1953 The U K B G Guide to Drinks

U. K. B. G. GUIDE TO DRINKS

At this stage the Fine's develop a scum called"Flor" or flower, which in wine other tlaan 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 but resulting 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 ^low 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 at all in the quality of the -wine. It is because of this that there is no such thing as a vintage year for sherries, they are blends of winesjof different years. 212