Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XV.djvu/236

 224 SPAIN (WINES OF) most intimately associated with Spanish viti- culture are the several varieties of sherry, so called from the town of Jerez de la Frontera, in Andalusia, around which lie perhaps the choicest vineyards of Spain. They form part of the wine district of Cadiz, which also in- cludes San Lucar do Barrameda, on the banks of the estuary of the Guadalquivir ; Trebujena, N. of San Lucar ; and Puerto de Santa Maria, S. of Jerez, on the W. bank of the estuary of the Rio Guadalete, which forms the eastern frontier of the sherry district. The vineyards of all qualities in the district of Cadiz cover about 24,000 acres, and yield not less than 6,000,000 gallons annually, which is very little in excess of the yearly consumption of so-called sherry in England alone. Between natural sherries and the sherries of commerce, which find their principal market in Great Britain and the United States, there is an important difference. The former are generally light- colored and dry, and after the primary fermen- tation is complete contain an average of 26 per cent, of proof spirit naturally generated. Under this class may be mentioned the so-called vinos de pasto, or table wines, which are light, dry, spirituous, and highly flavored. The wines exported under that name exhibit these quali- ties in a marked degree, although more or less brandied to suit the English and American taste. But the greater part of the sherries leaving Cadiz have previously been subjected to a treatment which renders them as much a factitious product as champagne. The manu- facturers generally buy much more must or wine from other growers than they produce themselves. The juice is deposited in butts of 108 gallons each, and after the first fermenta- tion is racked from the lees, each butt receiv- ing from two to ten gallons of spirit, accord- ing to the quality of the wine, the inferior sorts requiring most reinforcement. The wine is subsequently flavored with a liqueur called dulce, made from the must of over-ripe grapes, the fermentation of which has been checked by the addition of over-proof spirit ; and col- ored by an admixture of vino de color, which is simply must boiled until it is reduced to one fifth of its bulk, and has acquired the consis- tency of treacle. It is deep reddish brown, and has a harsh and bitter flavor. By means of this agent all the popnlar shades of color are given to the conventional sherries of commerce. Thus pale sherry requires but 7 gallons to the butt, the golden 15, the pale brown 20, and th rich old brown as much as 25 gallons. The choicest wines of the Cadiz district are not customarily sold or drunk, but are reserved for admixture with poorer sorts, whereby the latter, in addition to the flavor- ing and coloring processes they have under- gone, acquire a premature character of age and ripeness. Hence the custom prevalent among manufacturers of sherry, of keeping up the so-called wbrak or stock wines. A solera wine is described as " a fine old mother wine which by care and attention has acquired body and character. Such wines are kept in stock in butts or double butts, and are per- petuated in the following manner : Of say 20 butts of existing ready solera wine the pro- prietor draws off one half for mixing with the wine about to be exported. He then fills up the voids created in his 20 butts by means of 10 butts of the finest wine of a later vin- tage which he can obtain. In old established houses solera wine is therefore a mixture of a great number of wines, of which the latest addition forms one half, the last but one a quarter, and the last but two an eighth of the whole bulk, and so forth, in a ratio which terminates only with the first solera produced without any mother wine. The production of this solera wine is a kind of chemical infec- tion whereby good wine is induced to undergo quickly a process of etherification. This pro- cess becomes so potent in some soleras that they are absolutely nasty and undrinkable, like most .essences, but command prices of from 800 to 1,000 a butt, on account of the large quantity of flavorless wine which a cer- tain small amount of them will infect with the desired sherry flavor." (Thudicam and Du- pre"'s u Treatise on "VVines.") Repeated bran- dyings of the poorer wines take place previous to shipment, until the 26 per cent, of proof spirit contained in the newly fermented natu- ral wine has been increased to an average of about 37 per cent. Some specimens tested by the London custom house officers have exhib- ited as much as 50 per cent. The finer sher- ries are free from this extreme alcoholic char- acter. Those from the neighborhood of Jerez often develop a peculiar etherous flavor called the amontillado, which is supposed to arise from the presence of aldehyde, and is very no- ticeable in some white Greek wines. Around San Lucar are produced the well known man- zanillas, which derive their name from a cer- tain similarity both in flavor and fragrance to the manzanilla or camomile flower. In their highest perfection they are thin and almost colorless, with a bitter aromatic taste. They are said to be the purest wines of their class, from the fact that they will not mingle readily with other growths. The fine wines of Mon- tilla, long famous throughout Spain, are re- puted to develop the amontillado flavor in a remarkable degree, but require several years to reach their best condition. Elsewhere in Andalusia are produced wines assimilating in flavor and in general character to those of Jerez, but greatly inferior in quality. The dis- trict of Condado de Niebla, between the coast and Seville, yields a wine so perishable that it has to be largely reenforced with alcohol, after which it is taken to Cadiz and made into sher- ry for shipment to England. Malaga has long been famous for the production of wines, both sweet and dry, and raisins. The entire coun- try between the port of Malaga and Granada may be said to form one great vineyard, the