Within the Jerez region the term "bodega" is used not only to refer to the warehouses where sherry wines are stored during their production and ageing, but is also used to describe those companies which are dedicated to the activity.
Within the Jerez region the term "bodega" is used not only to refer to the warehouses where sherry wines are stored during their production and ageing, but is also used to describe those companies which are dedicated to the activity.
Those bodega firms belonging to the Denomination of Origin are recorded in the different official registers kept by Consejo Regulador according to the stage of the sherry production and ageing process in which they intervene.
A register also exists for what are known as the "Processing Bodegas" in which those facilities used for pressing grapes and those where they are transformed into base wine during the harvest are registered each year. Given the nature of the process these Processing Bodegas are facilities which are only used for a few months of the year.
Often they are wine-producing facilities belonging to sherry firms which in turn are to be found in the Ageing or Production Register. On other occasions they are independent pressing-houses which sell base wine to the sherry firms.
Those municipal areas located within the Production Zone but not included in the Ageing Zone form a substantial part of the Denomination of Origin. In addition to the importance of the registered vineyards situated within these municipal areas, they also include a number of pressing houses or Processing Bodegas, as well as what are known as "Production Bodegas", dedicated to obtaining wines apt to be produced and later aged in bodegas located within the Ageing Zone. In addition to providing this important link in the production chain of those wines protected by the Denomination of Origin, these bodegas may also market their wines directly. These wines are covered by the protection provided by our Regulations and thus have the exclusive right to make use of the names of their respective townships when being marketed, the Regulating Council being responsible for guaranteeing such rights.
