We have rescued the oldest ageing and bottling procedures of sherry wine. Soleras and criaderas preserved for generations.
English
1650
Year of the founding of Bodegas CZ by Pedro Alonso Cabeza de Aranda y Zarco.
1771
Bodegas CZ becomes a supplier to the British Royal Household.
1795
First known written reference to the term “amontillado” sherry. It concerns a Portuguese customer ordering wine with a film-forming yeast, or flor, that “does not expand over time”. The letter is preserved in the Bodegas Tradición historical archive.
1855
The business was very successful in the nineteenth century and by 1855 had 3,188 casks, or butts, of wine, with internationally recognised brands such as Solera Cabeza 1770, Tixera 1783, Trafalgar 1805, Viejo Oloroso CZ and many others.
1895
Participation in the Universal Exhibition of Bordeaux, where it obtained a diploma of honour.
1900
Participation in the Universal Exhibition of Paris, obtaining a “grand prize” diploma. Following this, the Ministry of Government, through the Export Trade Board, asks Joaquín María Rivero, the president at the time, to hand over all the exhibited bottles of prize-winning sherry to create the Commercial Museum in Madrid. The letter is preserved in the Bodegas Tradición historical archive.
1940
The tradition of exporting Bodega CZ Rivero sherry continued throughout the first half of the twentieth century. There is evidence of sales throughout its history to faraway countries such as China, the Philippines, Cuba and British America, and it would be this century when sales were consolidated in countries including the US, New Zealand, all of Europe and exotic places like Iran. One example was the thousand cases of ‘Tres Z’ brandy sent to Tangier.
1998
Mr. Joaquín Rivero establishes Bodegas Tradición. In his quest to recover the family’s historical bond with wine and the winemaking world, he buys an old winery in the heart of the historical centre of Jerez and begins to select wines from old and exceptional, but nearly forgotten, soleras. The winery initially comprises 500 barrels of oloroso and amontillado.
2004
The first expansion is carried out with the idea of introducing to the winery a number of exceptional wines then found on the market. It involves acquiring a second winery building at number 5 on the same street, thus expanding the soleraje, where the dynamic phase of biological ageing is done, to 800 barrels and starting to sell Palo Cortado and Pedro Ximénez that same year.
2005
The Bodegas Tradición art gallery opens onsite. It is one of the finest private collections of paintings in Andalusia, with works by Spanish painters from the fourteenth to the nineteenth centuries, including masters such as Goya, Zurbarán, Velázquez, Murillo and El Greco, among others. It is planned as a changing exhibition to rotate the works of most exhibition interest.
2007
Second expansion, taking it up to 1,000 barrels. A new winery next to the original one at Cordobeses, 3, is bought on calle Rincón Malillo and work begins on the Fino soleraje. The aim is to find an old, mature fino with character, something unknown in the Marco region at the time. Once again, Mr. Joaquín Rivero proves to be a pioneer and ahead of his time.
2009
Helena Rivero is appointed chair of the Bodegas Tradición board of directors.
2015
Recovery of the historic archive, dating back to 1650 and housing invaluable documents reflecting the family’s commercial relations with wine over nearly 400 years. The same is done with the photographic archive, containing photos dating back to 1860. Work begins on the latest expansion with the purchase of 300 Fino barrels. With it the winery reaches the current figure of 1,500 barrels.