SHERRY.
Climate.—According to General Keyes, the climate of the sherry districts of Spain is a trifle warmer in winter and about the same in summer as that of Napa Valley. But the seasons are not so distinctly wet and dry as in California, and the grapes are sometimes rained on while growing, and are frequently wet while ripening. Neverthless, the south of Spain is a dry country.
The Vintage begins in the early part of September, at which time the grapes are ripe, but by no means overripe, but sweet and luscious. The grapes are picked in the early part of the day, and spread upon mats in the sun, where they remain till the evening of the same day, when they are crushed. General Keyes says that they are invariably crushed in the evening of the same day, but Mr. Vizitelli states that they remain on the straw mats from one to three days. As both write from observation, it would seem that the practice varies, the time of the exposure to the sun probably depending upon the degree of maturity when picked. The defective berries are carefully removed. The cool of the night for crushing is preferred to the heat of the day, and to avoid the precipitation of fermentation.
Crushing.—Mr. Vizitelli’s description is as follows: “The pressing commenced between seven and eight o’clock, and was accomplished in a detached building under a low tiled roof, but entirely open in front. Passing through the gateway, and stumbling in the dim light afforded by an occasional lamp fixed against the wall, over a rudely paved court-yard, we found ourselves beside a row of large, stout wooden troughs, some ten feet square and a couple of feet deep, raised about three feet from the ground, and known in the vernacular of the vineyards as lagares. The bottoms of these receptacles were already strewn with grapes, lightly sprinkled over with yeso (gypsum), which if spread over the whole of the bunches, would not have been greatly in excess of the amount of dust ordinarily gathered by a similar quantity of grapes conveyed in open baskets on the backs of mules from the vineyards to the pressing places in the towns. At Torre Breva, the sixty or more arrobas of grapes (1500 lbs.) required to make each butt of wine, were having from two to four pounds of yeso sprinkled over them, or about half the quantity which would be used in a moist season. I was assured that at last year’s vintage here not a single ounce of yeso was employed in the manufacture of upwards of 700 butts of wine. * * * Rising perpendicularly in the centre of each of the four lagares to a height of about seven feet, is a tolerably powerful screw, which is only brought into requisition after the grapes have been thoroughly trodden. A couple of swarthy, bare-legged pisadores leap into each lagar, and commence spreading out the bunches with wooden shovels; and soon the whole eight of them, in their short drawers, blue-striped shirts, little caps, red sashes, and hob-nailed shoes, are dancing a more or less lively measure, ankle-deep in newly-crushed grapes. They dance in couples, one on each side of the screw, performing certain rapid, pendulum-like movements which are supposed to have the virtue of expressing the juice more satisfactorily from the fruit than can be accomplished by mere mechanical means. Their saltatory evolutions ended, the trodden grapes are heaped up on one side and well patted about with the shovel, like so much newly mixed mortar. This causes the expressed juice to flow out in a dingy, brown, turgid stream through the spout fixed in front of the lagar, into a metal strainer, and thence into the vat placed beneath to receive it. Fresh grapes are now spread over the bottom of the lagar, and, after being duly danced upon, are shoveled on one side; and this kind of thing goes on until sufficient trodden murk has been accumulated to make what is called a pile.”
Pressing.—His description goes on to show that the treaders give place to the pressers, who, with wooden shovels, build up a mound of marc under the screw, conical in form, some five feet high, which is neatly dressed and trimmed, and then wound around with a straw rope or band, about four inches wide, from base to summit. A circular piece of wood is placed on the top, and the pressure is applied by means of the screw, the must passing through the interstices of the straw band.
Treading and pressing goes on nightly for fourteen hours, with occasional intervals for refreshment.
The wine from the press is invariably fermented separately from that of the first run during the treading.
All agree that the grapes are crushed without stemming, but it seems that the practice of pressing with the stems on is not uniform. General Keyes says that he made careful inquiry on this subject, and was informed that only a few of the larger stems were removed, while Mr. Vizitelli states that the sherry wine maker is so much afraid of tannin and roughness in the wine, that the stems are all removed before the pomace is pressed. This is not important, however, as the press wine is inferior, and is usually distilled.
It is almost a universal custom to sprinkle each pressing of grapes with two or three handfuls of gypsum, or from two to six pounds to a butt of wine of 130 gallons, and in wet seasons, even more. Gen. Keyes gives an instance of one wine maker who made several casks of sherry one year without the use of gypsum, and he found no material difference in the product, but he still follows the custom of the country. (See [Plastering].)
Fermenting.—The must is run into casks of about 150 gallons capacity, which are filled only to within ten or fifteen gallons of their full capacity, and is left to ferment in a cool shed, or in a place separate from the storehouse or bodega; new wine is not fermented in the same room with the old.
