212 / 290
U. K. B. G. GUIDE TO DRINKS
At this stage the Fine's develop a scum called"Flor"
or flower, which in wine other tlaan sherry is considered
harmful, but which is looked for with this wine. This.
"flor"is encouraged except in the case of the Oloroso's in
which case it is checked by the addition of brandy.
Eventually the"flor"precipitates and falls'to the bottom
of the cask. Some of the wine turns into vinegar, but most
turns into the fine pale dry wines suitable for sherry.
Other wines used are the Pedro Ximinez,from the grape
of that name, fortified -with brandy which retains the
sweetness.
Other sweet wines are used, called locally"Sancocho"
and "Arrope"; these are heat-treated, thus reducing
the bulk but resulting in a sweet and a very sweet wine
respectively.
Another wine used is"Vino de Color" for colouring
purposes. This is produced by mixing Sancocho wine with
unfermented grape juice, thus the mixture all ferments
together, and no spirit is added. This results in a dry wine
and is used for colouring only.
One further wine is made, called "Vino Dulce" or
"Dulce Apagado". This is a cheap wine used for
sweetening, made by mixing the Wine Spirit at high
strength with grape juice before fermentation, thus the
spirit will not ^low the mixture to ferment and the result
is that all the natural sugar of the grape juice is retained.
Probably the most important part of the process of
making Sherry is the system of blending called the Solera
System. This from the Spanish "Solar" or "Suelo"
meaning foundation or ground. In this system,the various
wines are blended together, according to recipe, from
different series of casks laid down many years previously.
An equal quantity is drawn from each cask in the series
and these original casks are made up every three months
■with wine from a similar series of the same type of younger
wine. This in turn is made up from wine of another solera,
and so on. The result is that the merchant is guaranteed
a stable _and average quality, with hardly any fluctuation
at all in the quality of the -wine. It is because of this that
there is no such thing as a vintage year for sherries, they
are blends of winesjof different years.
212