If you ever come to Spain, you will see different images decorating the landscape. One of them is the figure of a wine bottle, with a red hat and bolero jacket, and a Spanish guitar: the image of \u201cTio Pepe\u201d. We could also see it in the mythical kilometre 0 till recently. Tio Pepe was put in the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to celebrate its centenary, but this year some improvements to the building and the adquisition of the building by Apple to place a new store makes us think that it won\u00b4t come back.<\/p>\n
Let me tell you the story of T\u00edo Pepe. When he was 23, Manuel Maria Gonz\u00e1lez decided to start a business about Jerez wines, and he asked for advice to some close people. One of them was Mr. Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel de la Pe\u00f1a, his uncle, a man who knew a lot about wine aging, and who was fondly called \u201cuncle Pepe\u201d. He taught his niece all he could, and convinced him to bet on the \u201cPale\u201d wine. Manuel Mar\u00eda sent some \u201cpale wine\u201d to his English agent and later partner Robert Blake Byass, and it was a success.<\/p>\n
In honor of Mr. Jos\u00e9, \u00a0Manuel Maria opened a small wine cellar, where friends and family used to spend some time with a cup of wine, and he wrote in his uncle\u00b4s wineskin \u201cSolera del T\u00edo Pepe\u201d, as a reference to the aging process that uncle Pepe had taught him. (\u201cSolera\u201d means a long-established family, but when talking about wines, it is Mr Jose\u00b4s system of blending used in the production of fortified wines such as jerez. Only a quarter of a cask of mature wine is drawn off for bottling at any one time, and the cask is then topped up from a cask of younger wine of the same variety. This second cask is topped up with a third, younger wine, and so on up to the fourth cask. (Wordreference definition).<\/p>\n
T\u00edo Pepe was the first registered trademark that existed in Spain and it rapidly got a great recognition in all the markets. It is now an emblematic Spanish symbol.<\/p>\n
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by Tomas Fano<\/a><\/p>\n Si alguna vez ven\u00eds a Espa\u00f1a, ver\u00e9is diferentes im\u00e1genes decorando el paisaje. Una de ellas es la figura de una botella de vino, con sombrero y torera rojas, y una guitarra espa\u00f1ola: la imagen del \u201cT\u00edo Pepe\u201d. Tambi\u00e9n pod\u00edamos encontrarla en el m\u00edtico kil\u00f3metro 0 hasta hace poco. T\u00edo Pepe fue puesto en la puerta del Sol de Madrid para celebrar su centenario, pero este a\u00f1o reformas en el edificio, y su adquisici\u00f3n por Apple para abrir una nueva tienda nos hace creer que no volver\u00e1.<\/p>\n Dejadme que os cuente la historia de T\u00edo Pepe. Cuando ten\u00eda 23 a\u00f1os, Manuel Maria Gonz\u00e1lez decidi\u00f3 comenzar un negocio de vinos de Jerez, y pidi\u00f3 consejo a alguna gente cercana. Uno de ellos fue D. Jos\u00e9 \u00c1ngel de la Pe\u00f1a, su t\u00edo, un hombre que sab\u00eda mucho sobre crianza de vinos, y a quien cari\u00f1osamente llamaban t\u00edo Pepe. \u00e9l ense\u00f1\u00f3 a su sobrino todo lo que pudo, y lo convenci\u00f3 para que apostase por los vinos p\u00e1lidos. Manuel Mar\u00eda envi\u00f3 algunos de esos vinos a su agente y posterior socio ingl\u00e9s Robert Blake Byass, lo que fue un \u00e9xito.<\/p>\n En honor a D. Jos\u00e9, Manuel Maria abri\u00f3 una peque\u00f1a bodega, donde los amigos y la familia se reun\u00edan para pasar el rato con una copa de vino, y escribi\u00f3 en la bota de su t\u00edo \u201cSolera del T\u00edo Pepe\u201d, como referencia al sistema de crianza que el t\u00edo Pepe le hab\u00eda ense\u00f1ado.<\/p>\n T\u00edo Pepe \u00a0fue la primera Marca Registrada que hubo en Espa\u00f1a y r\u00e1pidamente comenz\u00f3 a tener un gran reconocimiento en todos los Mercados. Hoy es un s\u00edmbolo emblem\u00e1tico espa\u00f1ol.<\/p>\n