NB.: Any prices, vintage ratings and drinkability expressed are those current at the time this article was published, and may have changed in the meantime. This article is Copyright ©

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JR's notes:

This is a complete rundown on Sherry history and production aimed at students on the Diploma of the WSET® School and originally published in December, 1997 for the examination year 1998. It's very comprehensive and a bit technical but it was the shortest (6,400 words) space in which I felt I could tell the Sherry story comprehensively. The WSET® School has a website at www.wset.co.uk

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SHERRY - THE POTTED HISTORY

HISTORY - Origins

Sherry is occasionally described as 'the oldest fine wine in the world', although reliable written records which specifically mention the vineyards of Jerez (under any one of its two dozen previous names!) only really date from the catalogues of the Moorish occupation, at the beginning of the eighth century, and the first record of the term 'Sherry' in English to describe the wine of the region dates from 1608. In addition, of course, neither can we date accurately the island Muscats of ancient Greece, nor the legendary wines of the court of the Sultán Jamshyd of Persepolis, which may have flourished in the first millennium BC.

However, as one of the world's first 'tradable' wines (i.e. a quality cut above wine simply made for local consumption) the case for Sherry is strong. We know that the Phoenicians were trading wheat, olives and wine throughout the Mediterranean by 1100 BC, and that they founded the port city of Gadir (now Cádiz) in that year. Pieces of ancient clay amphorae are still, occasionally, dredged up from the bed of the estuary of the river Guadalquivír and undoubtedly some of these must have contained wine. Whether this was wine coming in from Greece or going out from Gadir, of course, is debatable. On the other hand, simple economics would suggest that to grow vines and make wine for export in the fertile area around Gadir would have been much more cost-effective than shipping it all the way from the other side of the Mediterranean.

In either case we can be certain that wine was imported and exported to and from Gadir 3,000 years ago, even if we can't be sure of its origins. Indeed, one rather over- enthusiastic historian has recorded that the Phoenicians found the vine being cultivated and wine being made when they arrived, although there is no archaeological evidence for this.

The biggest influx of people to the area came in the sixth and fifth centuries BC - some 2,500 years ago - from Greece, and it is certain that they brought vines with them and expanded the vineyard area inland from the port, and it's likely that this is when the town we now know as Jerez de la Frontera was founded. Since then, of course, it has been identified with various historical and similarly-named towns in the area, and it's impossible to pick fact from legend at this distance. However, a reasonably logical progression would be to select the following: the Greeks called it Zera ('the dry land') in the fifth century BC; the incoming Romans latinised the name to Ceritium in the second century BC; The Goths replaced the Romans in the fifth century AD, shortening the name to Ceret, and were themselves replaced by the Moors in the eighth century AD, who called the town Scheris. After the expulsion of the Moors in 1264, it became the frontier between Muslim and Chris t ian Spain. In recognition of this, in 1380 King Juan I added the epithet 'de la Frontera' to the town - which had, under Castilian orthography, now become 'Xeres' (the whole area had become part of the kingdom of Castile during the thirteenth century). 'Xeres' later became 'Xerez' and. Very much later (in the nineteenth century) many Spanish-language place-names exchanged 'x' for 'j', and it became Jerez.

Whatever we may call it, the town lost no time in expanding its vineyards, trade and influence, and by the end of the sixteenth century 'Sherris-Sack' was reckoned the finest wine in the world - a reputation it held continuously, north of the 50th parallel, until little more than a century ago.

The original wine from the area of Cádiz was probably a naturally high-strength product made from Malvagia and Muscat vines imported from Greece, as well as unnamed vines which had grown wild in the locality. The high strength explained its 'tradability' - it could be transported in none-too-airtight containers without turning to vinegar, and the trader stood a fair chance of getting it delivered and paid-for in reasonable condition. Indeed, there are records of millions of amphorae of 'Ciritium' wine being shipped to Rome during the Empire period.

