 González @-@ Gordon was born in Hampton Hill , London , United Kingdom , as a son to a Spanish family with Scottish descent rooted in the Clan Gordon . His parents were Manuel María González @-@ Gordon and Emilia Díez Gutiérrez . Mauricio , whose father was known as the ' Pope of Sherry ' , was the second of a total of four children . One of his ancestors , John David Gordon of Wardhouse , had moved to Jerez de la Frontera in the 18th century and started trading in sherry . At the time of his birth , González @-@ Gordon 's father Manuel was the chairman of González Byass and was actively promoting the brand in the United Kingdom . During his youth González @-@ Gordon was raised as a bilingual , being fluent in both Spanish and English . González @-@ Gordon moved to Jerez de la Frontera at age three to go to school in Spain . He was homeschooled by private tutors and attended La Salle Buen Pastor college . He later attended the Instituto Padre Luis Coloma . His primary studies were followed up by economic studies at the Jerez College of Commerce , where he licensed as a teacher of trade . He passed the final period of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 working in an airplane factory , helping construct Polikarpov planes for the aerial forces of General Francisco Franco . He attended the University of Seville and graduated in Chemical Sciences in 1946 . 
