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Sherry, the Heart of Spanish Soul - Part I
by Robert du Piérni
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The Vineyards
The quality and characteristics of Sherry wines depend on numerous factors, from the origins of the product up until it is set before the customer. All factors are important: climate and terrain for the vines, growing methods, harvest, wine preparation, marketing, etc. Among the steps in producing a wine, the first, the viticulture, which determines the kind of raw material to be obtained, stands out as having fundamental importance for the later stages.
The Region
The Jerez-Sherry region has an area of 26,563 acres (10.750 Hectares) which should be noted a unique feature: the chalky white "albariza" soil (alba means "white" in Latin), in the three varieties known as Tajón, Tosca, Lantejuelas, Barjuelas and Lustrillos, is the ideal soil for the production of Sherry and the one that gives the highest-quality wines. It is formed by the sedimentation of an inland sea which covered the region in the Oligocene period. It is rich in calcium carbonate, clay and silica. Other types of soils used to grow grapes for Sherry, although in lesser proportions, which are called "clays" and "sands".
The production region for the wines covered by the Denomination of Origin "Jerez-Xeres-Sherry" and "Manzanilla-Sanlucar de Barrameda" is composed of the lands included in the municipalities of Jerez de la Frontera, El Puerto de Santa María, Sanlúcar de Barrameda, Chipiona, Trebujena, Rota, Puerto Real, Chiclana de la Frontera and certain Fields in Lebrija (Spain). Within this production region a distinction is made between the part which has traditionally been designated "Jerez Superior", made up of the chalky soils of the municipalities of Jerez, El Puerto de Santa María and Sanlúcar de Barrameda, and the part called "the Zone", made up of clayish and sandy lands in the municipalities of Chipiona, Trebujena, Rota, Puerto Real, Chiclana de la Frontera and Lebrija.
The Cultivation
- Planting:
Once the work of manuring and the August weeding (known as the "agostado") have been done, young vines are planted, at a depth 2 feet, preferably on ridges or hills where the "albariza" loam is close to the surface, so the roots can easily penetrate to its damp zone.
- Grafting:
The grafting is done in the month of August. The operation consists of carefully cutting a slit, in which a single bud, of the Palomino variety, is inserted and the scion is bound with raffia.
- Pruning:
Carried out in December and January. In Jerez the classic pruning system called "stick and thumb" (vara y pulgar) is used, which consists in cutting the two branches which make up each vine to leave in alternate years a single "stick" with eight buds -from which the bunches of grapes develop- and a "thumb" with just one bud. The bud on the "thumb" sprouts into the following year's "stick", while this year's stick will then be cut back to just a "thumb". The "stick" and its bunches are held up by two wires, 20 inches and 40 inches (50 cm and 1 m) above the ground, which make up the espalier.
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