Bodegas César Florido is one of the oldest family‑run sherry producers in Spain, founded in 1887 in the coastal town of Chipiona in Andalusia’s Jerez region.

The estate has been passed down through five generations, and owner César Florido continues artisanal practice, owning around 21  hectares of vineyards in chipiona and nearby pagos such as Balbaína and Miraflores.

The winery produces a range of traditional Jerez styles including fino, Amontillado, oloroso, palo cortado and cream, alongside Moscatel sweet wines from Moscatel de Alejandría.

Jerez, in Andalucía’s far south-west, forms a triangle between Jerez de la Frontera, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. The climate is hot Mediterranean moderated by the Atlantic: the cool, humid poniente breeze tempers summer heat, while the dry, scorching levante can accelerate ripening. Rain falls mainly in winter; long, bright summers and low humidity in the bodegas favour maturation. Soils are crucial: brilliant white albariza (chalky limestone with marl) stores winter moisture and feeds vines through drought, while barros (clay) and arenas (sandy) are used more sparingly.

Palomino Fino is the workhorse for dry sherry; Pedro Ximénez (PX) and Moscatel provide naturally sweet wines and blending material. Sherry is raised in seasoned oak via the solera and criadera system, where fractional blending preserves freshness and complexity. Biological ageing under flor yields Fino (and, from Sanlúcar, Manzanilla): bone-dry, saline and delicate, with green apple, almond, chamomile and a sea-breeze edge. When flor dies and oxidative ageing takes over, styles deepen: Amontillado bridges both worlds with hazelnut, citrus peel and savoury tang; Oloroso is fuller and purely oxidative—walnut, toffee, leather and spice. Palo Cortado offers Oloroso depth with Amontillado lift—silky, nutty, orange-zest and fine bitterness. PX and Moscatel are sundried to concentrate sugars, producing unctuous, raisined wines with coffee, fig and molasses notes; they also sweeten Cream and Medium styles. Across the range, Jerez wines combine precision, umami-rich complexity and remarkable versatility at the table.

Palomino Fino is the signature white grape of Andalucía’s sherry region, particularly Jerez, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and El Puerto de Santa María. Renowned for its neutrality, it provides the perfect canvas for biological and oxidative ageing styles.

In youth, Palomino Fino tends to show delicate aromas of straw, chamomile, green apple and subtle citrus, though the flavours remain gentle and understated. Its naturally low acidity and moderate alcohol make it highly responsive to cellar techniques such as flor ageing, which transforms the grape into the saline, almond-tinged, doughy complexity characteristic of Fino and Manzanilla.

When grown on albariza soils, Palomino Fino achieves remarkable finesse and minerality. Although rarely celebrated as a varietal still wine, it is indispensable in producing the world’s finest sherries.