144 ® n &* Cultivation of the Vine, 



tion of alcohol, which refults immediately from the decom- 

 polition of the fugar. When the grapes, therefore, are very 

 faccharine, fuch as thofe of the fouth, the fermentation miift 

 be brifk, and long continued ; becaufe thcfe wines, being 

 deftined for dittillation, ought to produce immediately all 

 the alcohol that can refult from the decompolition of the 

 whole of the faccharine principle. If the fermentation be" 

 flow and weak, the wines remain lufcious, and do not be-* 

 come warm and agreeable till they have long worked in the 

 vats. 



In general, grapes abundant in the faccharine principle 

 mult ferment a long time. In the Bordelois, the fermenta- 

 tion is fuffered to work itfelf to an end : the wine is never re- 

 moved from the vats till the heat has fubfided. 



According to thefe principles and others, deduced front 

 the theory before eftablifhed, we may draw the following 

 conftquences : 



i ft, The muft ought to remain in the vats the lefs time 

 according as it is lefs faccharine. Light wines, called in 

 Burgundy <vins de primeur, cannot bear the vat above front 

 fix to twelve hours. 



2d, The muft ought to remain the lefs time in the vats, 

 according as it is propofed to retain the acid gas, and to form 

 brilk wines : in that cafe, it is thought fufticient to tread the 

 grapes, and to put the juice into the cafks after it has been 

 left in the vat twenty- four hours, and fometimes without 

 having been in the vat at all. In this cafe, the fermentation, 

 on the one hand, is lefs tumultuous $ and, on the other, the 

 gas can with lefs eafe be volatilized } which contributes to 

 retain that highly volatile fubftance, and to make it one of 

 the principles of the liquor. 



3d, Muft ought to be left in the vats lefs time, according 

 as it is propofed to obtain wine lefs coloured. This condi- 

 tion is of great importance in regard to brifk wines, one of 

 th6 moft valuable qualities of which is their want of colour. 



4th, Muft ought to remain in the vats lefs time, according 

 as the temperature is warmer, and the mafs more volumi- 

 nous, 8cc: in that cafe, the brifknefs of the fermentation 

 makes up for its fhortnefs of duration. 



5th, The muft ought to remain in the vats lefs time, ac* 

 cording as it is propofed to obtain wine of a more agreeable 

 flavour. 



6th, The fermentation, on the other hand, will be longer, 

 according as the faccharine principle is more abundant, and 

 the muft thicker. 



7th, It will be longer if the wines are deftined for diftilla* 

 4 tion > 



