Bodega Tio Pepe - Jerez de la Frontera - Andalusia

González Byass Tío Pepe, over 180 years old and with monumental facilities, is one of the main tourist attractions in Jerez de la Frontera.

Every year some 250,000 people come to González Byass Tío Pepe , the cognac and sherry winery that is more than 180 years old.

The seven-hectare site where Tío Pepe is located is lacking vineyards (these are on the outskirts of town), but this small town is home to old white-fronted houses with Andalusian patios, 2,900 square meters of gardens with more than 400 trees and plants of 40 different species, spectacular ancient cathedrals where generous and cognac mature, several wineries, a cooperage and beautiful narrow cobbled streets whose walls and ceilings are covered with vines.

At the entrance to the enclosure stands the Real Bodega de La Concha, a spectacular building with a semicircular plan and metal structure whose design was attributed (there are discrepancies in this regard) to the prestigious French engineer Gustavo Eiffel. The large albero-floored room was built in honor of Queen Elizabeth II of Spain in 1868.

Inside, 206 La Concha amontillado casks are arranged in a semicircle and each bears the flag of the 115 countries where González Byass wine is exported. Another facility considered an architectural jewel is the Gran Bodega Tío Pepe , in a modernist style, designed and built by Eduardo Torroja in 1964 in concrete, the only one in the Marco de Jerez with this material. It can store up to 15 million liters .

The beautiful hall of Los Apóstoles, where important receptions and dinners are held, houses huge barrels that are more than 300 years old. Striking is the suitcase of El Cristo, an immense barrel with a capacity of 16,500 liters (33 boots of 30 arrobas), which had to be built in Germany. The name is related to the capacity of vessels it contained and the age of Christ when he died.

Surrounding it are 12 barrels of 6,000 liters each, known as The 12 Apostles , although the name Judas Iscariot was replaced by that of Matías. In the Christ is a delicious Tío Pepe of grapes that Queen Elizabeth II herself trampled during her visit to the winery in 1862.

Willem Vandenameele