International Sherry Week goes digital for 2020

The seventh annual International Sherry Week, which will take place from 2-8 November, will be going digital this year due to the global coronavirus pandemic.

Throughout the week, a variety of tastings and events celebrating the Spanish fortified wine will take place online and via social media, including masterclasses, interviews, cooking classes and podcasts.

Given its international focus, Sherry Week has long embraced the digital world, hosting a Twitter tasting back in 2015.

Josep Roca will be hosting a Sherry webinar on Zoom

This year, every evening throughout the week a ‘Sherry o’clock’ event will take place on Instagram Live at 7pm GMT / 2pm EST.

Hosted by producers, Sherry educators, sommeliers and mixologists from around the world, each day a specific style of Sherry will be given the limelight, from manzanilla on Monday to fino on Friday.

On 3 November a Twitter tasting will take place that pits vintage Sherries against recent bottlings. The tasting will see 10 wine critics sampling three rare bottle-aged Sherries dating back to the 1950s, alongside the latest bottling of the wine.

A Sherry dinner party is due to take place on 4 November in China, Australia, the UK, Spain and the US, over the space of 24 hours.

A restaurant in each country will offer a Sherry-pairing meal for attendees enjoy at home, with different Sherries selected by the sommelier to pair with each dish.

On 5 November, Josep Roca, co-owner and sommelier at El Celler de Can Roca in Girona, will host a guide to Sherry webinar on Zoom aimed at sommeliers, alongside César Saldaña, president of the Sherry regulatory board.

All week documentary The Mystery of Palo Cortado will be available to stream. For more information about International Sherry Week, click here.