John Harvey & Sons is a brand (trading name) of a wine and sherry blending and merchant business founded by William Perry in Bristol, England in 1796. The business within 60 years of John Harvey joining had blended the first dessert sherry, dubbed 'cream sherry', which has changed little since 1880 and is known as Harveys Bristol Cream. <!--note: Spelled without apostrophe. See talk page--> The brand changed ownership several times, in 2015 bought by a subsidiary of Alliance Global Group of the Philippines.

History

In 1796, the first iteration of Harvey's wine-trading business was established in Denmark Street in Bristol. This was owned by William Perry, who went into partnership with Thomas Urch. In 1822, Urch's nephew (John Harvey I) joined the firm as an apprentice. By 1839, John Harvey was senior partner in the Bristol branch of the family business and by 1871, the whole business was known as John Harvey & Sons.

The records of John Harveys & Sons are held by Bristol Archives (Ref. 40913) (online catalogue).

Bristol Cream and other products

thumb|280px|Harvey's Solera Bristol Cream

Bristol Cream is a complex dark amber The business eventually began buying its own vineyards to invest in fermenting and fortification premises locally and to protect grape quality. The business uses its estate vineyards in Jerez Superior, and uses all of its Palomino grapes as the main source grape.

thumb|The cap of a bottle of Bristol Cream

This wine has been bottled in Bristol blue glass since 1994, with a label offering serving suggestions. The brand was sold to Beam Global in 2010 and to Grupo Emperador Spain S.A. in 2015.

A 1984 commercial for Harvey's Bristol Cream showed comedian Peter Cook at a poolside party drinking the sherry. He tells the guests to "throw away those silly little glasses", so they toss their sunglasses in the swimming pool.

References

  • Records of Harvey's of Bristol