1899 The Mixicologist by C F Lawlor

THE MIXICOLOGIST.

II9

This solera system is peculiar to Jerez. It means the building up new wines on the foundation of old ones. As the older wines are drawn offfor shipment—and but a few gallons are drawn from each butt in the lowest tier—these butts are replenished from the casks imme diately above them, these in turn from the next tier, and finally new wine of the same character is replen ished to the top row. By this system it is possible for the shipper to keep up a uniform excellence of his wines, and to duplicate each shipment despite a succes sion of bad vintages. There are other districts sur rounding Jerez where good wines are grown. The pale, delicate Manzanilla is grown around the little town of San Lucas deBarrameda,about fifteen milesfrom Jerez, and Puerto de Santa Maria yields somewhat inferior wines to the neighboring districts mentioned. The Medoc.—The vineyards of the Medoc, whence come the most famous wines of the world, present many wonderful facts. The grapes are curious in variety, as also in their size and appearance,consequently also in the quality of the wine produced. An extraordinary fact it is that a narrow.lane some times divides a vineyard so that on one side there will be a first-class production, while its opposite neighbor has hardly a name with the wine buyers. The same mode of cultivation will not remedy this caprice of nature. Sometimesa trifling slope ofthe ground,vary ing a little the exposure of the plant, will cause a per ceptible difference in the flavor of the fruit. The vines themselves are never suffered to grow more than three