Name for a fortified wine from Spain and the Canary Islands, which was common in England in the 16th and 17th centuries. There are several versions of the meaning, but ultimately Sack was also the origin of the name for sparkling wine. One version says that the word is derived from the French "sec" (dry). However, this is contradicted by the fact that it was used to describe all wines from sweet to dry. A second variant explains the name by the Spanish "saca" (bottling), which mutated into "sacas" and later into "sack". Mostly the origin was prefixed, so there was a Canary sack (from the Canary Islands), a Malaga sack (from the island of Malaga) and a Sherris sack (Sherris = Jerez, stands for sherry). From the 17th century onwards, sack also became synonymous with sherry. The term sack played a role in the works of many English authors. Among others, the drink appears in several dramas by William Shakespeare (1564-1616).
Serious sources on the internet are rare - and Wine lexicon from wein.plus is one such source. When researching for my articles, I regularly consult the wein.plus encyclopaedia. There I get reliable and detailed information.
Thomas Götz
Weinberater, Weinblogger und Journalist; Schwendi