The Moors reputedly brought distilling to Spain (although there is some evidence that the Romans had knowledge of it), and it seems likely that adding alcohol to the naturally high-strength wines produced locally - as a better means of preserving them for long journeys - was what made the difference between the wine produced hereabouts and that from elsewhere.

The 'Sack' Boom

In Shakespeare's day the wine was known as 'Sack', which is probably derived from the Spanish Saca meaning a withdrawal of wine - in this case - from the solera. Shipments of wine were known as Sacas and appeared thus on official documentation: this was easily corrupted (and reduced to the singular) as 'Sack'. Naturally enough, makers of fortified-wine from all over the Mediterranean tried to cash in on the fame of the wine, but even in those days merchants were careful to distinguish Sherris-Sack from lesser breeds such as Canary-Sack and Málaga-Sack.

Victorian Values

Sherry continued to advance throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, but it really came into its own under the Victorians: this strong, sweet powerful drink had a quality perception born of antiquity and could hardly have been more different in style and clientèle from the crude alcohol of the gin palaces. Thus it became the symbol of respectable consumption, and the quick injection of alcohol provided by a mid-morning glass, oft bringing a rosy flush to a matronly - or indeed, maidenly - cheek was just the thing for those long, cold, dark Victorian winters. In the last quarter of the nineteenth century Sherry boomed as it had never done before, with the Sherry-houses struggling to cope with demand from the civilised centres of Northern Europe: Belgium, Germany, Scandinavia and, particularly, England and Holland - still the two biggest markets for the wine, even today. Ironically, this was also the period during which Phylloxera ravaged the vineyar ds , and in spite of the burgeoning export trade, a very large number of businesses went bankrupt before replanting was achieved in the early years of the twentieth century.

The First Consejo Regulador

The Consejo Regulador was established in 1933, and the Sherry business continued to advance under careful planning: by now almost every wine-producing country in the world was producing something they were calling 'Sherry', and the Jerezanos recognised that only the strictest adherence to quality-control would continue to mark their wines out from the 'wannabes'. In those days there was little control of wine-names outside of Spain and, indeed, after a series of court cases to try and protect the name, it was not until 1993 that Jerez won back the exclusive rights to its own name, and even then the new rules were not to come into force until the 1st January, 1996 - now comfortably in place.

Boom and (almost) Bust

The establishment of the Consejo also provided for accurate statistical analysis (a full set of figures, updated annually, is available from the Sherry Institute of Spain), and we can read the business history of the wine by looking at its export figures from that point. In 1934 Jerez exported 141,000 hl of wine, rising to 248,000 hl in 1940. The second world war decimated the export business, falling to 53,000 hl in 1942, but Jerez hit back with the coming of peace: 135,000 hl in 1944; 206,000 hl in 1949; 300,000 hl in 1959; 700,000 hl in 1969; 1,500,000 hl in 1979... It was as if the Sherry boom would go on for ever.

However, this proved not to be the case, and the decline began in 1980 with 1,250,000 hl, falling in the next ten years to 783,000 hl in 1989 - just over half the total for ten years previously.

The reasons were manifold - complacency at home and abroad, a market which - give or take the odd world war - had scarcely faltered for a thousand years, and working practices which hadn't changed in fifty years. Add to this a blurred perception amongst the rising generation of wine drinkers, advertising of major brands still aimed firmly at the fifty-plus sector, and a market artificially padded with 'intervention' Sherry which had no place anywhere but on an accountant's balance-sheet and a customs-officer's clipboard.

The solution was extremely painful: too many hectares of vines, too many people relying on the industry for their income, too much - to be quite frank - poor quality unbranded wine sloshing around in tanks and bottles collecting subsidies as it quietly denatured into oblivion.

