A full programme of events in the world’s biggest sherry party will include both online and offline gatherings, a dynamic hybrid version which is perfectly suited to the needs and tastes of sherry aficionados in today’s unpredictable world. Tastings, pairings and innumerable other Sherry-tastic happenings will cater for wine-lovers who want in-person experiences, while virtual functions will bring Sherry to those who, either by choice or necessity, are at home. Registrations for events will open on May 24th.
The entire Sherry community will come together, as every year, to delve deeper into this versatile wine from southern Spain which pairs so beautifully with all types of food.
9th Copa Jerez
As an extra bonus, the ninth edition of the prestigious Copa Jerez biannual food and wine pairing competition will take place on 9-10 November in Jerez de la Frontera (instead of its usual date in May). The accompanying thematic conference, Copa Jerez Forum, will focus on the latest knowledge and research about Sherry Wines.
Finalists (teams of chef plus sommelier) from restaurants in eight countries (Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, the UK and the US) will compete with their three-course Sherry-paired menus, under COVID-safe conditions, to win the Copa Jerez. As one competitor put it, Copa Jerez is “one of the few gastronomy contests in the world where the chef and sommelier have to work together to create something incredible”. The Forum will feature world-renowned experts from the field of food and wine, either online or in person, depending on the pandemic situation.
Sherry Week 2020
Last year’s International Sherry Week, held on 2-8 November 2020, saw more than 2,000 (largely online) events registered in more than 30 countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Ukraine, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the USA.
With large parts of the world in lockdown, the pace didn’t slow at this hugely popular annual celebration. Online events took centre stage, opening up Sherry Week to an even larger public, with virtual bodega tours, seminars, tastings, a series of pairing dinners across four continents over 24 hours, and even a book launch. This new, ultra-accessible model resulted in the most flexible Sherry Week yet, where people from all over the globe could take part from anywhere, and even catch up afterwards on anything they had missed.
Award-winning Social Media campaign - again
As ever with this innovative and ground-breaking campaign, the Social Media reach led the charge, with 22 million total potential impacts between Twitter and Instagram, and nearly 11,000 likes on posts carrying the #Sherryweek hashtag (Source: Tweetbinder). The entire programme was available to watch on Facebook and YouTube, so aficionados could enjoy at home, paired with their preferred Sherry.
ISW 2020 won three awards: Best Social Media Campaign from The Drinks Business, Best Social Media Campaign from International Wine Challenge Spain, and Best Digital and Social Media campaign (for the second time) from Drinks International.
