Last week I was invited to attend the Spanish finals for the 6th Copa Jerez international food and sherry pairing competition, which will be held in April 2015. I had been at Copa Jerez 2013 and so I was very excited about seeing the finalists in action, preparing and presenting their three-course meals matched with three fabulous sherries. Expectations were high given the stellar reputations of the three participating restaurants: 41º Experience, Atrio and Venta Moncalvillo. The jury of four top Spanish food and wine experts was equally impressive: Beltran Domecq, Paz Ivison, Fernando Córdoba and María Isabel Mijares.

The competition lasted about three hours and we were allowed access to the kitchen as well as the chance to try both the sample dishes and the sherry (though there was more of the latter than the former on hand). Then the judges had the very difficult task of deciding who would respresent Spain in the grand final. Their choice was Atrio (two days later Cáceres was chosen the Spanish Capital of Gastronomy 2015, so if Atrio wins the Copa Jerez it will be quite a  year for the city).

Judges and winners! Chef Alberto Montes & sommelier José López-Montenegro from Atrio.

Afterwards we were invited to Bodegas Tradición for an elegant lunch prepared by the Jerez Professional Catering School (where the competition had taken place). But first we were treated to a tour of the bodega and its private art gallery by Head of Wine Tourism Activities, Daniel Martínez Becerra. Although I had recently been to a wine tasting there, it's such a unique experience that you can easily go several times and get something new from it, especially as the paintings change from time to time.

The lunch was delicious and each course was paired with sherry from the Sherry Regulatory Council and Bodegas Tradición. I was thrilled (and a bit intimidated) to find myself seated next to Regulatory Council president Beltran Domecq. I was also a bit sorry to have to tell him that I wasn't from *that* Hennessey family, but he didn't seem to mind, even later when I referred to my brandy as cognac (oops!). As usual with this type of event, it was a great opportunity to see friends and colleagues again, and also to meet new people. And as always when it comes to sherry, everyone connected to it is both passionate and generous. No wine snobbery or secret societies here. Instead there is a genuine desire to share knowledge along with their exquisite product, which I find refreshing.