Our Andalucian paradise

Bodega Fernando de Castilla. Photo © Karethe Linaae

A bodeguero is a person who owns and runs a wine bodega. Other than bull fighters, you probably won’t find a more typical Spanish profession. Yet to some people’s surprise, there is a genuine Norwegian bodeguero right in the middle of the golden triangle of sherry production, in the old town of Jerez de la Frontera.  

Jan Pettersen (64) is the man behind the reputed Bodega Rey Fernando de Castilla. His sherry house is now the 8^th biggest wine- and liquor exporter in the entire Cádiz province. In fact, a couple of days after I went to interview him, the Bodega was due to host the closing party for Copa de Jerez, an event that attracts some of the best restauranteurs and largest wine personalities in the world! So, we are not talking granny-sherry and cheap brandy.

Jan Pettersen, bodeguero. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

His own sherry-house

Jan came from Norway to Barcelona exactly 40 years ago to undertake an MBA. On gradation in 1983 he was hired by Osborne (which at the time was the largest wine and liquor company in Spain) and became responsible for their Scandinavian market. Sixteen years later he was responsible for the Corporation’s international subsidiaries and distribution companies.

But how did you end up as the bodeguero for Fernando de Castilla?
“In 1999 Osborne wanted to reorganize the business and amongst others stop producing sherry. I had become a sherry romantic in my years with the company and thought that it was rather tragic that they would abandon such traditional productions. I tried without luck to buy their affiliated company that dealt with sherry and port wine. The business is so small here that everybody knows everybody, and soon it was known that I was looking to start on my own. And when I got the opportunity to buy this bodega in 1999, I didn’t hesitate”.

On a narrow street in old town Jerez. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

When Jan took over the business, Fernando de Castilla was a small company with a very limited product line and market.  He also acquired another smaller adjacent bodega, so that today’s company is a fusion of these two old sherry houses. “I got new people in and converted much of the production process and administration, so we went from selling less than 30.000 bottles a year, to currently selling more than 500.000 bottles annually”.

Bodegas Rey Fernando de Castilla is now one of the 10 largest producers in the sherry industry. Jan sits on the Board of Jerez’ official industry association that determines who gets the seal of origin, or D.O. (Denominación de Orígen). “The bodega has gone from selling almost exclusively within Spain, to exporting approximately 90% of production to more than 50 countries around the world”.

Bodega. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

Norway as well?
“Absolutely. Norwegians are very fond of brandy, so we sell a lot of that, while Norway is a bit behind the trend in the sherry market, due to prohibited advertising and limitations on marketing etc. The country also has only 5 million people and charges enormous taxes and duties, so I have never prioritised targeting the Norwegian Wine Monopoly. Our biggest export areas are the UK, USA, Germany, the Baltic and Scandinavia, but we also sell a lot to China and Australia”.

Almost a native

How do the people of Jerez accept a Norwegian sherry-bodeguero?  
«It is quite strange, but I am so well integrated that people do not look at me as a foreigner anymore. Not at all! A while back the Chamber of Commerce asked me to give a speech about how it is to be a foreign businessman here in Jerez, but I had no comparison as I have only worked here. Maybe historically foreigners kept apart, but at present I am the only non-Spaniard on the board of the trade association. My wife is Spanish, our children were born and raised here and many of their friends come from the known Spanish sherry families. Perhaps I have brought some of the values, manners, seriousness from my native country, but otherwise I am practically a jerezano.»

Jan Pettersen outside Bodega Fernando de Castilla. Photo © Karethe Linaae

How would you describe Jerez as a town?
«Jerez has kept its uniqueness and is a place with a genuine atmosphere, compared to other Andalucian cities. It is a bit like Bergen in Norway- a town that has existed forever, with the same families, the same dialect, and the same way of life. It is a traditional town where people are a bit ‘tweed’ and old fashioned. Jerez was very international in the past, when the largest sherry families came from the UK and France. Many locals still have English surnames like Gordon, McKenzie and Garvey, or from the French sherry-families - Lustau and Domecq. Our PR Director is from the Domecq-family. My cellar master, Pepe Jerez, whom I inherited from the former owner, started working here when he was 14 and has been here now for 45 years. His uncle was cellar master before him, and now his son works with us, so when Pepe retires, we will have a third generation cellar master at the bodega.»

