Jerez de la Frontera

Jerez de la Frontera , city (1990 pop. 186,812), Cádiz prov., SW Spain, in Andalusia. Jerez is an important commercial center noted for its sherry and brandy. Its horses of mixed Spanish, Arab, and English blood are world famous. Captured by the Moors in 711, the city was recovered by Alfonso X of Castile in 1264. Of interest are its Gothic churches and an 11th-century Arab alcazar.

Jerez (Jerez de la Frontera), Andalusia/Spain Asido Caesariana, Scheris, Xeres It may take its name from the Roman Caesar with the added ‘of the frontier’, a reference to the proximity of the Christians' border with the Moors; the city was occupied by the Moors from the 8th century until recaptured in 1264. It has also been suggested, however, that the name is derived from Ceres, the Spanish name for a town in Italy which was well known for its wines. The English pronunciation of Jerez in the 16th century was ‘sherry’ and this is now the English word to describe this particular type of wine. The Moorish version was Scheris; Xeres is the same—the Spanish used to pronounce x as sh in the 16th century.