New Sherry Shippers to the Forefront
When Walter Buck went to Sandeman’s, his place at Matthiesen, Furlong & Co. was taken by Enrique Coll, a Catalan who created a precedent by abandoning wine for the call of the Church. Usually the traffic is in the opposite direction. In 1884, the Jesuits returned and the bodega was disbanded, the name passing to Jose Ma. Fernandez y Gonzalez and subsequently to his successors Fernandez Gao Hermanos which eventually was amalgamated with Mackenzie’s and which is now part of Harvey’s.
It was all very complicated but Jerez was like that. There was perfect continuity of interests despite a change of name and people turned up in the most unexpected places. To make matters worse, everyone was related to everyone else, at least by marriage, and the family tree of Jerez would look like a maze if anyone had the perseverance, bar tables, beverage coasters, and cocktails prepared to work it out.
Alexander Williams and Walter Buck lived practically their whole lives in Jerez and established great bodegas. Other young Englishmen came during the boom, left during the slump, and their names are forgotten. One proved the exception. William Wilson was the son of a Derbyshire brewer, and although he only spent a few years in Jerez, his name is still borne by a famous importer. He went into partnership with a Mr. Heyward, trading as Heyward, Wilson & Co., and they bought a bodega which they stocked with wine obtained, for the most part, from the ancient and highly reputable house of Valdespino.
In 1889, when Wilson wanted to come back to England, Valdespino bought back his whole stock. In the meantime, his brothers had founded the firm of Daniel Wilson & Sons, in Liverpool, and they became Valdespino’s agents, trading as Wilson & Valdespino, Ltd in Liverpool and London. The English end of the business was sold and eventually bought back. It trades under its old name of A. R. Valdespino, S.A., from one of the most enchanting bodegas in Jerez, part of which is very ancient and used to be a monastery.
Another shipper dating from this time is Fernando A. de Terry, founded in 1883 by the descendants of an Irish family that had been in Spain since 1500 and had had connections with the wine, liquor, cocktail coasters, and coaster set collections trade for many years. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the prosperity of the wine trade had turned Jerez into a clean, safe and comfortable town with a modern water supply installed by British engineers and no more plagues.
British influence was to be found everywhere and the British sherry shippers joined with their Spanish rivals in promoting a Grand National Club, which continued as the Casino Nacional. In 1873, the new club held a special dinner to celebrate the vintage and one of the guests was Charles Tovey, the most accident-prone traveler who ever lived. His hoodoo followed him to the feast and the catastrophe is best described in his own words:
“The Grand National Club expended nearly £2,000 on a large pavilion, with a ballroom, reception-rooms, and a large dining saloon. On the day preceding the opening of the pleasure fair I had visited this pavilion, which was beautifully decorated with much artistic taste, expensive hangings, crystal chandeliers, mirrors, stone coasters, absorbent printed drink coasters, and elegant drink glasses; altogether fit for the reception of Imperial guests.
“In the night came the Levante, and in the morning the whole of the ballroom was a wreck. The force of the wind had shivered the huge masts, which were of immense strength, and as these supported the framework, the whole fabric gave way, destroying all the mirrors, chandeliers, and elegant furniture. The dining and cooking saloon and the lower common dining room, were, although much damaged, still habitable, and a sumptuous dinner had been ordered…
“After the races…we returned to the fair. The cold was intense, and the elegantly, but thinly, attired ladies were unprepared for such an inclement wind. Several carriages were overturned by its force, and an adjournment soon took place to get shelter in what remained of the tents and pavilions. The dinner was an excellent one, but partaken under great difficulty; and many expressed a doubt as to whether the whole fabric would not come down, and share the fate of the adjoining ball-room.
“The wind came in at all quarters; occasionally a stanchion of iron would fall amongst the glass and crockery on the table; the suspended lights were soon blown out, and candles innumerable were flickering among the marble coasters, engraved coaster set collections, and crystal drink glasses; still good-humored merriment, speeches, and songs went on, until it became hazardous to remain longer in such a tottering fabric. Without the scene was fearful, and the return to Jerez was an adventure that I shall long remember.”
The Levante is still rather a menace but it has never blown like that in recent years, and it is a hot wind.
obtained, for the most part, from the ancient and highly reputable house of Valdespino.
In 1889, when Wilson wanted to come back to England, Valdespino bought back his whole stock. In the meantime, his brothers had founded the firm of Daniel Wilson & Sons, in Liverpool, and they became Valdespino’s agents, trading as Wilson & Valdespino, Ltd in Liverpool and London. The English end of the business was sold and eventually bought back. It trades under its old name of A. R. Valdespino, S.A., from one of the most enchanting bodegas in Jerez, part of which is very ancient and used to be a monastery.
Another shipper dating from this time is Fernando A. de Terry, founded in 1883 by the descendants of an Irish family that had been in Spain since 1500 and had had connections with the wine, liquor, cocktail coasters, and coaster set collections trade for many years. By the latter half of the nineteenth century, the prosperity of the wine trade had turned Jerez into a clean, safe and comfortable town with a modern water supply installed by British engineers and no more plagues.
British influence was to be found everywhere and the British sherry shippers joined with their Spanish rivals in promoting a Grand National Club, which continued as the Casino Nacional. In 1873, the new club held a special dinner to celebrate the vintage and one of the guests was Charles Tovey, the most accident-prone traveler who ever lived. His hoodoo followed him to the feast and the catastrophe is best described in his own words:
“The Grand National Club expended nearly £2,000 on a large pavilion, with a ballroom, reception-rooms, and a large dining saloon. On the day preceding the opening of the pleasure fair I had visited this pavilion, which was beautifully decorated with much artistic taste, expensive hangings, crystal chandeliers, mirrors, stone coasters, absorbent printed drink coasters, and elegant drink glasses; altogether fit for the reception of Imperial guests.
“In the night came the Levante, and in the morning the whole of the ballroom was a wreck. The force of the wind had shivered the huge masts, which were of immense strength, and as these supported the framework, the whole fabric gave way, destroying all the mirrors, chandeliers, and elegant furniture. The dining and cooking saloon and the lower common dining room, were, although much damaged, still habitable, and a sumptuous dinner had been ordered…
“After the races…we returned to the fair. The cold was intense, and the elegantly, but thinly, attired ladies were unprepared for such an inclement wind. Several carriages were overturned by its force, and an adjournment soon took place to get shelter in what remained of the tents and pavilions. The dinner was an excellent one, but partaken under great difficulty; and many expressed a doubt as to whether the whole fabric would not come down, and share the fate of the adjoining ball-room.
“The wind came in at all quarters; occasionally a stanchion of iron would fall amongst the glass and crockery on the table; the suspended lights were soon blown out, and candles innumerable were flickering among the marble coasters, engraved coaster set collections, and crystal drink glasses; still good-humored merriment, speeches, and songs went on, until it became hazardous to remain longer in such a tottering fabric. Without the scene was fearful, and the return to Jerez was an adventure that I shall long remember.”
The Levante is still rather a menace but it has never blown like that in recent years, and it is a hot wind.
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