Jerez (Or Xerez) De La Frontera (Anc. Asta Regia), a town of Andalusia, Spain, in the province and 13 m. N. E. of the city of Cadiz, 3 m. from the right bank of the Guadalete; pop. about 50,000. Situated in one of the most fertile plains of the peninsula, it comprises two distinct divisions, the old and the new town. The streets in the latter are spacious, regular, clean, and well paved and lighted. There are three fine squares. The houses are well built, are generally white, and have tasteful courtyards. The cathedral, completed in 1695, though lofty and spacious, is heavy and devoid of taste; it has a library and a curious numismatical collection. Of the 11 parish churches, only those of San Dionisio, San Miguel, and Santiago are noteworthy; in them the Gothic style prevails, and among the rich decorations of the interiors are numerous paintings, statues, and bassi rilievi. There are seven convents, and a larger number of monasteries. Of the five hospitals, one is for foundlings; and there are besides a female orphan asylum, a college, and several free schools.

But the most remarkable of the public buildings is the old Moorish castle (Alcazar), contiguous to the Alameda, and surrounded by turreted walls, one of the best specimens of a palatial fortress in Spain. Jerez derives its celebrity from its wines, which are by far the best in the country, and consist of the aromatic pajorete and the far-famed sherry, a name Anglicized from that of the town. Many of the cellars are capable of containing 14,000 butts. (See Spain, Wines of.) Some olive oil is made, and there are a few woollen factories, soap-boiling establishments, and tanneries. The town has railway communication with Cadiz and Seville. The export trade, mainly consisting in wines, is chiefly carried on through the port of Santa Maria, 7 m. S. "W. - Near the walls of Jerez, which are still standing though much dilapidated, Roderic, the last king of the Visigoths in Spain, was defeated by the Moors, shortly after their landing in 711, in a battle which is said to have lasted a week. Alfonso the Wise recovered the town from the Moors about the middle of the 13th century.