As soon as the wine falls bright, which it does at any time from January to April, it is racked and placed in the bodega, with still a vacant space in the cask, and brandy is added equal to one or two per cent. to the stronger wines, and three or four per cent. to the commoner ones.
If the wine is deficient in sugar, it may clear by January, but if rich, it may not become bright till April. During the active fermentation, the bungs, of course, are left open, and in the bodega they are left loose, or laid over the hole.
Sometimes the wine is left undisturbed in the bodega until required for shipment, when it is racked, clarified, and again fortified. It is considered best, however, to rack it once a year. The wine is now well fermented, and dry, or nearly so, and the sugar that may be found in it after shipment, has been put in by adding a small quantity of sweet wine.
The Bodegas, or Storehouses, in which these wines are stored, are entirely above ground, have very thick walls and double doors, the roof is covered with tiles, and the floor may consist only of a mixture of sand and loam, which, when moistened, is not muddy, and when dry, is not very dusty. They are kept well ventilated, even at the expense of a good deal of loss by evaporation, and are comparatively cool, the rays of the sun being excluded by shutters. As only old or seasoned casks are used for shipment, the new ones are used for fermenting the must, and so they are seasoned.
Changes in the Wine.—The young wine in the bodega now, during the first two years, undergoes extraordinary changes. That made from the same vineyard and of the same varieties of grapes, crushed at the same time, placed in casks side by side, receiving apparently identical treatment, develops totally different characters in different butts, and is classed according to these several characters, as Fino, Oloroso, and Basto.
The best is fino, of a delicate, soft, mellow flavor, and pale in color, and only from ten to twenty per cent. take this form. The fino, at times, develops into a still finer quality, producing what is known as amontillado, the most valued of all.
Oloroso is a nutty flavored development rather deeper in color, and of a stouter character; when old, it is of great body, and perfectly dry.
The coarse, inferior kind is called basto.
There are still other casks which by bad behavior, poor fermentation, or weakness, are only fit for the still.
Flowers.—Sherry produces the phenomenon known as flowers of wine (micoderma vini), of which a writer under the assumed name of Pedro Verdad, whom I have frequent occasion to quote, says: “At every period, about the flowering of the vine, and at about vintage time, the wine begins to ‘breed;’ that is, throw up a flor (flower), which remains for some time on the surface, and then falls in sediment to the bottom, when the wine once more becomes bright. This phenomenon is looked for with great anxiety in the bodegas, for if it does not occur, the wine may be assuming some other and less valued character. Strange as it may appear,” he says, “I have seen the actual flor rise in a bottle in England, just as in the butt in Spain.”
Vino Dulce, or Sweet Wine, is made from the sweeter kinds of grapes, especially the Pedro Jimenes. The grapes are exposed to the sun, sometimes for a fortnight, and till they almost become raisins, and they then go through the ordinary modes of crushing and fermentation. To each butt of this wine about six or seven gallons of spirit are added, while the must of other grapes have as much as twenty gallons mixed with each cask of must to check the fermentation, and keep the wine sweet. One-third of the spirit is poured in as soon as a small portion of the must has been put into the cask, a third when the cask is half full, and a third when nearly three-quarters full. The reason is obvious, as the spirit is lighter than the must, and would otherwise remain on the top. Soleras of vino dulce are of a sweet, luscious flavor, and of an oily and slightly glutinous consistency. The finer kinds resemble a liqueur, and are of great value.
Vizitelli says that sweet wine is used to give softness and roundness to old and pungent wines, as well as to the cruder, youthful growths, and it is remarkable how very small a quantity suffices perceptibly to modify these opposite characteristics. As little as one per cent. of dulce will impart a softness to the drier wines, which otherwise they only acquire after being several years in bottle.
Color Wine (Vino de Color) is composed of a mixture of white wine and arrope. The latter is a must of white grapes boiled down over a slow fire till it is reduced to one-fifth or one-sixth of its original quantity, great care being taken to skim it while boiling. This is a dark-colored, almost black fluid, of a bitterish taste. It is mixed with from three to five times its volume of white wine, and the “color” is formed.[11] It is chiefly used for giving color to young and undeveloped wines. With great age, the solera of this wine is very valuable, being of a deep brown color, and a perfect essence.
Mature Wines.—When the wines have assumed their distinctive characters—and this requires from three to five, or even more, years—they are used to replenish the soleras. In the shippers’ bodega are kept many soleras, each containing a given number of butts. A solera, whether classed as fino, oloroso, or otherwise, has its distinctive quality required in the preparation of a wine for shipment. It has been reared and nursed for years with careful attention; each butt has been tasted from time to time, and any cask in which a material deterioration has been detected is rejected from the solera, and probably fortified with spirits, or distilled.