WHAT IS... a solera?

The solera system is synonymous with the production of Sherry, although it’s also used in other parts of Spain and around the world, including Madeira and Port, as well as in the production of the fortified wines of Rutherglen in Victoria, Australia, not to mention its use in creating spirits, beers and vinegars.

Used to make non-vintage wines, a solera (which roughly translates from Spanish as ‘on the floor’) comprises a series of barrels arranged in tiers (either literally, on top of each other, or often held in different storage areas). In Sherry, barrels are usually 600-litre American oak casks, also known as bodega butts, and the tiers are known as criaderas (‘nurseries’). The youngest wine is placed in the highest or first-stage criadera, while the lowest/last criadera (also confusingly known as a solera) contains the longestmatured blended wine. Once the wine in the solera is ready, a portion is removed from the barrels to be bottled for sale, a process known as the saca, which may take place several times a year. Wine is then transferred down through the system from criadera to criadera, a process known as rocíar (‘sprinkling’), with the wine from the most recent harvest (depending on how it has been classified for style), named sobretabla, being added to the first-stage criadera. Collectively, these movements of wine are called trasiegos. Each producer will have its own customary approaches to its soleras, allowing for many possible subtle variations. Some soleras date back centuries, such as Osborne’s Capuchino solera, which was started in 1790, although the wine itself matures in the solera for a ‘modest’ average of 30 years.