(Spain) Primarily a method employed in the production of Sherry, the solera system may also be found in use in Languedoc-Roussillon and anywhere else involved in the production of fortified wines such as Madeira, Marsala and Rutherglen (Australia). Barrels of wine are arranged in a vertical system, at least three barrels high. The lowest barrels contain the oldest wine. As this is drawn off for bottling and sale, each barrel is topped up with younger wine from the barrel above. In the uppermost barrel the latest vintage enters the system, keeping it fully topped up.
Blending various vintages in order to arrive at a consistent taste.
A system by which all quality sherries are matured and blended in tiers of casks.
A system used in the fractional blending of wines of various ages in order to achieve a consistent product. Most widely found in Jerez (Sherry).
a series of large casks (called butts), each holding a slightly older spirit than the previous one beside it
system of aging different vintages of sherry in wooden barrels to produce the final product.
The lowest row in the tiers of barrels where wines are aged, used for the oldest wines. Also a system of breeding which consists of improving young wine with the addition of older wine. The aging system used for the generoso wines of Jerez.
A system of fractional blending that gives Sherry its character. A complex process by which several vintages are blended together over many years in a building known as a Solera, before bottling.
A system of blending wines from different vintages. The Vasse Felix Non Vintage Brut uses a solera system to prepare its base wine. This system ensures consistency in the wine. Non Vintage refers to the fact that tge wine is a combination of vintages rather than just one.
(so-lair-ah) blending system used to make Sherry
This operation consist in a mixing of young and older wine. Barrels of wine of the same type but different vintage are stacked on top of each other, the oldest on the bottom, and the youngest on the top. Let's say we've got eight rows of barrels representing eight vintages of wine. Each year, as the harvest season rolls around, anywhere from 10 percent to 30 percent of the bottom (the oldest) barrels' volume will be drawn off to be bottled as that year's product. The headspace created by this drawing-off will be filled with wine from the level above, and those barrels will be filled with the level above them, and onwards and upwards, while the last year's barrels on the top level will be topped up with this harvest's wine. Each year, as a limited amount of finished product is drawn off from the bottom level of barrels, the average age of the wine at the bottom barrels will continue to rise with the years until it reaches a constant average age.
a term referring to a method known as "fractional blending" in which older wines are blended with younger wines to arrive at a consistent, similar-tasting product. Authentic Sherries and many other fortified wines are produced using a solera.
System for making brandies, sherry, port and other fortified wines that ensures the same quality year after year.
Spanish A system employed in the production of Spanish sherry whereby older and younger wines are blended to achieve consistency of style and, in the case of fino sherry, to rejuvenate the flor yeast that would otherwise die out.
A solera is a series of barrels or other containers used for aging liquids such as Sherry, Madeira, Marsala, Mavrodafni (a Greek dark red fortified dessert wine), Muscat, Muscadelle and Balsamic vinegar.
