On September 1, 2010, any fortified wine made in Australia and previously named ‘sherry’ underwent a name change to become ‘apera’. Winemakers of Australia acknowledged that the name ‘sherry’ was not theirs to use and gave the name back to Spain.
‘apera’ is a play on aperitif and this fortified wine is the perfect pre-dinner tipple.
Jenny Shaw is one of the creative directors behind Castlecrag’s newest bar and restaurant concept apera. When the owners all met on cold Tuesday night in August 2017 to discuss a name for their concept, Jenny was quick to put forth the name apera and it grew from there.
Jenny explains:
“I’ve always liked the name Sherry for a little restaurant or bar. I like the word and I like the drink. Not the cream Sherry’s Nanna used to drink, but the lovely dry ones served with Pinchos in Spain.”
“Sherry is a lovely way to start a meal”
“I found there to be a real lack of awareness when it comes to enjoying a really good Sherry in Australia, an opportunity I’ve always wanted to explore”
“When the concept for apera fell into place and we landed on curating all food and beverage menus based on soley Australian produce, I started researching Australian made Sherry’s and stumbled across the little known fact that Sherry produced here is now called ‘Apera’, a play on aperitif.
“Hence the name and our new bar and restaurant was born. A serendipitous moment”