While sherry country is grubbing up surplus vineyards, there have been a number of sales and mergers in the marketplace over the last twelve months.
Pernod-Ricard has sold all the Domecq Jerez sherry brands and soleras to Osborne.
This includes Amontillado 51-1ª, Botaina, Capuchino, La Ina, Rio Viejo, Sibarita, Venerable and Viña 25 which will now appear under the Osborne label.
The generic ‘Domecq’ and ‘John Harvey’ brands will, however, remain with Pernod-Ricard and Beam Global respectively. Domecq Bodegas also includes the former Bodegas y Bebidas wineries in Rioja and beyond.
In another move, newcomer Valdivia, which was founded in 2003 by investors outside the wine industry with money from the construction industry, has been sold on to Garveys in its entirety.
Meanwhile Rainera Pérez Marín has been bought by Marqués del Real Tesoro, owned by Bodegas Estévez.
Rainera Pérez Marín is the producer of La Guita, the Manzanilla classic, which has suffered a period of declining sales within Spain and and has been dogged by rumours of financial problems.
If Estévez runs true to form the brand will be maintained as a separate entity, as has happened with Tío Mateo and Valdespino.
Written by John Radford
