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SHERRY.
Sherry as known in England is a blended wine in
the sense that it is ravely shipped as a single vintage
wine, and perhaps in no other wine has the science
o£ blending been carried to a higher state of per
fection.
Shipments are prepared according to the parti
cular requirements of customers by blending wines
from different " Soleras."
" Soleras " are standardised wines of different
types, but kept absolutely uniform in their various
styles from year to year. They are kept in the
Bodegas at Jerez, in the south of Spain, and form
the foundation on which the shipper makes his
blends for export. As he draws on them, so he
replenishes them year by year, and in doing so it is
vital to his business to preserve continuity of style
and quality in his various " Soleras."
It will thus be seen that " Soleras " are themselves
the result of highly scientific and judicious blending
year by year from carefully selected wines of
various vintages reserved by the shippers for that
purpose.
At vintage time, which is generally in September,
the grapes are picked and crushed. Fermentation
sets in, and when completed the young wine is
drawn off into fresh casks. Some few months after
the vintage the young wine will fall bright, when
expert tasters diagnose the characteristics of the
different casks and apportion the necessary amount
of Brandy to each cask. The wine is then left to