The ‘sick’ sherry an Irishman in Spain believed in

In the second part of the 18th century, William Garvey, born in New Ross, County Waterford, Ireland, settled in Jerez de la Frontera. There he built a very large bodega holding around 8000 casks. The Irish aristocrat was so proud of it that named his brainchild after St Patrick - Bodega San Patricio. Garvey also christened his son, born in 1796, Patrick. Moreover… ‘San Patricio’ became associated worldwide with fino, the driest and palest of the traditional sherry varieties.

It took time for this to happen, however. At that time the sherry people knew was mainly the dark brown varieties, mostly blends of oloroso with Pedro Ximenez. As it was highly valued and good for shipping, all winemakers of the region produced this particular fortified wine.

In Andalucía, the pale fino was disparagingly called ‘pajizo’ for its greenish colour. In addition, this variety of sherry was considered a ‘sick’ wine because of the strain of yeast (‘flor’) floating on top of the sherry in casks. Such unsightly wine, with its characteristic yellowish foam, was discarded by local winemakers or turned into vinegar, but not by the Irishman, who had different ideas about fino quality. William Garvey seemed to know how to make fino properly.

It is believed that the Irish winemaker learnt from manzanilla (another type of fine dry sherry) produced in the vicinity of Sanlúcar de Barrameda. It was this harbour where William Garvey started his wine business, working as a merchant and shipping sherry wines to England and Ireland. William may also have known the secrets of producing non-vintage champagne, which is often compared to fino. (Indeed, both are blended from several harvests and aged. Finos, however, remain in their special blending soleras (stacks of 3-4 casks) for much longer, at least three years, and often five or more).

William Garvey knew that the British preferred sweet wines. However, this did not prevent him from persevering in his goal of producing good quality fino and exporting it in large quantities. Against all odds, the bodega of San Patricio began producing fino, presenting it as ‘pale’ sherry. In 1824, William Garvey died in Jerez de la Frontera, leaving his business to his son. It was Patrick Garvey who managed to make fino the flagship of the bodega that became a commercial success.

Fino San Patricio is a wine from D.O. Jerez with a 15 per cent alcohol content. It is made from 100% palomino fino grapes and aged in American oak barrels for about seven years. On the nose it seduces with an intense and complex aroma with notes of yeast, walnuts and almonds. On the palate, it captivates with a light dryness, fresh acidity and a characteristic salty flavour typical of sherry wines. Floral notes and a slight bitterness in the finish complete the impression.

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Today, Fino San Patricio carries the Garvey name on the label, although it is produced by Emperador. In 2017, this Filipino-owned group bought Garvey after acquiring Fundador brandy, as well as Harveys and Terry. The Garvey brand was rejuvenated with new bottles and modern labels and is still successfully exported to many countries around the world.