solera

[ soh-lair-uh; Spanish saw-le-rah ]
/ soʊˈlɛər ə; Spanish sɔˈlɛ rɑ /

noun

(especially in Spain) a series of casks, graded according to age, in which sherries and brandies are stored while maturing.
a classification for the sherries or brandies having the greatest maturity in a solera.

Origin of solera

< Spanish: literally, supporting beam, base (for uprights) < Vulgar Latin *solāria, equivalent to Latin sol(um) base, ground (> Spanish suelo) + -āria -ary; Cf. vino de solera mature wine (presumably from the bottom range of casks) used to fortify younger wine

Words nearby solera

solenoidal, solent, soleplate, soleprint, soler, solera, soleri, soles, solesmes, soleure, soleus

Example sentences from the Web for solera

  • Meantime, even before the liberation of Solera and Fortini, Maroncelli was ill with a bad tumour upon his knee.

    My Ten Years' Imprisonment |Silvio Pellico

British Dictionary definitions for solera

solera
/ (səˈlɛərə) /

noun

  1. 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
  2. a blend of sherry produced by this system

Word Origin for solera

Spanish, literally: bottom