Jerez
de la Frontera.

Jerez de la Frontera sits on the flat, vine-covered plains of Cádiz province, where chalky albariza soil gives sherry wine its particular character. The city's bodegas age wine in tall, cool buildings with barrels stacked in rows, and many still open their doors for tastings of fino, amontillado and oloroso styles. Flamenco runs just as deep: the Santiago and San Miguel neighborhoods are considered among the art form's birthplaces, and guitar and cante still fill local peñas, the clubs where flamenco is practiced and heard. The Alcázar, a former Moorish fortress, overlooks the old town with its mosque, gardens and watchtower. Nearby, the Royal Andalusian School of Equestrian Art trains Cartujano horses, a breed linked to a monastery outside the city, in choreographed displays of dressage. Vineyards stretch past the city limits into the sherry triangle shared with El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda. In the historic center, white façades, wrought-iron balconies and small tapas bars give the streets their quiet, unmistakably Andalusian character.