27 OctSolera Wine Making Method

Solera Method

The Solera method of aging liquors is quiet fascinating. This process can be used for different types of booze, but for the rest of this post, I’ll refer to it as wine, for simplicity. This method produces wine that is both consistent year after year and provides and smoothed out aging process.

The Basic Steps

1. Each year a portion of wine in the oldest barrel is pulled off and bottled.
2. This barrel is topped up from a barrel one year newer.
3. That barrel is topped up from another barrel even newer.
4. This continues all the way to the last barrel, which is filled with fresh wine from this year.

Here’s a graphic video showing the method. Solera Method on Vimeo

Fun Facts

• The Spanish and Portuguese created the Solera method.
• Sherry is the most common liquor that uses this method.
• Glenfiddich’s 15 year single malt scotch is made using the Solera Method.
• It takes 10 years to create a Solera with an average age of only 8 years.

Wine Making At Home

I really want to try creating one of these at home. If I do, I’ll be sure to post about it here, so check back. If you have attempted this, leave me a note in the comments, I’d love to hear about your experience.

More Resources

• WikiPedia
• Wine Maker Magazine