International Sherry Week, October 8-14, 2018

A Festival Celebrating the Unique Cultural Heritage of Southern Spain

Now in its 5th year, International Sherry Week is a weeklong celebration of all things sherry and Andalusia.  For New Haven’s participation, we have organized a series of lectures, performances, dinners, film screenings, and tastings to shine a light on the unique cultural heritage of southern Spain.  Many of these events will be free to the public with proceeds from all ticketed events donated to support our partner, The Institute Library.

Screen Shot 2018-09-19 at 10.22.54 AMThe Institute Library has served the New Haven community since 1826 and has resided in its current location, 847 Chapel Street, since the 1870s.  The mission of the Institute Library is to fulfill its historical purpose of “mutual assistance in the attainment of useful knowledge” for its members and the community.  Much like sherry, over the last few generations, the Institute Library has fallen from the public eye.  It is our hope that through Sherry Week we can bring a renewed attention to one of New Haven’s oldest institutions.

One of the major initiatives at The Wine Thief is education.  We believe that by organizing an Andalusian cultural heritage week that we can shine a light on one of the world’s oldest and greatest winemaking traditions that has been largely forgotten in recent decades.  Although, yes, we would love for people to drink more sherry, these events are not designed to promote alcohol consumption but rather engage the community in an exploration of cultural heritage.