Old destiller in Bodega Fernando de Castilla. Photo © Karethe Linaae 

Both timeless and trendy

«The Jerez-area has 3000 years of wine history. King Fernando de Castilla, whom the bodega is named after, reconquered Western Andalucía from the Moors, established the protectorate Jerez in 1264, and restarted wine production in the area.  Sherry was for a long time the most important international wine. About 100 years ago 10% of all Spanish export income came from sherry – almost the same percentage as the income the tourist industry gives the country today! Although sherry is far from being in the same position now, Jerez sherry is the third most exported wine in Spain after Rioja and Cava. Under the seal of origin D.O. Vino de Jerez and D.O. Vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar), we produce 140 million bottles a year. And if you include other wine and liquor products, we are talking nearly 500 million bottles. Per year!  Since the sherry golden triangle only has about 25 relevant bodegas with significant exports, production is very concentrated.»

Courtyard. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

What makes sherry so special to you?
«There is nothing else that tastes like sherry. If you develop an appreciation for it, you will find that there is no substitute. 20 years ago, I had a feeling that if I didn’t do something with this unique product, it would become insignificant. I was fascinated by its history and saw the possibility to recreate the market, and to teach foreigners that quality sherry is one of the most interesting gastronomic wines that exist.

With sherry there are two worlds. First, there are the semi-sweet sherry types, like Pale Cream and Medium Dry, which are made for the English and the Northern European markets and which the Spanish never drink. And then there are the genuine sherries – Manzanilla, Fino, Amontillado and Orloroso, which are dry wines, as well as the sweet Pedro Ximenez. Sherry combines brilliantly with food. For example, Fino with fish and seafood, pata negra ham, sushi, smoked salmon and gravlax, and Amontillado with wild mushrooms and game.

Fino. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

Premium sherry is today incredible trendy, and the market has simply exploded. Our sales are 40% up over 2020, which was a most difficult year due to the pandemic, but not that bad for our industry. If you compare it with Rioja and Cava, where sales went down perhaps 30–40%, the sherry industry only dropped 8% in 2020. And this year (2021) our numbers are already almost 30% better than 2019. We do not have enough product for sale to meet the demand.»

Premium, en rama and brandy

Bodega Fernando de Castilla is partnered with a Jerez family with a 43-hectare vineyard. Here the grapes are planted, harvested, and pressed. The juice is fermented and made into a base wine, which is kept in a barrel - sobre table – for a full year before it is brought to the bodega for the special soleras ageing process.

«We make 17 different sherries, all in the Premium and Super Premium categories. In our Antique-series the grapes are picked en rama (with stem) and are only filtered through a simple paper filter before being bottled. We were one of the first bodegas to do this, but now it has become trendy, and many have copied us.  We were also the first to sell sherry in clear bottles. It was quite revolutionary 20 years ago, but to actually see the wine gives much more information about it.»

Antigue Fino and Oloroso. Photo © Karethe Linaae

What is the difference between a regular brandy and a sherry-brandy?
«Brandy has a much shorter tradition here than sherry, and only started as a commercial product some 150 years ago. Our bodega has never done anything with the cheap brandies - which is a large industry but is usually only sugar spirits with essence and colour. For our brandies we use the grape Airen, since completely neutral grapes won’t give an interesting distilled spirit. The distilling process leads to a very aromatic grape spirit with 63 % alcohol.  Next, we bring the alcohol percentage down to just over 40%, transfer it into new oak casks for 1–3 years, and then over into used sherry casks. What makes brandy from Jerez so special is that we use the same soleras or fractional blending systems as the sherries, as well as that the brandy is stored in old barrels that used to contain sherry. This is compulsory for both the sherry and the brandy from Jerez to receive their D.O. accreditation. We never empty a barrel completely but only extract a maximum 1/3 of the oldest brandy or sherry, and then fill it up with the second oldest batch. After a while, one gets very many vintages in the system. I have soleras that have continued for over 100 years. The fractional blending system gives an increasingly interesting product over time, as every vintage that has been present has put its mark on the product. For this reason, either a sherry or brandy that has been maturing for 15 years in a soleras system is much more interesting than a product that has been laying stagnant in the same barrel for 15 years.»

Classic bodega style. Photo © Karethe Linaae

What would you say is your contribution to the sherry industry in Jerez?
«While the demand for cheap sherry has dropped significantly, the sale of quality sherry has hit the roof. Some people claim that we have been lucky to be able to ride this wave of popularity, but I always say that we were one of the most important promoters to restart the sherry market. We worked with some of the world’s best wine companies and sommeliers to produce, and to teach people about quality. A whole group of new players came into in the industry later, who have seen that quality sherry at the right price is good business. We have taught others that it is possible to sell a quality sherry for 40 € for ½ a litre, even though some of the most known brands can cost as little as 5 € per bottle. So I will say that we have contributed to improving the quality of sherry.»

