solera
Fractional aging method
Solera is a system for aging wine, sherry, or vinegar by fractional blending.
Barrels are stacked in tiers, with the oldest product at the bottom.
When some is drawn off for bottling, it's replaced from the tier above, which is refilled from the tier above that, and so on.
The result is a consistent blend where traces of the original stock persist indefinitely: a twenty-year solera, The balsamic comes from our family's solera.
Spain's southernmost autonomous community
- bodegaSmall urban grocery
- finoPale, dry Spanish fortified
- manzanillaSpanish herb or aperitif
- amontilladoOxidized fortified Spanish wine
Process of becoming complete
oxidation · evaporation · extraction · tannin · woodiness · concentration · mellowing · development
Spirit from fermented fruit
- rumMolasses-based liquor
- whiskeyOak-aged grain spirit
- vinegarAcidic cooking liquid
- balsamicAromatic aged vinegar
sherry vinegar · Armagnac · Marsala · Madeira · port · añejo · barrel-aged · distillate
Describing incomplete portions
- assemblageCollected group of things
- marriageFormal union between partners
- harmonizationCreating consistency across systems
- integrationCombining into a whole
averaging · refreshment · replenishment · cascade · layering · continuity · proportion · consistency
Custom passed through generations
- legacyWhat's passed down
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
- lineageDescent from progenitors
provenance · authenticity · craftsmanship · generation · perpetuity · preservation · history · denomination
Andalusia
Spain's southernmost autonomous community
- bodegaSmall urban grocery
- finoPale, dry Spanish fortified
- manzanillaSpanish herb or aperitif
maturation
Process of becoming complete
butt · oxidation · evaporation · extraction · tannin · woodiness · concentration · mellowing · development · vintage
brandy
Spirit from fermented fruit
balsamic · sherry vinegar · Armagnac · Marsala · Madeira · port · añejo · barrel-aged · distillate
fractional
Describing incomplete portions
- assemblageCollected group of things
- marriageFormal union between partners
- harmonizationCreating consistency across systems
integration · averaging · refreshment · replenishment · cascade · layering · continuity · proportion · consistency · complexity
tradition
Custom passed through generations
- legacyWhat's passed down
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- continuityUninterrupted progression or coherence
lineage · provenance · authenticity · craftsmanship · generation · perpetuity · preservation · history · denomination · terroir