Dictionary.com

solera

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

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.

QUIZZES

QUIZ YOURSELF ON “ITS” VS. “IT’S”!

Apostrophes can be tricky; prove you know the difference between it’s and its in this crafty quiz!
Question 1 of 12
On the farm, the feed for chicks is significantly different from the roosters’; ______ not even comparable.
it's
its
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

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, Solesmes, sole-source, sole trader, Soleure
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

Example sentences from the Web for solera

  • He had received for his companion the advocate Solera, and afterwards the priest, Dr. Fortini.

    My Ten Years' Imprisonment|Silvio Pellico

  • 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

  • A door was opened; and we knew it to be that of the advocate Solera.

    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
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
What's This Word?