Antique sherry selection. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

Top 20 of 4000 wines

Two weeks before my visit, one of the bodega's oldest Pedro Ximenez sherries was selected for inclusion in Spain’s 20 best wines by Salon de Gourmet in Madrid. This was after the tasting-panel did a blind tasting of over 4000 contestants. The trophy stands amongst a row of other awards in the bodega’s wine bistro where our conversation takes place.

Is there a wine that you haven’t tried producing yet that you still would like to make?

«It would have to be a non-fortified white wine from the Palomino grape. Our clients have asked for this, so I probably ought to have such a product. Some years ago, we started with a new sherry-based vermouth which has been a major success. It is especially popular with people in Northern Spain who love to sit outside with a vermouth on ice with an orange peel twist. We kept at it for a long time trying to get the process and the botanical ingredients right. Everything I do must be top notch, and every time one tries something new, one puts one’s reputation on the line. So perhaps I ought to have a look at that white wine, but I am starting to get too old… »

And finally, if you had not ended up as a bodeguero, what would you have done?

«I have asked myself that many times. God knows! I have always enjoyed being creative. I enjoy buying and selling, so I probably have a bit of a pedlar-instinct. I get a kick out of making a deal with a company in some other part of the world, as well as launching a new product or trying a new method. So, I would probably have ended up doing something similar,” concludes the passionate Norwegian bodeguero.

Jan Pettersen, bodeguero. Photo © Bodega Fernando de Castilla

For more information: www.fernandodecastilla.es

Contact: bodegas@fernandodecastilla.com

View towards Europe taken from Ceuta in Northern Africa. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Here is a riddle:  

What place on the globe can you stand at a single point and see two major oceans, two continents, three nations and three kingdoms? 

Answer: Ceuta

This might come as a surprise for many, particularly those who have not been to this southern Spanish town, as it is in fact situated in Northern Africa. Ceuta can be found where the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Oceans meet in the Straits of Gibraltar. The town is located on the African continent but is still part of Europe. And from the mountains above the town, there is a perfect panoramic view that includes the nations and kingdoms of Morocco, Spain, and the United Kingdom (via Gibraltar).

Ceuta – an arm into the Mediterranean. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Legendary Cape with many rulers

From above, Ceuta looks like an arm stretching into the Mediterranean. The elbow is the town centre, with the ‘fist’ being the town’s most eastern point. Ceuta is quite separate from the Spanish mainland and is located at one of the narrowest points of the Straits (25 km away), so that Europe can be seen across the water in normal weather conditions.

Gibraltar not too distant. Photo © Karethe Linaae

According to Greek mythology, Europa and Africa were connected via an enormous mountain range until Hercules took his club and smashed the opening which we know today as the Straits of Gibraltar. The two extreme points were called the Pillars of Hercules – the cliff of Gibraltar and Monte Hacho (or Ceuta’s ‘fist’). Even if the origin of the story is mythical, these two geographical points represented not only the separation between two world oceans, but also the dividing line between what once was considered as the known world (the Mediterranean) and the unknown world (the Atlantic Ocean and everything thereafter), before the era of the great explorers.    

Sculpture in Ceuta of Hercules which separates Europe from Africa. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Ceuta’s strategic position made it a popular destination for conquering armies and explorers throughout history. According to the town’s archaeologists, everyone has been here, probably even the Vikings. Ceuta has been visited, conquered, and ruled by Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Romans, Visigoths, Berbers, Arabs, and finally, the Portuguese. The only ones who never conquered Ceuta by military power (even though this has been used to keep it ever since) are the Spanish. Ceuta became part of the Spanish Empire when Portugal transferred rule to Spain in the 1600s.

Once upon a time … Painted ceramic tiles by the harbour. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Many, such as the English and the Moroccans, have tried to take Ceuta since then. When Morocco became independent in 1956, after 400 years as both a Spanish and a French protectorate, Spain refused to relinquish its two Northern African coastal towns, Ceuta and Melilla. Ceuta remains Spanish, but after thousands of years, the Cape continues to be a disputed territory.

Road along the Moroccan border. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Spanish town on African continent

Together with Melilla situated 400 km to the east, Ceuta has the only physical international borders that exist between Europa and Africa. Both towns often appear on the global news, due to African immigrants and displaced people trying to enter Europe through these borders. No one can deny the enormous immigration problems, but other than this, most people know very little about Ceuta. In fact, I can count on one hand the Spaniards we know who have been there, and then only usually via an assigned post in the police force or the military. 

