Solera

[whino-wino]

That time of year again for me. I always disappear from the forums as soon as the snow melts and come back when it returns. Well, I've got 2 inches of the stuff now, so here I am. In Minnesota you need to take advantage of the warm weather. Not really much time for indoor hobbies in the summer (but waaaaaay too much time in the winter).
I was just given a couple of bottles of 1927 Alvear Pedro Ximenez Solera. I popped one open tonight with my dad since he's really into dessert wines.....WOW!
This stuff is awesome!
Anyway, the reason I'm writing this post is that I'm wondering if anyone has tried this process or anything similar to it.
Correct me if I'm wrong (I've only read a little about it) but the process goes something like this:
Step 1: you make a batch of wine and store it in a carboy, barrel, etc for 1 year.
Step 2: You make another batch of wine in year 2. Then you bottle a percentage of the first year wine (anywhere from 10% to 50%, it's up to the winemaker) and re-fill the empty space with new wine from the 2nd year batch. Let's say you did 50%. Now you have 50% 1 year old wine and 50% new wine in the container. Bottle the rest of the new wine.
Step 3: Make ANOTHER batch of wine the 3rd year. Bottle a percentage of the original batch (let's say 50% again) and refill with the new wine. Now you have 50% new, 25% 1 year old and 25% 2 year old.
Step 4 to infinity: Repeat every year.
The process is called Solera. The "vintage" that goes on the label is when the solera was started. The one I was given was started in 1927. This particular one is more like a port. It's only 16% alcohol but is actually made in a similar fashion as Amarone in that they pick the ripe grapes and dry them on mats in the sun until they turn to raisins, so it's got a bit of a punch but also is quite sweet. Definitely an after dinner wine.
From what I've read the Solera process can be done with any style of wine and is often done with vinegar and olive oil as well. It's not really a style of wine at all, it's just a process for mixing different vintages of liquids.
Anyone ever tried this? Sounds like a good idea. I just might hold off a gallon of the Malbec I made last winter (which I'll be bottling in a few weeks) and make another batch this winter which will bulk age until next fall/winter. I just might give this a try (although this would be a red table wine and not a dessert wine). The idea just sounds kind of neat.

 

[ibglowin]

Sounds interesting. Had not heard of that but it seems like it would work continually as after only 5 years of doing this you would have 12.5% of each of the other years (assuming 50% new each year) and then by year 10 you are down to 5.5% for each past years wine. Seems like it would be perfect for a port style wine.
Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bartman]

I've seen this a few times - nothing wrong with the process, as it simply homogenizes the wine vintages over the years as they age, to good effect. It's a good demonstrative for an old family winery to show it's been around for decades and doing things the same way as it started. It also lets a winemaker with his own grapes balance out poor years with better years, rather than being stuck with whatever he happens to grow that year;
kind of an insurance policy that he will have some decent product to bottle
and sell that year.
Much of the benefit I see for the home winemaker is the inevitable aging time the solera process compels. But, I see two practical problems for the home kit-winemaker: (1) you have to make a batch of the same wine each year, and if it were me, I would want to use the same brand and type of kit (e.g., only Mosti Alljuice Sangiovese, not other brands or Renaissance kits), which could get tedious for the more adventurous among us; and (2) you wouldn't want to try this with lower end kits, as they won't improve with age after a year or so, and the higher end kits availability 5 years from now is not assured (I suppose you can count on high-quality Cab. Sauv. or Chardonnay being available).

 

[dragonmaster42]

That is the same process used to make basalmic vinegar.

 

[whino-wino]

Hmmm. Good point. Availability may be an issue if done with kits. I do a lot of fruit wines, perhaps that might be the better route to go. Wild Blueberry would be interesting, and like you said, some years good and some years bad would even out in the long run.
I think that in order for it to age better and keep well after you get so many years into it, it may be a good idea to make a port style or higher alcohol wine. Fruit wines made to 10 or 11% probably wouldn't work out as well after 5 years max. In order to do this I may have to make a blueberry port, which I've done before and have been thinking I should do again (since I don't have any left!). The only thing is I'd have to wait another year before getting my first blend of vintages. I do have blueberries I picked this past July in the freezer. I should have enough to get a 5 gallon batch, maybe even 6.

 

[Wade E]

Fruit wines may not be a great idea unless you keep the abv up as fruit wines tend to break down or go south earlier but in doing this it may just even that out after awhile but Id say to be on the safer side and bottle most instead of 50%.