HOW WINERIES HAVE CHANGED IN FIFTY YEARS

Fifty years ago, the sherry industry provided jobs for thousands of workers in Jerez, but now very few people earn their living in the bodegas or wineries where sherry is made.

There are several reasons for this: in the past the sherry industry generated a number of dependent industries, associated with wine. These included cork factories, cardboard factories, barrel-makers and the bottle factory, but nowadays, the consumption of sherry in the world has decreased and the different processes have been mechanized, for example, the wineries have fully- automated bottling

plants which need fewer people; the same has happened with the other dependent industries. In fact, the only activity which has changed very little or not at all is the harvest, because the grapes are still picked up (collected) by hand.

In conclusion, all of this has been very negative for the city of Jerez, which  has lost many jobs and also beautiful winery buildings, which were so typical of the city.

By:  Irene Velasco Villar