Other factors also affected sales: so-called 'British Sherry' enjoyed a favourable excise-duty advantage in the UK market, the Dutch market faltered, and, of course, in the early 1980s Europe lurched into recession with the inevitable downturn in almost every market.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s vineyard- and bodega-workers lost their jobs, Sherry companies folded, split, closed or merged in a desperate attempt to survive. However, on the credit side, those companies which had invested in new technology for their wineries in the 1970s were beginning to see the benefit and, although it was financially very hard indeed to preserve the pensions of the vineyard and bodega workers - and to provide acceptable terms for those workers who were made redundant - the stalwarts of the Sherry industry bit the bullet, paid up, and survived.

Major international brands now come from just a few major companies, but the wide range of wines available has been extended by niche-market producers and - at the quality end of the market - particularly by the Almacenistas. The word 'Almacenista' literally means 'storekeeper', and there have always been those, generally small, private investors who have bought butts (a butt contains 500 litres) of Añada (single vintage) Sherry and installed them as or included them in their own soleras. The original idea was twofold: the producing companies could get some early cashflow in what is still a very long-term business, and the investor could buy excellent Sherry for ageing, and sell it back into the market years later, as mature wine, at a price many times that of its cost. A number of Almacenistas have made names for themselves as providers of true magnificence in fine old wines, and a few even make a little Sherry themselves to refresh their own criaderas . Wines from individual Almacenistas are now also sold without blending, providing some of the very highest-quality Sherry, at premium prices. The only fly in the ointment is that one particular Sherry house registered the name 'Almacenista' as a trademark some years ago, before the rest of the trade woke up to the idea, so we must now speak of 'Bodegas de Almacenado' if we wish to be completely correct.

Back in Business

Some element of stability returned to the Sherry export business at the beginning of the 1990s. In 1989, the figure of 782,647 hl represented the lowest shipments for about 20 years, but pointed the way towards a much more realistic export market. A good deal of the credit for the maintenance of that market - in the UK at least - must go to the major retailing chains and supermarkets, which had spotted that an increasingly open-minded and interested market was there to be satisfied. Early improvements came at the drier end of the market, as a new generation discovered delicate Finos and Manzanillas, and the increasing popularity of mass-market styles such as Pale Cream began to fill in the gap left by the old 'brown sticky stuff' of the 1970s. Exports began to lift, and in the intervening years exports have peaked at 826,196 hl (1995) and troughed at 660,956 hl (1997) with a five-year average (to 1997) of 756,142 hl.

This is considerably less in quantity terms that of the 'boom' years, but the cash value of the wines was much greater - in other words the trade was shipping a smaller quantity of better quality wines, with a more realistic profit to the producers which, in its turn allowed for proper reinvestment.

Geography and Geology

The great triumph of the vineyards of the Sherry zone is the Albariza - the chalk-rich soil which, in the winter, looks as if it might have been dusted delicately with a fall of snow, and which, after summer rains, gleams like the icing on a wedding-cake, reflecting the sunshine, retaining the water under its crisp chalky crust and providing for the vine's needs regardless of the outside temperature. This is what has made the Palomino grown in Jerez something very different from the high-producing, low-quality variety it tends to be, elsewhere in Spain.

The 'Sherry Country' is all within the province of Cádiz except for a small area around Lebrija in the province of Sevilla, and the vineyards are at altitudes from a few metres above sea-level to about 55 m around Jerez and 150 m towards the border with the province of Sevilla. This is a roughly-triangular area between the Guadalquivír river in the north and Chiclana in the south, and the three main towns are Jerez itself, Puerto de Santa María, on the coast across the bay from Cádiz, and Sanlúcar de Barrameda on the estuary of the Guadalquivír.

Soils are classified into three groups: Albarizas, Barros and Arenas. The most important are the Albarizas, which have more than 60% active chalk and, in some areas, exceed 80%. During rainfall, the soil becomes a thick paste and, as the sun rises, it dries into a smooth, reflective 'shell' to retain moisture and protect the vines. At these latitudes (36-38º north) grapes ripen so quickly that sugar-content tends to outstrip acidity - which is why the wines made from these vines are so well-equipped for the long ageing of the Sherry process.

