VINEYARDS AND 1'HE ART Of MAKING WINE. 





slops from the house — that being carried to 

 a new heap. During the second year the 

 compost heap is turned over once or twice 

 at least, and in the fall is fit for the l ine- 

 yanl. fur renewing the soil as aforesaid* 

 The aspect or situation of the vineyard, I 

 think somewhat important, and that of an 

 eastern, or as near it as possible, 1 prefer, 

 as from it we receive the rays of the sun, 

 so grateful to Vegetation in its early dawn. 

 A southern aspect, so much desired in 

 colder climates, does not so well here, the 

 heat of which is so intense from twelve till 

 four, that the skin of the fruit is much 

 hardened thereby, and the air vessels in 

 the leaves are contracted, and their breath- 

 ing functions are impaired for the time, 

 and the leaves in consequence are made to 

 sicken and to droop, until the decline of 

 the sun's powers brings relief in the dew 

 of the night. 



After having said so much, and explain- 

 ed so little on the work of the vigneron, I 

 will now proceed on the work of the vint- 

 ner. Wine-making I consider almost a 

 mechanical art. To arrive at the arcana 

 of which, however, it is necessary to pur- 

 sue a regular method in the process, and 

 by doing so any person of ordinary ability 

 can acquire it. As my desire is only to in- 

 form novices in the art, or young vintners 

 who will be content with simple rudiments 

 unconnected with technical terms, I shall 

 set down my plan in the plainest possible 

 manner; for it is a well known fact, that 

 thousands of writers of the present day, 

 undertake to enlighten the uninformed, 

 and their manner in describing things is 

 so hard to comprehend, that no one less in- 

 formed than themselves can understand 

 one word of the subject on which they un- 

 der ake to write. I speak from experience, 

 as I have by me a number of works on the 

 subject I am now writing of, and scarcelv 

 one of them I consider worth reading, and 

 from the cause above stated. This fault 

 arises, no doubt, from the fact that few 

 practical men find time to write, while 

 fewer still who write, give them.-elves the 

 trouble to practice what they write about; 

 thus illustrating the motto, that " an ounce 

 of practice is better than a pound of the- 

 ory." So much for the introduction, now 

 for the practice. 



The plan I am about to describe is on a 

 small scale, but if the vintage is large, the 

 utensils can be altered to suit. The vint- 

 age being ripe, you should have already 

 been provided with a few clean tubs. Fresh 

 emptied whiskey barrels cut in two, do 

 very well* Your fruit being gathered, re- 

 ject all rotten and under ripe; throw into 

 one tub as much as will cover the bottom 

 one inch deep; take a new maul, (beech if 

 possible, as this wood is an advantage to 

 new wine,) such as is used for splitting 

 wood ; let it be cut square at the end ; use 

 this to crush the fruit, in a similar way per- 

 sons use a dasher in churning butter, and 

 and with no more force than necessary to 

 burst the skins. The fruit, when thus pre- 

 pared, is called marc, and is fit for pressing 

 in this state — which must be done in the 

 following way : take press-cloth — the form 

 of which I will hereafter describe — double 

 it and place it in a large wooden bowl ; then 

 put on the cloth as much marc as it will 

 contain; when folded up, tie it round with 

 a strong cord, and place it on the platform 

 of the press, and press it with as much force 

 as you please, the form and plan of which 

 is not material, so that the largest quantity 

 of juice is obtained; while one cloth is be- 

 ing used at the press, a second should be 

 filled so as to save time, as it is very im- 

 portant that all the juice should be pressed 

 out as soon as possible, after the first opera^ 

 tion has commenced. 



The juice of all the vintage having been 

 expressed, carry it to the working tub in 

 the cellar, and it is no longer to be called 

 juice, but receive the name of must. This 

 tub containing the must should be covered 

 over with a clean linen cloth, and left un* 

 disturbed for twenty-four or thirty-six hours. 

 If the night be cold, throw over it a blanket, 

 but be sure to remove it in the morning, in 

 order to keep an even temperature, which 

 should be if possible, not below 65° or above 

 75° Fahrenheit — (mine at the vintage is 

 72 Q .) You will observe by-the-bye, that 

 the juice will require no other straining than 

 it received at the press by passing through 

 Lke press-cloth ; and by this plan both waste 

 and much time are saved. The must hav- 

 ing been allowed to settle, as directed above, 

 should now be drawn off into prepared 

 cask?] to work for ten or twelve days, aC* 



