Almacenista

Designation for sherry wines that are traditionally produced by smaller companies with the same designation and are stored and matured for up to 30 years. It was introduced by the sherry trading company Lustau. The Almacenistas (German: Lagerhalter, Almacén = storekeeper) often do the sherry production as a sideline or hobby, but do not bottle it. Traditionally they sell the uncut sherry wines openly in so-called "ventas" (sales halls) to the neighbourhood and to restaurateurs who bring plastic containers for this purpose. The better Almacenista sherries are sold to large sherry companies, which improve their own soleras with them.

Only in rare cases, however, are Almacenista sherries bought in this way bottled pure by the large wineries and sold under the name of the Almacenista. The very best qualities, however, are drunk by the Almacenista family themselves and are not sold. The term Almacenista is legally protected for such sherries from the Jerez de la Frontera region. All types of sherry and manzanilla are available in an Almacenista version and almost always in exceptional quality. Fractions on the label (1/8, 1/17) indicate the number of barrels of the Solera system from which the wine comes; the smaller the number under the fraction (number of barrels), the rarer and therefore more expensive the wine.