Fellow Wine Lovers,
So here’s a question – what’s in a name?
Take the name Terry, for example.
In the worlds of media, entertainment, music, literature, chocolate and Archbishop’s Special Envoys, we’ve got Terry & June, Terry McCann, Terry Thomas, Terry Hall, Terry Pratchett, Terry’s Gilliam and Jones, Terry’s All Gold and Chocolate Orange, Terry Wogan, Terry Nutkins, Terry Waite, Terry O’Neill, Terry Christian and Teri Hatcher. Hooray.
Whilst over in sport we’ve got Terry Butcher, John Terry, Ross Terry (who he?), Terry Griffiths and Terry Venables, to name but a few. Many of them were household names for large parts of their careers but equally as many of them are now consigned to history. I asked my son to name someone called Terry and he came back with Terrymasalata. Thanks.
Conclusion: Terry’s not a fashionable name anymore but does that make it any less good?
How about we try Jerry/Gerry next?
Gerry Adams, Gerry and the Pacemakers, Gerry Anderson, Gerry Francis, Geri Halliwell, Gerry Rafferty for the G’s, whilst under the letter J we have Jerry Bruckheimer, Jerry Seinfeld, Jerry Springer Jerry can, Jerry Maguire, Jerry Rice, Tom & Jerry, Jerry Dammers, Jerry Garcia, Jerry Hall, and of course, Jerry Lee Lewis. I didn’t ask my son this time but yet again a lot of old timers in there who don’t necessarily cross the younger generations path.
All very diverting but so what, I hear you say.
The other day we were ruminating on the perpetual failure of one of our favourite tipples, Sherry, to achieve everything it promises and step out of the fortified wine shadows into the limelight. It’s a glorious drink, much beloved of the wine trade and their friends but it struggles to spread its appeal further.
Which got me to thinking, is the suffix ‘–erry’ to blame? Does having an ‘erry’ in your name create a certain impression that perhaps relates to bygone times or naffness? Blackberry, no longer the force in handsets that it used to be; cross channel ferry, now superseded by Eurostar; Mary Berry – exactly…
Let’s face it, how many famous people called Sherry can you name? We thought we had one with Wimbledon Hockey star and Ed Sheeran girlfriend Cherry Seaborn but as you can see, she is actually called Cherry, so that doesn’t work; really the only famous Sherries are Pale Cream, Sweet and Harvey’s.
Anyway, our ruminating came to nothing, short of deciding that perhaps it could rebrand itself, losing the ‘–erry’ and becoming Sh-auvignon Blanc or Sh-rosé to improve sales, which was clearly not very helpful.
More helpful was Wayne’s idea to join in with Sherry Festival 2015 2016 2017 which has been going on for the last week or so and culminates this weekend. His strategy was quite simple – put up a Sherry display in store, decorate the window with Sherry based memorabilia, wear a Sherry related polo-shirt and open lots of Sherry. I like this man’s approach and that’s why he’s my business partner!
So, on show this weekend we will have:
Equipo Navazos Fino En Rama (37.5cl) – £10.99
Fernando de Castilla Classic Manzanilla (37.5cl) – £7.99
Fernando de Castilla Antique Palo Cortado (50cl) – £34.99
Fernando de Castilla Antique Amontillado (50cl) – £30.99
Fernando de Castilla Classic Oloroso (75cl) – £14.99
Cesar Florido Cruz del Mar Cream (37.5cl) – £8.99
Cesar Florido Moscatel Dorado (37.5cl) – £8.99
Pedro Ximenez Colosía (37.5cl) – £15.99
What a spread, I can’t wait!
Interestingly, whilst everyone claims to prefer the dry styles and be somewhat dismissive of the sweet styles, referencing old ladies and blue rinses usually, our best-selling pair are the Moscatel and the Cream! Nowt so queer as folk, as Wayne might say.
Please come and join us any time today or tomorrow, see if you prefer the sweet or the dry and help us in our crusade to save Terry and Jerry and, above all, Sherry!!
¡Olé!