Sack is an antiquated wine term referring to white

fortified wine Fortified wine is a wine to which a distilled spirit, usually brandy, has been added. In the course of some centuries, winemakers have developed many different styles of fortified wine, including port, sherry, madeira, Marsala, Command ...

imported from mainland Spain or the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

."Sack"
''Oxford Companion to Wine'' There was sack of different origins such as: * Canary sack from the Canary Islands, * Malaga sack from

Málaga Málaga (; ) is a Municipalities in Spain, municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 591,637 in 2024, it is the second-most populo ...

, * Palm sack from

Palma de Mallorca Palma (, ; ), also known as Palma de Mallorca (officially between 1983 and 1988, 2006–2008, and 2012–2016), is the capital and largest city of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. It is ...

, and * Sherris sack from

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera () or simply Jerez, also cited in old English-language sources as , is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the province of Cádiz in the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Sp ...

. The term ''Sherris sack'' later gave way to

sherry Sherry ( ) is a fortified wine produced from white grapes grown around the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is a drink produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versio ...

as the English term for fortified wine from Jerez. Since sherry is practically the only one of these wines still widely exported and consumed, "sack" (by itself, without qualifier) is commonly but not quite correctly quoted as an old synonym for sherry. Most sack was probably sweet, and matured in wooden

barrel A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden stave (wood), staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers ...

s for a limited time. In modern terms, typical sack may have resembled cheaper versions of medium

Oloroso Oloroso ("scented" in English language, English) is a variety of fortified wine (sherry) made in Jerez de la Frontera, Jerez and Montilla-Moriles and produced by oxidative Aging of wine, aging. It is normally darker than Amontillado. Oloroso is us ...

sherry. Today, sack is sometimes seen included in the name of some sherries, such as the Williams & Humbert brand "Dry Sack".

Etymology

The ''

Collins English Dictionary The ''Collins English Dictionary'' is a printed and online dictionary of English. It is published by HarperCollins in Glasgow. It was first published in 1979. Corpus The dictionary uses language research based on the Collins Corpus, which is ...

'', the ''

Chambers Dictionary ''The Chambers Dictionary'' was first published by William and Robert Chambers as ''Chambers's English Dictionary'' in 1872. It was an expanded version of ''Chambers's Etymological Dictionary'' of 1867, compiled by James Donald. A second editio ...

'', and the ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the principal historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP), a University of Oxford publishing house. The dictionary, which published its first editio ...

'' all derive the word "sack" from the French , meaning "dry". However, the OED cannot explain the change in the vowel, and it has been suggested by others that the term is actually from the Spanish word , meaning "to withdraw", as in withdrawing wine from a

solera Solera is a process for aging liquids such as wine, beer, vinegar, and brandy, by fractional blending in such a way that the finished product is a mixture of ages, with the average age gradually increasing as the process continues over many yea ...

,Julian Jeffs, ''Sherry'', p. 24; 1961/2004 (5th edition) which led to . The word "sack" is not attested before 1530. Hugh Johnson, ''The Story of Wine'', pp. 92–93; 1989/2005 "new illustrated edition" Julian Jeffs writes: "The word ''sack'' (there are several spellings) probably originated at the end of the fifteenth century, and is almost certainly derived from the Spanish verb ("to withdraw"). In the minutes of the Jerez town council for 1435, exports of wine were referred to as ." It is also thought that 'sack' became a popular name in England due to

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

's Sacking of Cadiz in 1587 where he looted some 2,900 barrels of Sherry. After it was brought back to England the wine became very popular.

Historical background

The

Duke of Medina Sidonia Duke of Medina Sidonia () is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John I of Castile in 1380. His father, Henry II of Castile (c.1334-1379), had an illegiti ...

abolished taxes on export of wine from

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

in 1491, allowing both Spanish and foreign ships. English merchants were given preferential treatment in 1517, and distinction was upheld between second-rate wines, so-called "Bastards", and first-rate wines which were known as "Rumneys" and "Sacks". Málaga, formerly in the Kingdom of

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

, also took to using the name sack for its wines, which were previously sold as "Garnacha". This wine was similar to another wine known as ''malmsey'', made from

Malvasia Malvasia (), also known as Malvazia, is a group of wine grape varieties grown historically in the Mediterranean region and Macaronesia, but now grown in many of the winemaking regions of the world. In the past, the names Malvasia, Malvazia, ...

grapes.

Literary references

Sack appears in several of

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's plays.

John Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays ''Henry IV, Part 1'' and ''Henry IV, Pa ...

, introduced in 1597, was fond of sack, and sometimes refers specifically to Sherris sack. In act 2, scene 2, of ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'', Stephano, Trinculo, and Caliban get drunk on sack, a barrel of which had provided Stephano's escape from the shipwreck ("I escaped upon a butt of sack, which the sailors heaved o'erboard..."). Shakespeare's minor character Christopher Sly, a drunkard and an object of a jest in ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunke ...

'', declares that he has "ne'er drunk sack in his life". Robert Herrick wrote two comic poems in praise of sack, "His Farewell to Sack" and "The Welcome to Sack".

Ben Jonson Benjamin Jonson ( 11 June 1572 – ) was an English playwright, poet and actor. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence on English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for the satire, satirical ...

's ''Inviting a Friend to Supper'' refers to "A pure cup of rich Canary wine, / Which is the

Mermaid In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Latin America, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are ...

's now, but shall be mine". The early Poets Laureate of England and the UK, such as Jonson and Dryden, received their salary, in part or in whole, in sack. Later laureates, including Pye and

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

, took cash in lieu of sack.

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

thought "Malago Sack... was excellent wine, like a spirit rather than wine." In the English fairy tale The Three Heads of the Well, upon leaving the kingdom the antagonist is given "sweetmeats, sugar, almonds, &c., in great quantities, and a large bottle of Malaga sack", in contrast to bread, hard cheese, and a bottle of beer given to the protagonist.English Fairy Tales, by Joseph Jacobs, 1890. https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/7439

References

{{Reflist Fortified wine Wine terminology