Albarizas: these areas are classified as Jerez Superior and divided into Pagos or individual vineyards, and they vary in size from less than a hectare to thousands of hectares, according to their situation. There are approximately 150 Pagos registered with the Consejo Regulador, but the eight most important are as follows (in alphabetical order):

Añina (north-west of Jerez)

Balbaina (west of Jerez)

Carrascal (north of Jerez - the highest and hottest)

Macharnudo (the largest - 2,000 ha, north-west of Jerez)

Martín Miguel (Jerez)

Miraflores (Sanlúcar)

Los Tercios (south-west of Jerez, north of Puerto de Santa María)

Torrebreva (Sanlúcar)

Although both Fino and Oloroso wines are made from grapes grown in all the Pagos, those at lower altitudes and close to the sea will tend to produce grapes which are more suitable for making Fino wines. Macharnudo tends to produce Fino and Oloroso at similar quality levels, whilst Carrascal is best known for producing grapes which give quality Olorosos.

Since the reconversion - the process of rationalisation, grubbing-up and reduction in the vineyards area - anything other than Albariza vineyard has taken second place. In an international market which is capable of supporting wines at premium prices, there is little enough call for wines of more modest origins. However, the own-brand market is still buoyant in many countries, and grapes grown in other soils still have their niche:

Barros ('mud') areas have up to 10% chalk content but are mainly ferruginous clay. In northern Spain soils such as these would be prized for growing the finest wines, but in Jerez, allowing for the climate and elevation, they are second-class zones. Musts from these vineyards are heavier and coarser than those of the Albarizas, but offer a 20% increase in quantity.

Arenas ('sand') areas may also have up to 10% chalk, but are mainly sandy soils which offer vigorous vine-growth and high yields. These are the vineyards which tend to be devoted to the Moscatel vine, which is something of a growth area for the region, although there is still some doubt as to whether the wines are entitled to carry the DO or whether they should be classified with the VdlT Cádiz.

CLIMATE

Although the Sherry country is on the coast of the Atlantic ocean, the climatic style is solidly Mediterranean, with a relative humidity of some 70% (which is an important factor in the development of Flor). Average rainfall is 630 mm, of which some 40% falls in the final quarter of the year (Oct-Dec) with the remaining 60% in the spring (Mar-May). There tends to be little or no rain, apart from the odd thunderstorm, from June to September - an average of 71 rainy days per year. Average sunshine is over 3,000 hours per year, representing the remaining 294 days. Average temperature throughout the year is 18º C, 22º C during the growing season, and with a range from 40º C in midsummer to 0º C in midwinter - occasional frosts are welcomed, as they kill various vineyard pests but are seldom strong enough to damage the vines.

GRAPES AND YIELD

For Sherry itself, only two grapes are authorised: Palomino Fino (also known as Listán Palomino or just Listán) and Pedro Ximénez, more normally known as PX. There are also plantations of a grape called Palomino de Jerez, which may be a slightly different clone of Listán or, indeed, nothing more than a local name for the same grape: they are virtually identical on the vine. The third authorised grape is the Moscatel, although this is not normally allowed into the soleras - it makes sweet wines and dessert wines fortified in the 'Port' style (i.e. during fermentation) which are normally not entitled to the DO Jerez.

In general terms, Palomino is planted in Albariza soils for the production of Fino wines, Pedro Ximénez is planted in lesser Albarizas (for Oloroso wines), Barros and Arenas, and Moscatel is grown in Barros and Arenas, most particularly at Chipiona. However, most Sherry, whether Fino, Palo Cortado or Oloroso, is produced from the Palomino, which accounts for some 94% of the vineyard. Maximum production is 11,400 kg/ha in the 'Superior' zones and 14,200 kg/ha in the rest of the area. At a rendimiento of 72.5litres/100kg this grosses up to 82.7 hl/ha and 103 hl/ha respectively. In 1994 the actual yield (after three years of drought) was about 7,000 kg/ha, representing approximately 50 hl/ha.