Street with the African continent in the background. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Media often shapes our understanding of the world, and many therefore only see Ceuta as a border post with desperate Africans trying to fight their way over barbed wire fencing into relative freedom in Spain. Others might perceive the town as it is portrayed in the popular TV-series El Principe (the price), the Telecinco-produced drama about forbidden love between a Spanish policeman and a Muslim woman in today’s Ceuta. The drama takes place in the colourful and primarily Muslim neighbourhood El Principe, from which the series got its name.

Colourful Ceuta neighbourhood. Photo © Karethe Linaae

So, is Ceuta an immigration nightmare or a romantic cultural fusion? At times the city is likely both, but though it certainly has illegal immigrants, corrupt policemen and love across religions, the city of Ceuta is so much more. 

Ferry to Africa

From the ferry. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Crossing the Straits of Gibraltar from Europe to Africa in an hour and a half is an experience not to be missed.  The only way to get from Spain to Ceuta is by ferry (or helicopter), as the town has no airport. One must travel by boat, as people have done since time immemorial. Normally, the ferries are full to the brim with locals from Ceuta (Ceutí) and Moroccans from neighbouring towns, but these days the ferries are still relatively empty, due to the pandemic and the fact that Morocco has so far only opened the country borders to international air traffic.

Straits of Gibraltar towards the Atlantic Ocean. Photo © Karethe Linaae

The Straits of Gibraltar are one of the busiest marine channels in the world.  Around 100,000 cargo ships use it annually, or some 300 every day. In addition are the cruise ships, pleasure yachts, ferries, marine ships, smugglers speed boats, refugee barges, and other seagoing vessels. All must account for the tidal flows, which are far from insignificant in a narrow strait where two major oceans meet. The current goes both ways, with an average of 2 knots westwards and 4-7 knots in an easterly direction. It is always windy, compounded by the open sea and the currents. Crossing the Straits in a boat really brings home an understanding of the forces of nature, and is for me one of the main reasons why I recommend the trip to Ceuta.

Jebel Musa, the dead woman. Photo © Karethe Linaae

As the ferry approaches North Africa, a mighty mountain range comes into view. People in Ceuta call it La Mujer Muerta (the dead woman), because it looks like the profile of a woman laying on her back. The mountain peak, Jebel Musa, which in the Berber language means ‘the mountain of Moses’, is part of the Moroccan Rif mountain-ridge. Many say that Jebel Musa is the real pillar of Hercules, instead of Hacho, but since we are talking about a myth, we may never know the real answer as to which was Hercules’ original pillar.

Today’s Ceuta

Ceuta harbour at sunrise. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Ceuta’s city centre is clean and well-groomed. The architecture is classical, and the avenues wide, as to be expected in a provincial capital. The city belonged to the province of Cádiz until 1995, when both Ceuta and Melilla became autonomous Spanish territories. For this reason, they enjoy more favourable taxation systems than the mainland. Ceuta is categorized as a tax-free zone, evident in all the Tax-free stores on the main shopping streets.

Main avenue. Photo © Karethe Linaae

When we stop to buy water, we meet a group of Arab teenagers who ask for money for food. The boys are apparently those remaining from a group of 8000 illegal immigrants who crossed the border earlier this year. Most were sent back after a tense diplomatic period which ended with Spain paying Morocco to re-close and guard their side of the international border. At least this is how the event was explained by one ceutí we met …

There is only one border crossing for cars between Ceuta and Morocco on the southernmost point of town, as well as a foot passenger crossing on the northern end of Ceuta. Our guide told us that most people who live in Ceuta have friends or family on the other side of the border. Before the pandemic, his hairdresser was in Morocco, and he often popped across the border to meet friends there.

Ceuta photographed from Monte Hacho. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Today’s Ceuta is a melting pot of four cultures: Hispanic Christian, Arab (and Berber, which is very different), Jewish and Hindu. The cultural diversity is reflected in the ceutí gastronomy, which naturally is based on the sea. Of the towns 85,000 inhabitants, about half are Spanish or Moroccan Muslims. The Jewish population (with ancestry from the Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492) has shrunk to only about 300 people, so the historic judería neighbourhood is threatening to disappear. And while East Indians have lived here since 1893, today there are less than 500 Hindus left in the town.

Plate with specialties from Ceuta’s four cultures. Photo © Karethe Linaae

Spanish is the official language, but many of the inhabitants speak Darija (Moroccan Arab), Berber and French. Despite the towns limited area (approximately 18,5 km²), churches and mosques can be found, as well as a synagogue and a Hindu temple. The shining cupulas of Ceuta’s cathedral are visible from both the Mediterranean and the Atlantic sides of town, as it is located on the narrowest part of the isthmus with only a handful parallel streets.  

