lo Nov., 1909.] Sherry : lis Making and Rearing. 725 



under Excise supervision. Tlie increase is not due tO' fermentation of 

 unchanged sugar, for many of the wines in which it is most noticeable, 

 are quite dry, and therefore contain no more sugar after the close of their 

 first fermentation.* 



This natural increase is slow, but, under the conditions obtaining in 

 the Jerez bodegas, it seems to be constant, sufficiently so for a high 

 strength to be reached after a number of years. Several old anadas were 

 shown to me which, though probably never fortified, had reached strengths 

 of over 40 per cent, (proof). Some of these were 60 years old and over. 

 These are, of course, exceptional wines, but they are striking examples 

 of the steady gain in strength which takes place under the conditions ruling 

 in the bodegas in which sherries are reared and matured. 



Fortification. 



Natural increase, however, is not sufficiently rapid to bring the strength 

 of the wine to the point required by the trade, within a reasonable time. 

 The great bulk of the sherry of commerce is, therefore, more or less forti- 

 fied before being shipped, the strength being usually raised to something 

 over 30 per cent, (proof). It is true that some sherries are shipped at a 

 lower strength, chiefly lighter finos and manzanillas ; a certain quantity of 

 these two types enters England at the lower duty charged on wine below 

 30 per cent, (proof), but the great bulk pays the higher duty. 



Much capital was made out of the fact that sherry was a highly fortified 

 wine, a few years back, by certain persons, in England, who made a 

 prejudiced attack on the wholesomeness of the wine. The unfairness 

 of these strictures must strike any one who takes an impartial view of the 

 question. No doubt fortification enabled the wine to better keep its 

 condition, and it mav be this that first led to the practice many yearg. 

 ago, but that it is not necessary for the purpose is evidenced by the 

 lighter sherries which, though shipped at a moderate strength, retain their 

 condition in a satisfactory manner. Fortification is resorted to because 

 the trade requires it, and it is manifestly unfair to blame the merchants 

 of Jerez for supplying the tvpe of wine which is ordered from them in 

 greatest quantity. 



The spirit used for the purpose is highly rectified, and usually of a 

 strength of about 65 per cent, over-proof. Great care is observed in its selec- 

 tion. A wine, in the making of which such care is taken to avoid the basto 

 taint (page 582), is naturally only fortified with faultless spirit. Absolute 

 neutrality is all the more necessary since fortification mainly takes place 

 after withdrawal from the soleras, and therefore immediately before ship- 

 ment.! The difference between the spirit used in the fortification of port (see 

 Journal, March, 1908, page 186) and of sherrv is very striking. Both are 

 of excellent quality, but radically different in strength, character, and 

 mode of distillation. 



* A specific case of siniiliar increase in strength is mentioned by C. A. Crampton and L. M. Tolnian in 

 a note on " Whiskey Stored in Wood; changes talcing -place in" Jour. Am. Chem. Soc, 1908, 30, 98-136. 

 " Thirty-one barrels of new spirits, representing types of rye whislseys and Bourbon (maize) whislieys 



. . . . were set apart in different stores Durinn- the eight years of storage the volume of 



the spirit diminished in many cases by one-half ; this loss of volume is not due strictly to evaporation, 

 but to osmosis through the pores of the wood, and depends very largely on the conditions of storage. 

 Such osmosis is selective in its effects, the water passing out with iliuch greater rapidity than the alcohol, 



which thus becomes concentrated The rye whiskeys showed far greater losses of volume and 



chemical changes than the Bourbon whiskeys ; this was due to the fact thiit the former were stored in 

 artificially warmed warehouses, whereas the latter were not." 



t Though mainly fortified at this stage, as has been alreadj explained, the wine frequently receives 

 small additions of spirit in the course of its rearing. Such increases in strength are, however, of small 

 importance, the most considerable addition being the final one. 