VITICULTURE

In general terms, Palomino vines are planted in free-standing styles, which may vary between en vaso and en cabeza according to exposure, although there is some espaldera training. Pruning throughout is vara y pulgar and the maximum vine-density is 4,000/ha. The main rootstocks are 161-49 Couderc (58%) and 41-B Millardet (40%). The remainder is made up of 333-EM (E-Montpelier) and 13-5 EVEX (Estación Viticultúra y Enología de Jerez).

Cryptogamic Diseases

Oïdium is rare but can occur in vineyards which are not properly supervised. It is treated with the usual sulphur-based sprays. Chlorosis occurs in areas of high soil acidity, but is patchy and not widespread. Botrytis can strike in August if the over-ripe grapes have been allowed to burst within a bunch. Careful vineyard management and pruning can prevent this. Mildew can also be a problem in humid conditions. This is treated by Copper Sulphate sprays.

Insect Pests

Phylloxera is still around, but not a serious threat with the current selection of rootstocks. Some butterfly/moth larvae can cause trouble, and these are treated by hanging a flower-pot, filled with molasses and water, from strategically-placed vines to attract the insects before they lay their eggs on the grapes.

Natural Disasters

The vine and the vineyards are well-adapted to excessive summer heat, and frost is not a problem (indeed, it is welcomed as a way of killing of various vineyard pests). There is occasional hail on May or June, but it is very rare.

The vintage usually begins in the first week of September and lasts for about four weeks. The price of grapes is fixed by market forces and posted by the Consejo Regulador. To give an example it was 46.25 pts/kg in 1994, of which grapes grown in Albarizas could claim a maximum of 94%. Grapes grown in other soils could claim a maximum of 87%.

VINIFICATION

There is a popular supposition that some 'magic' takes place in the Bodega after the grapes are harvested, in which some of the butts grow a film of Flor and become Fino, and others don't, and become Oloroso. This is not the case. Although, of course, all vineyards can produce grapes which may make wine of either style, Albariza vines of lower altitude with cooler climates will tend to produce good Finos, and higher, hotter vineyards will tend to produce Olorosos. The difference lies in the way the wines are treated at the time of fortification, and this is usually based on their vineyard origins. In practice most añada wines are currently encouraged to grow Flor and those which show the most vigorous growth will go forward to Fino soleras, but the final decision rests, as always, with the winemaker.

Palomino

The modern method of winemaking starts in the vineyards in the early hours of the morning, when the sun is low in the sky. Palomino grapes are collected in small plastic boxes (typically of no more than 22 kg capacity) to prevent the grapes' bursting, and moved quickly to the bodegas to minimise the time spent in transit.

The grapes are destalked and sieved, during which some 70% of the juice is collected without any pressing at all. This free-run must (lágrima) is of the highest quality, and will produce the finest wines at the end of the process, so it is vinified separately.

Under the rules of the Consejo Regulador, at least 15% of the must has to go for distillation, and anything in between this and the lágrima is ordinary-quality must for blending. The residual skins, pips and stalks are returned to the fields as fertilizer. The first- and second-run musts are filtered to remove any extraneous material, then muted with sulphur dioxide to kill wild yeasts, and the particular bodega's own controlled yeast-culture is introduced. Every bodega has its own pet strain of yeast, and this particular strain will govern the nature of the finished añadas. Fermentation is quite likely to take place in modern, stainless-steel installations (although some bodegas sill insist on fermenting in oak butts) but at generally higher temperatures than you'd expect for white wine - up to 28º C in certain cases. At this point in the winemaking process, the oenologist is not trying to make a light, up-front wine with a good dea l of primary fruit flavours. It's much more important to produce a base-wine with low acid and high extract which will be able to survive and improve during many years of barrel maturation - the ideal acid level is about 4.5 g/l and this will be achieved, if necessary, by correction. The fermentation (including malo-lactic) is usually completed by the end of the year of the vintage. These are single-vintage wines and are known as añadas.

Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel

These grapes are subjected to the soleo: laid on mats in clear plastic 'cloche' tunnels to dry in the sun, and they become, respectively, raisins and sultanas. They are pressed and fermented after 2-3 weeks, but the sugars are so concentrated that they stagger to a halt at about 5% abv, at which point they're fortified up to 15% abv and sent to the appropriate solera for maturation. In these soleras they will become the sweetening and darkening components of old, brown and cream sherries. In addition, the best of them may be sold as individual dessert wines of fabulous sweetness and impressive complexity.

CLASSIFICATION

This used to be the area in which the 'magic' manifested itself, but the reality is rather more pragmatic. Wines are classified as they go into their second year, and the criterion is purely the quality of the new wine. Wines from different Pagos may very well be kept separate in order to preserve differing styles for later blending.

However, the fact remains that lower, cooler Albarizas nearer to the sea will tend to produce wines more suitable for Fino, and higher, hotter areas will tend to produce wines which are more appropriate for Oloroso, and these factors are normally taken into account even before the grapes are pressed.

So, in the January after the vintage the wines are examined and graded according to quality. They will have achieved between 12% and 13% abv during fermentation, and those which are deemed to be of the highest quality will be fortified to 14.5% abv. Any substandard wines are fortified to 16.5% abv to prevent the growth of Flor. In the past, these would go to a special Rayas solera and eventually be used as sweetening or darkening wines for inexpensive Cream sherries, but with the decline in that sector of the market they tend to be in rather less demand - at least for the UK market.

The next stage comes in the spring, some four months after primary classification. The wine may, at this point, be in vat, tank or butt, and the traditional method of confirming whether it has Fino or Oloroso potential is simply the experienced nose of the Capataz. Wines which are taking on the Fino style are then fortified to 15.5% abv, whilst those which are on the Oloroso trail are fortified to 17.5% abv - a level at which Flor cannot survive. At this stage, all the wines will have grown a thin film of Flor, and there are a few Bodegas which actually encourage its growth on wines which are then refortified to become Olorosos - it's a matter of house style and gives a hint of Flor character to their finished Olorosos, but the practice is not widespread. Once any wine is fortified to 16.5% the yeast cannot survive. It dies, and the wine will become an Oloroso.

The fortifying mix is called mitad y mitad ('half-and-half') and consists of 50% alcohol at 95.5% abv and 50% young wine at 12% abv. The resulting mixture has 54% abv.

Once fortified, the wine is racked into clean casks (a process known as sobretabla) and stored for at least a year: the next action will take place in the following spring, when the wine is about eighteen months old. The wines are known throughout this period as añadas or wines of a single vintage.

Flor

Fino butts are inspected regularly to monitor the growth of Flor. This is the most important development of the añada period, and it grows as a film on the surface of butts which are filled to only 80% of capacity. The film becomes a skin and often almost a crust on top of the wine, imparting its unique flavour to the butt.

There are a number of yeasts of the genus Saccharomyces which will provide this film of Flor, the main one being S. beticus, and the lower-strength fortification of Fino wines (to 15.5% abv) has been calculated to provide the best possible conditions for the yeast to flourish. Flor feeds on air, glycerine, polyphenols, some alcohol and fusel oils, and volatile acidity. The perfect culture for Flor would be a wine with 15.2% to 15.4% abv, with total volatile acidity of less than 0.02 g/l, at a temperature of between 15º and 18ºC - roughly the kind of temperatures obtaining in the Sherry country in spring and autumn. In the cooler environs of Sanlúcar, Flor will grow throughout the year and it is this (rather than the much-vaunted sea-breeze!) which gives Manzanilla wine its unique character.

