Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Solera Aging
A solera is a grouping of containers (usually barrels) used to
accomplish a unique blended aging technique in the
production of certain vinegars, spirits, and wines. On a
commercial scale, a solera is a substantial investment, but for
an amateur with containers not exceeding five gallons, the
larger concern in space. Though you can technically use this
technique with as few as two containers and with no upper
limit, I am going to describe it using three.
Label three containers as A, B, and C, filling them all with
wine. After the wine has aged a year, withdraw and bottle half
of the contents of container C. Refill container C from
container B, refill container B from container A and use new
wine to refill container A. Do the same thing every year, and
over time the average age of the wine bottled from container
C will approach five years, even though you are bottling wine
from it every year.
The average age increases with the number of containers and
with bottling smaller portions according to the following
formula:
Average Age = (Number of Containers−Fraction of Container
Used)/Fraction of Container Used
So if you started with three five-gallon containers and only
bottled one gallon (.2 of a five-gallon container) a year, the
average age would approach (3 - .2)/.2 or 14 years. If you
used four containers instead of three and drew off half of a
container each year, the average age would converge upon
seven years.
