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U. K. B. G. GUIDE TO DRINKS
Other categories are made at this stage and are called
Palmas,Palo,Cortado and so on. This is merely a classifica
tion name.
At this stage the Fino's develop a scum called"Flor"
or flower, which in wine other than 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
butresulting 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 allow 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
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