524 



Journal of Ai^r/c/d/z/rc. 



[lo Aug.. 1909, 



of lliem. It sbows the heavy stone 

 aiclies wliich always constitute the 

 central portion of the facade, giving- 

 it a cliaracleristic appearance. 



Alongside of the casa is a large 

 open level space, known as an almijar, 

 where the grapes are exposed to the 

 sun on esparto grass mats. The fruit 

 is cnrefnlly spread on these mats, with 

 as little crushing as possible, and left 

 in the sun for a varying time. The 

 mat< are made by sewing a long 

 stiip of esparta matting into a spiral 

 or requisite size, usually about 3 feet 

 in diameter. The object of this 

 insolation is to allow any dew or 

 moisture to he dried off; it is not 

 usually of sufficient duration for much 

 concentration of the must to take place. 

 Tlie length of time the grnpes remain 

 on the almijar varies greatly with 

 the type of wine it is intended to 

 produce. For the fino type, now so 

 much in vogue, a sliort exposuie of 

 usually only a few hours is suffieient ; 

 fur heavier oiorosos, a couple of days 

 may be judged necessary ; whilst, for 

 the luscious Pedro Ximenes and Mos- 

 c;itels, nearly a fortnight may he the 

 length of exposure — for these wines 

 the ginpes are reduced to a senii- 

 raisin state before they are made into 

 wine. When grapes are sold, in which 

 case they are conveyed to the crushing 

 house on pack mules, they have, 

 i)efore l)eing placed in the baskets, 

 alrea<ly undergone the necessary sun 

 ripening. Tliey are always carefully 

 handled and broken as little as possil)le 

 prior to tlieir exposure to the siu). 



The treatment they receive in the 

 cnisliiiig house is vcrv diffe'ent from 

 what tii(^ colour and ciiaiacter of 

 the finished wine luiiiht lead one to 

 expect. I l)elieve it is commonly 

 thought in Aiisirnlia that sherry is 

 fermented in its skins — something 

 ;i('ter the m.aniier of I'ort, tor examjde. 

 Nothing cdiilil 1)(. further from the 

 truth ; inie of the most striking features 

 in the making of thi.s wine is the 

 rapidity with whi(di the jeice is sepa- 

 rated I'rom the inaic ami the avoidance 

 of full her coii'act with tlie latter, as- 



