428 



FARMERS' REGISTER 



boat to cross the bay of Cadiz, in order to avoid 

 the delay of the common ferry-boat. Port St. 

 Mary's, the town at which we digembarked, is 

 chiefly occupied by persons engaoed in the wine 

 trade, and irom ihi.-i' place the sherry wines are 

 shipped. It took an hour and a half lo cross the 

 bay, and another half hour to engage a calesa, and 

 forward our baggage; after which we proceeded 

 on our journey. Four or five miles out of Port St. 

 Mary's, the country cm^ists of a coarse barren 

 sandstone, partially covCTed with gravel, excepting 

 on the banks of the river, which have^he appear- 

 ance of great fertility. We stopr^^at a Fenta, 

 or public house, lo obtain a.glae|j«^he wine call- 

 ed Manzinilla, the i;m du ^f^ of *^/*dietr)ci, 

 which Dr. Wilson assures m^ is pregWed to all 

 other wines by people of all ranks ^jdnlie country; 

 it is not known in the cellars of the English m"er- 

 chants, but is a light, pleasant beverage, having 

 at the same time a tt|ellowness and flavor, which 

 I have no doubt would', alter a little habit, procure 

 jbr it the preference even of thbse who would find 

 it iiifiipid at the first trial. • 



The twilight was far advanced as we entered 

 the wine district ; at one place we could distinguish 

 a man with a musket who had been posted to 

 watch the grapes, il being now the middle of the 

 vintage. At half past seven, we entered the town 

 of Ji'eres, which is reckoned one of the richest, if 

 not the very richest in Spain, in proportion to its 

 population, and which owes its wealth entirely to 

 the valuable wines produced in its vicinity. 



Friday, 30 September. — A violent storm of wind 

 and rain made it impossible to quit the house yes- 

 terday, and though the rain contmued to lall at in- 

 tervals to-day, I managed to visit, in company with 

 Dr. Wilson, the cellars of the house of James 

 Gordon and Company. The extent of these cellars 

 is quite immense : the extreme length of the lar- 

 gest being 110 Spanish varas, about 306 English 

 leet, and the breadth 222 ItiPt; the roof is support- 

 ed by rows of massive square columns of mason 

 work ; and although the whole cellar is not of the 

 above length or breadth, the principal division of 

 the building being only 200 by 150 leet, yet, with 

 its various adjuncts, the whole exient of the cellar 

 is equal to the dimensions first stated. Messrs. 

 Gordon and Company have also another very ex- 

 tensive cellar, though not equal to this in dimen- 

 sions. Their ordinary stock of wine is said to be 

 4000 butts : this is kept in casks of various sizes, 

 containing from one to four butts. These casks 

 are ranged in regular rows ; in some parts of the 

 cellar, to the height of four tiers. They are called 

 soleras, and are always retained in the cellars. 

 They contain wines of various qualities and ages 

 — from one to fifty years. The wine merchants 

 of Acres never exhaust their stock of finest and 

 oldest wine. According to the price at which the 

 wine expedited to the maikpt is intended to be sold, 

 it contains a larirer or smaller proportion of old 

 wine. But it is only in wines of a very high price, 

 that even a small portion of their finest wines is 

 mixed. What is withdrawn from the oldest and 

 finest casks is made up Irom the casks which ap- 

 proach them nearest in age and quality, and these 

 are again replenished liom the next in age and 

 quality to them. Thus, a cask of wine, said to be 

 fifiy years old, may contain a portion ol" the vin- 

 tages of thirty or Ibrty seasons 



Aeres never ship wine for England till it has at- 

 tamed the age of two years ; that is, till the bulk 

 of the wine has attained that age. But according 

 to the price it is proposed to bring, it contains a 

 larger or smaller mixture of a more or less expen- 

 sive wine. The higher qualities of sherry are 

 made up of wine the hulk of which is from three 

 to five years old, and this is also mixed in various 

 proportions with older wines. Thus, Irom the 

 gradual mixture of wines of various ages, no wine 

 can be (iarlher from what may be called a natural 

 wine than sherry. But besides giving the wines, 

 as they are prepared for the market, niellovvness 

 and richness, by the addition of older wines, there 

 is a very dry kind of sherry called jJmoiHlllado, or 

 MontUlado, which abounds in the peculiar nutty 

 flavor that distinguishes sherries, and which is fre- 

 quently added when that is deficient. Being very 

 light in color, it is also used to reduce the color 

 of sherries, which are too high ; and when on the 

 other hand, color is required, the deficiency is 

 made good by the mixture of boiled wine, or ra- 

 ther, of boiled muat. 



The lowest priced sherries are in general the 

 growth of Port St. Mary's or San Lucar, two dis- 

 tricts within ten miles of Xeres; or they are 

 brought round from Malaga to Port St. Mary's, 

 and thence transhipped lor England under the 

 name of sherry, perhaps alter having been landed 

 and mixed with other wines to give them the 

 qualities in which they are deficient. All these 

 lower priced wines are largely inixed with brandy, 

 being intended for the consumption of a class of 

 people who are unable to judge of any quality in 

 wine but its strength. But brandy is added in 

 very small proportions to the good wines ; never 

 in greater quantities than (bur or five per cent, 

 while they remain in the cellar, and frequently not 

 at all, unless the wine should become scuddy or 

 mothery J and thus the finest wines are frequently 

 entirely free from it ; but on their shipment, a small 

 dose of brandy is considered absolutely necessary, 

 even to fine wines, to make them bear the voy- 

 age, as it is said ; but, in reality, because strength 

 is one ol the first qualities looked for by the consu- 

 mers. When wines become mothery in the Lon- 

 don docks, they send them back to be cured ; and 

 this curing consists of nothing more than an addi- 

 tion of brandy : perhaps, indeed, it is chiefly efl'ect- 

 ed by the motion of the voyage. The soleras, or 

 store casks, in which the wine is kept, are left with 

 a void of l-15th of their contents, and the access 

 of the air is admitted through a loose wooden bung, 

 which merely covers without closing the aperture. 



The exporters purchase the wine from the 

 growers generally when it is one year old. The 

 cellars throughout Xeres are very numerous, and 

 are the most extensive buildings in the town. The 

 wine constitutes the chiefwealthof the inhabitants. 



Saturday, 1st October. — The weather being 

 more settled, about mid-day I rode out in company 

 with Dr. Wilson, taking 'he road to Madrid, in a 

 northerly direction from Xeres. The road, imme- 

 diately alter quitting the town, was execrable, 

 as well as the streets themselves ; but after passing 

 the limits of the town's administration, and coming 

 onto the road supported by the government, it 

 was much better. The ground we first passed is 

 a sandy loam on both sides, and near the town it 

 was cultivated with great care (or vegetables, evc- 



The more respectable of the wine merchants ofl ry farm having its noria, or water wheel, to irri- 