The cathedral with sea on either side.  Photo © Karethe Linaae

Historical stroll

The best way to discover Ceuta is on foot. Do not miss the royal Portuguese town wall from around 1540. These defensive walls led boats from the northern to the southern bay. Today one can stroll on top of the walls and admire the view of the ocean on either side, or rent a kayak and paddle through the azure blue canal.

The royal waterwalls. Photo © Karethe Linaae

As humans tends to build on top of past civilisations, an older part of the defensive wall can be found inside the current wall. This includes the main entrance or the Califate gate, which was built when Abderraman II conquered Ceuta in the year 931 AD.

Other worthwhile historical sites in the city centre include a late Roman Basilica, a Merinid city wall, the Arab baths and the newer, but no less interesting dragon-encrusted casino from the 1800s. There is certainly enough for history buffs to see, and for a break how about a dip in El Parque Marítimo del Mediterráneo, designed by the famed Lanzarote-artist César Manrique? Though Ceuta has more than a dozen beaches on the coast to the north and south, the city built this enormous 56 000 m² waterpark adjacent to the harbour in 1995. During the day it functions like any other municipal pool, while in the evenings the city’s youth gather here to hang out in the numerous bars that overlook the lit-up pools. Thank goodness my clubbing days are over!

Night in the water park. Photo © Karethe Linaae
 

The next day, on an early morning stroll, it is the city’s sculptures that particularly catch my attention. Perhaps most surprising are the many sculptures of Greek philosophers. Our hotel is interestingly named Ulysses. So I wonder, what is Ceuta’s connection with ancient Greece?

The Greek historian Strabo portrayed Ceuta as Hepta Adelphoi in his book Geografi, which he wrote just around the time of the birth of Christ. It is also assumed that the island Ogiga, where Ulysses met the nymph Calypso in Homer’s Odyssey (written approx. 800 B.C.), in fact also describes Ceuta.

Wall with old photograph from Ceuta. Photo © Karethe Linaae

But all is not ancient. By the towns conference centre, there is a modern sculpture of four human figures. The name of the sculpture is Solidaridad, which means solidarity in Spanish. I guess that it refers to the four cultures that usually live relatively peacefully together in Ceuta. At the same time, it made me think of the young boys we met who had escaped across the border, now without either family or home. Is Spain showing them enough solidarity. And am I?

 ‘Solidaridad’. Photo © Karethe Linaae
 

Sunset over the Strait of Gibraltar
The best way to see Ceuta, is to go to higher ground. In contrast to Melilla, which has permitted housing developments in its entire territory, Ceuta has large, protected nature parks both in the hilly western parts against Morocco and in the eastern ‘fist’ of Monte Hacho.  

Hacho is only 204 meters high but is still the most prominent rock formation in Ceuta. It is also the area most exposed to attacks and therefore the most fortified part of the city. The fort was started around the Year 900, and part of it is still a restricted army compound. Thankfully, it is still possible to follow the trail along the fortified walls for several kilometres, circumventing the entire fort, with the most remarkable views of the Mediterranean and the Straits of Gibraltar.

The fortress wall with the Mediterranean in the background. Photo © Karethe Linaae

To the West of the city there are almost jungle-like forests with a selection of scenic walking trails. The country border with Morocco can clearly be seen in the distance, while walking from one old watchtower to the next. These defensive bastions, though ancient looking, were not only used in Medieval times but also in the many wars with Morocco, the last one being just back in the 1950s. But on the trail today we only meet friendly Ceuta families having picnics while waiting for the sun to set.

Watch tower. Photo © Karethe Linaae
 

Perhaps the most stunning dusk I ever experienced is when the sun dips into the Atlantic, painting the sky about the Straits of Gibraltar in incredible shares of lavender and orange. We stand at the end of a cliff on the Spanish side, peeking down at the picturesque Moroccan village of Belyounech beneath us, with the mountain Jebel Musa and the dead woman, above us. Here there are no borders, just nature, rocks, ocean, and heaven.

Morocco’s Jebel Musa and Belyounech, photographed from the Spanish independent territory of Ceuta. Photo © Karethe Linaae

I stop and talk to two young women who are celebrating their high school graduation. Both are ceutí. One wears a Muslim head scarf, the other does not, and they are best friends. They made me think of the Solidary sculpture in town. I can hope that these girls represent the future for Ceuta and Morocco - one of solidarity, understanding and co-existence despite our differences.  

Girlfriends from Ceuta celebrating graduation. Photo © Karethe Linaae