520 ] oiinial of A^^r'iiultitrc . [lo Aug., 1909. 



keeping so long ; tliey mature tar eailier, however, and on account of their 

 pronounced fino character are much used for blending nowadays. 



To recapitulate, amontillados, inchuling the final stage of vino hecho 

 and tho subsequent one known as vino viejo, are merely older forms of 

 the fino class. 



Oloro.so Sherries. 



If the alcoholic strength of the wine be 27 per cent, of proof spirit, 

 or over, the life of f-or on the surface is not possible, and the wine will 

 develop on entirely different lines, forming a class cjuite distinct from what 

 we are usually accustomed to look on as sherry. The best of these con- 

 stitute what is known as the " oloro-so " tvpe ; though several terms are 

 employed to designate different grades, the word may, for the sake of 

 simplicitv, be applied to the whole group of natural wanes which have 

 developed in the absence of f^or. These are full-bodied, unctuous, full- 

 flavoured wines, yet quite dry, for it is rare even for this type to contain 

 more than a trace of unfermented sugar. These wines remind the novice 

 somewhat of a dry Madeira rather than a conventional sherry ; but the re- 

 semblance must not be mentioned to a Jerez wine man, who considers 

 Madeira far inferior to his own.. The best wine judges of Jerez consider 

 the olorosos to be the chief glory of their privileged district. This- 

 strikes the visitor as curious, for he at once misses the characteristic ether 

 (or, more correctly, aldehyde) taste. When old, olorosos are brown in 

 colour, and often somewhat bitter. The older they get the more bitter and 

 darker do they become. I have tasted exceedingly old olorosos, still in 

 ullaged butts, as brown as stout or porter, which had become so bitter as to 

 be unpleasant. These wines are of very high value, but are used exclu- 

 sivelv for blending, a small proportion giving remarkable character and 

 qualitv to a blend. 



The East India sherry of our fathers and other brown sherries, depend 

 chieflv on wine of the oloroso t\pe for their body and roundness; they, as 

 well as most after-dinner sherries, are usually more or le.ss sweetened before 

 shipment bv an addition of Pedro Ximenes or Paxarete, which conceals 

 bitterness and softens the wine. Olorosos are said by se\'eral authorities 

 to owe their character to a relativelv large proportion of higher fattv acids. 

 such as butyric, lactic, caprylic, &c. ; the ethers these acids give rise to 

 being responsible for the character of the wine. It is said that this 

 character is largely due to- the apiculatus veast ; this species is credited 

 with having much to do with the fermentation of these w'ines, which is 

 not brought about exclusively by the ellipsoideus yeast, responsible for the 

 fermentation of most other wines, as well as for those of the fino class at 

 Jerez. An interesting field for research is lierc presented, which will, no 

 doubt, receive attention in the recentlv established graiija, or Government 

 experimental station, where a fine laboratrirv was in course of erection at 

 the time of my visit. 



In a general wa\ it will suffice to remember that olorosos are wines 

 which, owing to their higher alcoholic strength, have never had fior on their 

 surface. Once this fundamental difference between finos and olorosos is 

 thoroughlv grasped, the understanding of the complicated, sherry question 

 is greatlv simplified. 



Our inabilitv to produce wines at all resembling the fino tvpe is nbso 

 explained. Our so-called Australian .sherries are almost always fortified 

 when quite voung. an operation which, by rendering impossible the growth 

 of fior, ab.solutelv prevents development on fino lines. 



