446 



Journal of Agricidtiin 



[lo July, i 909. 



In the palmy days of the sherry trade, specialisation of a marked type 

 characterised the handling of the wines of Jerez — before reaching England 

 they had gone through the hands of three distinct classes of wine men. 

 The wine was grown, crushed, and fermented bv the cosechero, or farmer, 

 w^ho, after a varying time — from a few days to a few months — sold it to 

 the almacenista, or rearer, in whose bodegas it would remain until fit for 

 the extractor or cxfortador, who in turn shipped it to its destination. 

 Nowadays things are greatly changed, manv of the largest houses being at 

 the same time cosechero, almacenista and extractor. The tendency is for 

 the almacenista to disappear. In more prosperous times the almacenista's 

 stock was his banking account — fortunes were made by this class, out of 

 the increasing values of the wines thev matured. Many of them are now 

 in a very bad state financially, being forced to sell almost at cost price 

 the wines accumulated so laI)oriouslv manv vears ago. These accumula- 

 tions, however, are still very coiisi.ler- 

 al»le,aii(l it is, tiianksto the almaceiiistas, 

 tiiiif tlieie is so little danger of a 

 slioitage in the world's supply of well- 

 niainred sherry. 



The photograph of die inferior of 

 Don M. de la Rivieia's l)odegas is 

 typical of the almacenista class. 



The manner in which a sample is 

 drawn from the cask for tasting is 

 cnrioiis. and })eculiMr to the di?trict. 

 Instead of the glass or metal 

 '• velini'he " with which we are familiar, 

 an iiistrnineut termed a vencncia is 

 exclusively employed. This consists 

 of a deep, but narrow, silver cup 

 atlaciied to the end of a whalebone 

 handle. It is dipped bodily into the 

 wine, wiiiidrawn, and its contents 

 deftly poured into the glass, as shown 

 III the photograph. Though simple 

 in appearance, a good deal of knack 

 is ie(|uire'l, in order to avoid spilling 



DRAWING A SAMPLE. 



anv wiru', 



The eidlarnien of Jert-z 

 pride themselves on their dexterity in using this appliance, which has the 

 advantage of enabling a regular, though small, sample to be taken from 

 every cask, irrespective of the distance of the liquid from the bung. 



The venencias used in the brandv cellars of Jerez, and also at San 

 Lucar, are of a simpler form, being made entirely of bamboo, a convenient 

 form for the replacement of a cellar toul, which only too often comes to 

 an untimely end in our cellars. 



In a general wa\ the bodegas were remarkable for their simplicit^ and 

 the absence of must mudern cellar machinery and appliances. Racking 

 is done with the bucket rather than the pump, and on the whole every- 

 thing is old fashioned and quaint, though absolute cleanliness is the 

 fundamental rule. 



{1\> be eoiiti lilted .) 



