Sherry

Sherry, a name derived from Xeres (q.v.), or Jerez de la Frontera, near Cadiz, and applied to the better kind of white wines grown over a considerable area in the neighbourhood of Xeres, between the mouths of the Guadalquivir and Guadalete. Sherries may be divided into the Amontillado class and the Montilla—the latter the lighter and drier, with grape spirit added only when it is required to enable the wine to stand transport. The Amontillados are generally fortified so that sherry of this type contains about 32 degrees of proof spirit. So-called 'natural sherry' has from 2 to 4 per cent. of spirit added to make it keep. Sherries are coloured by introducing wine boiled down to a liqueur, and sweetened by mixing with them wine made from over-ripe grapes. The trade is largely in the hands of Englishmen settled at Xeres: Cadiz is the chief shipping port. The export is mainly to England, and in 1891 amounted to 2,135,969 gallons—64 per cent. less than in 1873 (the year of largest imports), after which date there was a steady decrease. See SACK, WINE.