It is seen from the above that the true sherry wines, those that are produced in the vintage growths and which belong to one of the two types which have been described, are really natural wines and have never had their alcoholic strength increased by fortification of any kind. The characteristic flavors of these wines are due to the development under the cellar management to which they are subjected and especially to the solera system peculiar to the district.

Fortified Types Of Sherry

Other wines made in the district and which are also called sherry wines, are fortified either by the addition of sugar or alcohol, or both. These wines, however, are not supposed to be suitable for drinking purposes. They are exported or used at home for mixing or compounding purposes only. The sherry wines, so called, are often found imported into this country in which there is often present from 20 to 35 percent of saccharine matter. In other words, they are not wines at all, but very concentrated liqueurs.

Of the types which are made in Jerez or vicinity there are three which are quite well known by the names Vino de Color, Pedro Ximenes, and Paraxete. These are the chief wines used in the compounding of commercial sherries. Muscat wines are also used in the sherry district, among the most familiar of which is the Rota Tent, which formerly was shipped largely to England to be used for communion purposes. This wine, or any of the other kinds made in the district, does not enter at all into the composition of sherry.