of Champagne in France. • 79 



gome readers may perhaps expect to find Slllery mentioned, 

 once so remarkable for red and white wines : the truth is, 

 that Sillery wine is in a great measure composed of the wines 

 produced in the territories of Vcrznay, Mailly, and Saint 

 Basle, once made, by a particular process, by the marechale 

 d'Estrees, and for this reason long known by the name of 

 Fins de la Marechal'e, At the revolution this estate was di- 

 vided, and sold to different rich proprietors of Rheims : the 

 senator of Valencia, however, the heir tq a great part of this 

 vineyard, neglects no means of restoring Sillery to its former 

 reputation. 



Series of questions put by M. Chaptal, with their answers- 



I. Which is the most advantageous Exposure for the Vine? 

 The most advantageous exposure for the vine is, without 



contradiction, the south and the east; hut it has been ascer- 

 tained that certain advantages of soil and the nature of the 

 plant must also concur : otherwise various districts, such as 

 Damery, Vanteuil, •Retiil, &c, with the same exposure and; 

 elimate, and also watered by the Maine, would enjoy the 

 same celebrity as Cuinieres, Uautvillers, and Ay. It must 

 be confessed tha»t the former districts produce interior kinds- 

 of wine ; but it remains to be decided whether we ought to 

 ascribe this difference to the culture, the plants, or the soil. 



II. Are the high Exposures, the middle Elevations, or the- 



lower Grounds, Lest adapted for Vineyards ?■ 

 Of all situations, the middle grounds are. most esteemed : 

 the heat being more eoueentraied in them, they are exempt 

 from the variations of the atmosphere which prevail or 

 eminences, and from the humidity and exhalations whic!> 

 issue from the lower regions: the elaboration, of the sap or 

 juice is therefore more complete in the middle grounds. 



III. Does an East or West differ much from a Smith Expo- 

 sure, in occasioning a sensible Difference in the Quality 

 of the Wines? 



A western exposure is unfavourable to vegetation : it 

 burns and parches Without any advantage, nor does it give 



time: 



