Bodegas La Cigarrera is a small, family-owned bodega in Sanlúcar de Barrameda, founded in 1758. The current bodega was purchased in 1891 by the great grandfather of the Hidalgo Garcia de Velasco brothers who run the firm today. The name of the bodega owes its origins to the women who used to sell cigarettes on the streets, on behalf of the big cigarette factories in Cadiz and Sevilla. Due to historical regulations of the Consejo Regulador, the company originally operated as an “almacenista”, a stock-keeper who sells their wines to bigger shipping bodegas (e.g. Lustau). In 1998, after the regulations had changed, they started to bottle their own wines for the first time. The company still uses the original bodegas in the Plaza Madre de Dios in the Barrio Bajo (lower part) of Sanlúcar, which hold a total of around 500 casks (including some of the oldest in town). The “cathedral” cellars of La Cigarrera consist of three naves (Bodega de Colóm, Bodega de Cabral and Bodega de Samilla) that surround a beautiful central Andalusian patio. Grapes are sourced in part from family owned vineyards and the remainder purchased from trusted and locally managed vineyard farmers with a view to sourcing 100% of grapes from family owned vineyards in the near future.