As well as affecting the flavour, Flor-growth affects the colour of the wine. In coastal areas, where the Flor is thick all the year round, the wines will retain their pale-straw/lemon tints and will hardly have oxidised at all. Meanwhile Finos from Jerez, where the Flor dies back in the heat of the summer, will already be pale-gold.

THE SOLERA

This is the system which gave Sherry its impeccable quality-control, long before the rest of the world, and which helped its original commercial success. It's a method of 'dynamic' ageing in which young wines are able to take on the characteristics of older wines over a period of years. As well as maintaining quality it also ensures a regular supply of mature wine, ready for immediate sale and drinking. In the ancient past when most winemaking in the world was a hit-or-miss affair, and vintages periodically failed altogether, this permanent availability of good wine was a consummation devoutly to be wished.

To get an idea of how the solera works, imagine a pyramidal stack of butts three rows high with, say, four hundred along the top, four hundred and one on the next row, and four hundred and two on the bottom. The bottom row is called the Solera (note the capital 'S' - this is important), the row above is the first Criadera and the top row is the second Criadera. The Criadera rows are known as 'Scales', but the Solera row is always known as the Solera (and don't forget that capital 'S').

When wine is needed for bottling and sale, it is withdrawn from the Solera - i.e. the bottom row - and no more than a third of the Solera's contents can be withdrawn in any one year. Once this wine is removed from the Solera, it is topped up with wine (in equal measure from all barrels) of the first Criadera. This in turn is topped up from the second Criadera, and the second Criadera is topped up with appropriate wines, which may be añada wines from the last vintage, wines from another Criadera or Solera, or a mixture of both. How long it takes for the wines to progress through the system depends, of course on the wine, the Solera and the Capataz. As a general guide, where competition is tough, price is a vital factor and most of the market is own-brand (e.g. Holland) an average quality wine may have spent 3 years and one day (the legal minimum) in the system. In the UK, where price is less sensitive and Bodegas' own names are more prominent, a g oo d mid-range wine might have 5-6 years in the system. The better Sherries are likely to have at least 8-9 years.

However, let's not forget that the Solera is not just a production system, it is also a way of putting the wine in touch with its ancestors. If a Solera for everyday own-brand wines has been in use for, say, thirty years, then whilst wine may progress through it in four or five years, the fractional blending provided by the system means that there is still a minute quantity of thirty-year-old wine in the blend - with increasing quantities of wines of each succeeding year since it was set up. Even though, in total, these older wines might only account for a tiny percentage of that which gets into the bottle, it's often sufficient to add a final 'burnish' to even the humblest Sherries, and that's what the Solera system is all about.

Equally, some Soleras may date back a century or more, and individual producers may refresh them only in exceptional vintages - say three times a decade - which means that the proportion of very old wine will be much larger. Wines sold unblended from a single Solera (capital 'S') are called 'solera' wines (with a lower-case 's'), and some of the region's very finest old wines fall into this category.

NB: In the example above we use of a 'pyramid' of barrels, which makes the system easy to understand. In practice the various scales of a Solera may be widely scattered throughout the bodega, and it is the arcane hieroglyphs chalked on the ends of the butts which tell the catadores which Solera is where.

The final blending is the art for which Sherry is most widely respected and by which it is always judged. The major brands stand or fall on their quality and consistency, and niche-market wines are prized by aficionados for their individuality and value for money. In practice, it's possible to blend a Sherry to match any requirement - from the specialist shipper who wants the very finest, with price no object, to the national retail chain wanting a range of wines made to fit a particular price-bracket. Indeed, one of the problems that the Sherry market has had to overcome is the perception that its main work involves cheapish, sweetish and highly alcoholic wines - a criticism more properly levelled at the 'wannabe' Sherry-type wines made elsewhere until the end of 1995.

