Jerez Gastronomic Capital 2026: the city of wine, brandy and authentic flavor

In February 2026, Jerez de la Frontera officially received the title of Spanish Capital of Gastronomy, an acknowledgment that places the city at the center of the national culinary map throughout the year. Wines under DO, winery tradition, market cuisine, Michelin-starred haute cuisine and the unmistakable culture of the after-dinner conversation: the candidacy of Jerez gastronomic capital 2026 brings together all the ingredients to honor this award. We tell you what it means, how it is granted and what activities are scheduled throughout the year.

What is the gastronomic capital

The Spanish Capital of Gastronomy (CEG) is an annual award that recognizes the Spanish city or community that stands out the most in the promotion —national and international— of gastronomy as a tourist attraction. The award was born in 2012 by the Spanish Federation of Tourism Journalists and Writers (FEPET), in collaboration with Hostelería de España, and since then it is awarded each year to a different city.

The distinction covers a full calendar year, from January 1 to December 31, and turns the winning city into a showcase of its pantry, its cuisine, its trades and its intangible heritage linked to eating and drinking. It is not just a seal: it is a tourist, economic and cultural boost for the territory that receives it.

How it is granted and what it means for a city

The process to apply for the title of gastronomic capital follows a clear calendar. Interested cities submit a formal candidacy with a dossier that includes their culinary heritage, the program of activities planned for the year of capital and the strategic lines that give coherence to the proposal. A jury made up of personalities from the institutional, tourist, gastronomic and journalistic field evaluates the candidacies and chooses the winner each fall.

For the awarded city, receiving the title means much more than a symbolic recognition. The gastronomic capital turns it into a priority destination for wine and gastronomic tourism for twelve months, with measurable impact on visitors, overnight stays and hotel turnover. According to data from the organization itself, 15% of the tourists who visit Spain do so mainly attracted by the gastronomic and wine offer, which gives an idea of the economic weight of this seal.

Beyond the numbers, receiving the title is a unique opportunity to value local products, traditional crafts, and new talents in the sector.

Jerez, Spanish Gastronomic Capital 2026

The candidacy of Jerez de la Frontera as the gastronomic capital was presented under the slogan “Eat, drink, love Jerez”, a slogan that honestly summarizes the Andalusian and Mediterranean character of the city. The official dossier includes a program of more than 60 activities distributed throughout 2026, articulated in four strategic lines:

• Legacy and Tradition, to preserve and disseminate the traditional Jerez cuisine; which you can try at our Casa Fundador Restaurant under a special menu: the Capital Menu, in which we pair our Fundador brandies and Jerez wines with the most typical Jerez food. Available all year round.
• Cooperation and Exchange, through the dialogue of gastronomy with flamenco, the horse, wine, and other cultural expressions. At Fundador, we have developed several activities that reinforce this connection, such as the flamenco masterclass with Macarena de Jerez.
• Sustainability, with proposals aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
• Talent and Gastronomy Crafts, with training programs, capacity building, and initiatives aimed at the new generations of the sector.

The official handover ceremony took place on February 10, 2026 in the Noble Hall of the Jerez City Hall, where Mayor María José García-Pelayo received the baton from Alicante, the outgoing capital.

Why did Jerez win the gastronomic capital this year?

The jury chose Jerez unanimously, against the Malaga candidacy of Antequera. The reasons? Few cities in Spain have such a complete and unique gastronomic ecosystem:

• The wines of Jerez, protected by one of the oldest DOs in Spain, are universal heritage and a must at any international table. Along with them, the brandy of Jerez stands as a great ambassador of the culture of aging in oak barrels. Our Fundador brandy has more than 150 years of history and, our wineries, can boast of being the oldest in Jerez.
• The traditional Jerez cuisine combines the kilometer 0 product of the countryside with market cuisine: kidneys in Jerez, berza, seasoned potatoes, fried fish or the immortal tocino de cielo.
• The coexistence between tradition and avant-garde: in Jerez, tavern cuisine and tabancos coexist with Michelin-starred restaurants, offering a culinary map for all audiences and budgets.
• The culture of pairing, a way of understanding eating and drinking that few cities in the world master at the level of Jerez.

All of this made the gastronomic capital of Jerez 2026 consolidate as a natural choice, not only for the quality of the proposal, but for the coherence between identity and project. With this nomination, Jerez also strengthens its candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2031.

Previous gastronomic capitals of Spain

Knowing the previous gastronomic capitals of Spain helps to dimension the recognition that Jerez has received. Since 2012, the award has passed through cities all over the peninsular map:

• 2012: Logroño – La Rioja (first awarded city)
• 2013: Burgos
• 2014: Vitoria-Gasteiz
• 2015: Cáceres
• 2016: Toledo
• 2017: Huelva
• 2018: León
• 2019: Almería
• 2020–2021: Murcia (extended due to the pandemic)
• 2022: Sanlúcar de Barrameda (first non-provincial capital city to obtain it)
• 2023: Cuenca
• 2024: Oviedo
• 2025: Alicante
• 2026: Jerez de la Frontera

With Jerez, the fourth Andalusian city to receive the seal —after Huelva, Almería and Sanlúcar—, a clear trend is consolidated: Andalusia and, particularly, the province of Cádiz, are first-rate gastronomic powers on the national map.

As an active part of the official program of the gastronomic capital Spain 2026, Brandy Fundador adds its voice to the celebration of a unique year for the city. If you want to know the special programming and the activities in which we participate throughout 2026, we invite you to visit the official page of Jerez Gastronomic Capital on our website.

Let’s toast to Jerez.