1876 Facts About Sherry by Henry Vizetelly

The Wines ofJerez—Blending Sherryfor Shipment. 47

witli the certaiaty of ■wasting 3 per cent, per annum "by the evaporation of its watery particles. The chances of the ■wine turning to vinegar from want of vinous strength may he met hy the timely addition of spirit. It is scud, however, which is at once the arch-enemy and the constant dread of the ahnacenista, or ■wine-rearer, this malady attacking fine young ■wines, although less frequently, as well as the inferior ones. It often shows itself immediately after the wine has been racked, but more commonly during the hot weather. Generally it runs its course, no cure being known for it beyond the attempt to fine the 'wine ■with the whites of eggs. A shipper buying a parcel of 100 butts of fine wine, the produce of a single vineyard, shortly after it has been racked from the lees, would regard the result as fortunate if two-thirds turned out well. These would, perhaps, comprise about a dozen butts of the oloroso type, a couple of dozen or more of the amontniado type, and about three dozen single raya, while the remaining thirdwould belong partly to the inferior and partly to the worthless class. If, however, the ■wine were light in character it would probably produce no palo cortado or oloroso, in which case one-half of it might turn out amontillado and fino. The preservation and ageing of the Jerez ■wines are carried on after two different methods—that is to say, by seasons and by the system of soleras. The first consists in preserving each vintage intact, in which case the wine goes on acquiring much more consistency, colour, and aroma, while developing more subtile characteristics of the nature of balsams and essences. Generally indi-vidual gro-wths are not kept separate for more than from four to six years, when they commence to form part of the system of soleras, which has for its object the keeping up of certain distinct types of wine by rearing younger -wines on the foundation of old ones, as already explained. When -wine for shipment is drawn off in limited quantities and in equal propor tions from the butts composing a solera, whatever is drawn from the cask containing the oldest wine, known as the solera madre (whose origin in rare instances -will date as far back as a century