year. With nearly 600lt/m2 of rain that normally falls in October and may contributing to the reserves of groundwater that the vines will draw upon in the hot and dry Summer season. All these climatic conditions allow the optimum development of the vines, obtaining a perfect ripening of the grapes until the moment they are harvested.
The autochthonous grape variety of Jerez (of the sherry wine) is the Palomino Fino grape.A white grape variety perfectly adapted to the region producing high-quality wines. All the sherry wines are made of Palomino Fino and some are blended with Pedro Ximenez or Muscat.
