1911 Beverages de luxe

BY

HOWELL

GEO. C.

^herry

& Co.

Of Samuel Streit

New York City

Vinos de Jerez (Xerez old style), Jerez wine, pronounced Hehreth, was found impossible to the early English tongue, and was corrupted to Sherris, afterwards Sherry, and is now known as Sherry wine. Nowhere else ean Sherry be produced but in the

white chalky soil of the hills, in a triangular district, marked by the cities of Jerez, Port St. Mary's, and Sanlucar, province of Cadiz, South Spain. H ère it lias been grown for centuries, altkough, as happened in the Bordeaux and in other districts, the vineyards of the Jerez district were almost entirely de- stroyed by Phyloxera, they hâve been replanted to a great ex- tent, and are again producing exactly the saine wine. When the vin es were destroyed, the vineyard proprietors were confronted with a very grave situation; replanting was an expensive opéra- tion ; stocks h ad to be secured whose roots would withstand the attack of Phyloxera, and grafts from the old vines employed. It was a question whether the sanie wine would be produced. This bas been settled satisfactorily, but only a portion of the vineyards, less than one-half, have been replanted; so that, where the hills ten years ago were covered with a mantle of green, now more than half appears glistening white in the hot sunshine. Some thirty years ago the old Spanish family of Sancho, proprietors for many years of the célébra ted Vineyard El Caribe, which produces Amontillado Don Quixote, sent by re- quesl to California cuttings from their best and most vigorous vines; thèse were grafted, and the resuit was in every case a beautiful vine, but in no case was the wine similar in any way to Sherry. This experiment, with the more récent one of re- planting in Spain, goes to prove that it is soil and climate more than anything else which is responsible for the peculiar flavor and bouquet of wines from certain districts, which makes their superiority and renown. There is no secret process, nor, as is the common belief, is Sherry made in a différent way from that employed in making other wines. After the grapes are i^ressed at the vineyard house the juice (Mosto) is pumped into large casks, which are