In point of fact the only real sherry wine is that which is dry. The sweetened sherries are liqueurs rather than wines, and the real connoisseur who understands the character of a wine never asks for anything except the dry.

At the present time the drinkers of so-called sherry throughout the world get a very different article from that which is given them directly from the casks in Jerez. I recall a visit I once made to the bodegas of Jerez many years ago and the indescribable delicacy and aroma of the dry wines served directly from the casks.

Mixing And Blending

Unfortunately for connoisseurs in different parts of the world, the true sherry dry wines that are found in the casks at Jerez are not sent into commerce. The commercial sherries are usually mixtures of pure natural wines which are well matured, and often of quite distinct types. It is seldom even an unblended wine is shipped, although there are sometimes connoisseurs in different parts of the world who have acquired the taste for a particular kind of wine and give orders for it.

Object Of Blending

The object of blending the wines is, of course, the same as that for the blending of brandies and cognac to produce large quantities from year to year of a wine having practically the same character, so that the customers who drink that brand of wine may not be calling from time to time on the dealer to explain why one vintage has one taste and another, another. This, of course, is an unfortunate condition of the consumer's mind, since he ought to know, and perhaps does know, that every year produces a wine of a different character, even if it bear the same name, and he should expect this. It requires a great deal of skill on the part of the blender to make out of different kinds of wines produced from year to year, this standard blend and, of course, he does not always succeed.