The normal mode of events if a customer wants an own-brand wine is that a price will be specified along with basic details of the type of wine required: Fino, Manzanilla, Amontillado, etc. The Bodega will then assemble samples from a number of Soleras, and the customer will select the final blend from them. These samples may be a mixture of old Solera wines, younger Criadera wines, and sweetening and colouring wines as necessary. The Capataz in each Bodega is expected to know the Soleras intimately and to be able to make up a cabeceo ('formula') virtually from memory. An example of a typical cabeceo for a mid-price-range Amontillado might be made up as follows:

30% Solera Amontillado

40% 3rd Criadera Amontillado

20% 2nd Criadera Fino

10% Assorted sweetening wines

The Solera Amontillado would provide a high-quality base-wine; the 3rd-Criadera Amontillado would reduce the overall price; the 2nd Criadera Fino would also reduce the price as well as lightening the colour and freshening the blend. The colouring wines would determine the final colour and fine-tune the sweetness to the customer's requirements. Once the blend is agreed, it's general practice to refortify up to shipping strength: normally 17% abv, but occasionally higher.

Once the blend is complete, the wine is fined, and for the finest wines this is still done in the traditional way, with 20 egg-whites per butt. However, for large-scale fining of regular wines Bentonite is normally used, sometimes with a little gelatine. The wine is then passed into isothermic tanks at -8º C for eight days to precipitate tartrates, and is then passed to the bottling plant, while the tartrates thus precipitated are sold off as the profitable by-product Cream of Tartar.

Nearly all Sherry is now shipped in bottle, certainly to the rest of Europe, and much of it goes by road. By law, however, it must leave from one of the three main towns: Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda and Jerez itself. The reason for this is that the individual microclimates of these three principal towns have proved to be ideal for the maturation of Sherry while it is in the cask. It also provides for control over shipment.

THE WINES

The law recognises eight types of wine:

Fino must have experienced the growth of Flor, and must achieve between 15.6% and 17% abv. Finos are typically sold from about 6 years old onwards. However, good, old Finos may continue to age for many years.

Manzanilla must fit the requirements for Fino, but have been matured entirely in Sanlúcar de Barrameda.

Amontillado is traditionally an aged Fino, achieving 16% to 18% abv. A Fino may become Amontillado quite naturally in 10-12 years, though many are very much older - anything up to 50 or 60 years for the finest.

Oloroso is likely to be an older wine - at least that of an Amontillado - and should achieve 18% to 20% abv. These wines age with peerless grace - up to 100 years for the very best.

Palo Cortado is an oddity - some wine which should have become Fino and showed every evidence of becoming Fino, fails to do so. The Flor dies back and the wine continues to mature as if it were an Oloroso, fulfilling the same legal criteria as Oloroso wines. However, having spent part of its maturing years under Flor imparts a special and unique flavour to the wine. Palos Cortados are rare and usually expensive.

Raya is second-grade wine, fortified early on to prevent the growth of Flor and formerly used to cheapen blends. Its use is in decline.

Vino de Color is sweetening and colouring wine, either made as mistela from fresh Palomino grape-juice or from PX or Moscatel musts fermented to 5% abv and fortified suitably.

Wines are seen in the UK under various other names, most notably Cream, Pale Cream, Medium, East India, Brown, etc. However, these are not legal epithets but styles of wine which will, of course, be made up from a cabeceo of the eight original types.

Wines must be aged for at least three years through the Solera before they may be offered for sale.

The notes above are an edited-down version of the relevant chapter in the 'Wines From Spain Education Notes' (see below).

Related Reading:

'Sherry' by Julian Jeffs (Faber and Faber)

'Sherry, the Noble Wine' by Manuel González Gordon (Quiller)

The 'Wines From Spain Education Notes' by John Radford (ICEXUK: 0171-486-0101)

'The New Spain', by John Radford (Mitchell Beazley)

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