a system for aging sherry and other fortified wines, in which younger wines in upper rows of casks are used to top up casks of older wines stored below in order to produce a consistently aged blend
b.
a blend of sherry produced by this system
Word origin
Spanish, literally: bottom
solera in American English
(souˈlɛərə, Spanish sɔˈleʀɑː)
noun
1. (esp. in Spain)
a series of casks, graded according to age, in which sherries and brandies are stored while maturing
2.
a classification for the sherries or brandies having the greatest maturity in a solera
Word origin
[‹ Sp: lit., supporting beam, base (for uprights) ‹ VL *solāria, equiv. to L sol(um) base, ground (˃ Sp suelo) + -āria-ary; cf. vino de solera mature wine (presumably from the bottom range of casks) used to fortify younger wine]