Manzanilla sherry, the finest prawns in Spain, Magellan's and Columbus's departure point, and the gateway to Doñana — Europe's rarest ecosystem
Sanlúcar de Barrameda sits at the mouth of the Guadalquivir river where it meets the Atlantic, 30km northwest of Jerez de la Frontera — a town of extraordinary food and wine distinction that most international visitors have never heard of. Manzanilla sherry — the lightest, most delicate, and most saline of all sherry styles — can only be produced in Sanlúcar (not in Jerez, not anywhere else), because the particular microclimate of the sea air off the Atlantic and Guadalquivir estuary creates the conditions for the flor yeast that gives manzanilla its unique salty, chamomile quality. The lango…
Sanlúcar was the most important port in Castile for Atlantic exploration — its position at the mouth of the Guadalquivir made it the natural departure and return point for voyages to the Americas and beyond. Columbus left for his third voyage in 1498; Magellan departed for the circumnavigation in 1519 and Juan Sebastián Elcano returned here in 1522 with 18 survivors of the original 270 — the first people to circle the earth. The 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia (commander of the Spanish Armada) is buried here; the Medina Sidonia Palace still stands in the old quarter. The manzanilla tradition devel…