The winery and
our vineyards
Since 1877
OUR HISTORY
Williams & Humbert has been part of the history of sherry and brandy since 1877. Founded by the British Sir Alexander Williams and Arthur Humbert, the winery was established with a clear international vision, determined to bring the wines and brandies of the Jerez region to markets worldwide.
The winery played a key role in the creation of the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Designation of Origin, helping to consolidate the prestige and international recognition of these unique wines.
In the early 1990s, the winery was acquired by the Medina family, a family deeply connected to the winemaking world. Their relationship with the sector dates back to the 1960s, when the Medina brothers—Ángel, Nicolás, José, and Jesús—began their entrepreneurial journey in the wine and spirits industry.
Over the decades, the group grew through the acquisition of assets, the incorporation of brands, and the establishment of collaboration agreements with various companies in the sector. The incorporation of Williams & Humbert marked a decisive step in this trajectory, integrating one of the great historic wineries of the Jerez region into the family’s business project.
Today, the company is managed by the second generation of the Medina family, who preserve its historical legacy with a forward-looking vision. In 2018, Lucio Co, owner of Cosco Capital and the main importer of Brandy de Jerez in the Philippines, joined the shareholding as a strategic partner through the beverage holding company The Keepers. This alliance strengthens a commercial relationship with the Medina family that began in 1999 and consolidates the company’s international reach.
Tradition, respect for legacy, innovation, and diversification are today the pillars that define the philosophy of Bodegas Williams & Humbert, a house that continues to work with the same spirit with which it was founded almost 150 years ago: to produce products of the highest quality that express the authenticity and character of the Jerez region.
Products
Williams & Humbert is one of the wineries with the longest history and tradition in the production of Jerez wines and brandies, protected by the Jerez-Xérès-Sherry Designation of Origin, and its activity also extends to spirits and food sector products, with its Medina del Encinar line. Its experience in the production of Jerez wines is reflected in emblematic brands such as Canasta, Fino Pando, Manzanilla Alegría, or Dry Sack, as well as more mature and complex references, such as the Don Zoilo range, Dry Sack 15, and the VOS and VORS Don Guido, Jalifa, Canasta 30, and Dos Cortados.
Innovation is a constant at the winery. Williams & Humbert possesses the most complete and oldest collection of Vintages in the Jerez region, with wines dating back to 1920, and has been a pioneer in the production of biological and organic vintages. This creative spirit is also reflected in its spirits line, with Brandy Gran Duque de Alba, Cubical gin, Dos Maderas rum, Canasta and Pando vermouths, and Crema de Alba liqueur. Pando and Dry Sack spritzes have also been incorporated into the winery’s extensive portfolio.
In addition, the winery markets wines from other designations of origin, such as Ribera del Duero, Rioja, or Rueda, bringing its products to more than 70 countries across five continents and obtaining numerous national and international awards.
The Winery
Bodegas Williams & Humbert stand out for the magnitude and uniqueness of their facilities. With more than 50,000 square meters, they house 60,000 American oak cask where Jerez wines, brandies, and other spirits age. Built in the mid-1970s, this winery—one of the largest in Europe—has been declared Andalusian Immovable Heritage, reflecting the engineering and design effort that its facilities represent.
Located in Jerez de la Frontera, capital of the Marco and heart of the wine region, this municipality stands on gentle hills overlooking the countryside of albariza soils. Between the mountains and the Atlantic, the city combines tradition and dynamism, where wine and spirits coexist with emblematic hallmarks such as flamenco art and horse breeding. Situated in the northwest of the province of Cádiz, this privileged region—framed by the Guadalquivir and Guadalete rivers—concentrates the most authentic essence of Lower Andalusia’s character.
THE VINEYARD
Williams & Humbert owns vineyards in the Jerez Superior pagos—Balbaína, Añina, and Carrascal—a benchmark wine-growing area of quality in the Marco.
ORGANIC VITICULTURE
The winery cultivates 23 hectares of organic vineyards in the Carrascal and Balbaína pagos, with Palomino, Pedro Ximénez, and Moscatel varieties. In 2015, work began with organic grapes from the Burujena and Maritata pagos, which allowed the launch of the first organic Fino from the Jerez region in 2018 and the first organic Oloroso in 2022.
These organic Sherries are the result of a careful process that meets all organic certification requirements. A viticulture developed under techniques regulated by organic standards, with special practices such as appropriate pruning and improved soil fertility through treatments that respect and even enhance the development of beneficial fauna.
PIONEERS IN ORGANIC PEDRO XIMÉNEZ CULTIVATION
In 2017, Williams & Humbert decided to commit to the cultivation of Pedro Ximénez, a scarce variety in the Jerez region, and in 2022 took another step, introducing the organic cultivation of this grape in its Añina and Carrascal pagos.
Currently, the winery has a total of 35 hectares of Pedro Ximénez in the Añina and Carrascal pagos, of which 28 are conventionally cultivated and 7 are organically cultivated.
This project has involved the study of the organic cultivation of the Pedro Ximénez variety and its enological potential to produce new types of quality organic sweet wines in the Jerez region. Wines with lower alcohol content, with a natural balance between acidity and residual sugars, without the need to resort to the fortification practices traditionally used.
The Pedro Ximénez “Once al Sol” is the result of this ambitious project. A still, unfortified, naturally sweet wine.