<>88 Agricultural Journal of Victoria. 



DRY RED WINES AND THEIR TREATMENT. 



r,y M. rPJ. Bnrnry. 



Part III. 



After first racking, certain defects may become noticeable in some 

 of the wines in the cellar. It is not within the scope of this article to 

 touch more than briefly upon the many and varied diseases to which 

 wines are liable. If care has been exercised to ensure a steady and even 

 fermentation, and the wine run into clean casks which are kept filled, 

 there should be little if any danger from disease and consequent 

 deterioration. By persistent and systematic cleanliness the germs of 

 disease are kept out of the cellar, and the danger of contamination is 

 minimised if not entirely avoided. No expense should be spared in 

 this connection, and if a cellar is once thoroughly clean, keeping 

 it clean afterwards is but a small item. Occasionally the composition 

 of a wine is such that it is prone to disease or in some way defective, 

 and -we can now examine a few of the causes of the defects in export 

 wines at tliis stage. 



Cloudiness, 



Wines that do n(jt i-lear down as soon as all fermentation has 

 ceased may at any time deteriorate and become unmarketable. The 

 cause of a persistent cloud may be either owning to a want of tannin 

 to coagulate the albuminous matters that are pi-esent naturally or 

 else the commencement of microbian disease. In either case the wine 

 must be clarified at all costs^ either by the addition of tannin followed 

 by a fining or else by filtration. It may probably be suggested that 

 such a treatment of a wine only a few months old is premature. No 

 treatment can be premature which ensures the preservation of a wine 

 by eliminating the commencement of disease or deterioration. It is 

 by such attention in the vei-y earliest stages that defects may be 

 avoidjsd. If the commencement of disease is already noticeable to the 

 palate, the wine should be at once clarified and pasteurised. There 

 is no other safe treatment for wines affected by acetic, lactic, mannitic 

 or any other microbian disease. 



Excess of Acidity. 

 A real defect to an export wine is an excess of fixed acidity, 

 arising as a rule from the grapes being under ripe. The requirements 

 of the market are such that a wine must be even deficient in acidity 

 to suit the palate of the consumer. It is difficult to suggest any 

 chemical remedy to destroy this excess of acidity, and there are few if 

 any alkaline substances that will neutralize this excess without leaving 

 an objectionaljle flavour in the wine. The safest method is to hold 

 the wine until the following vin.tage, and then blend it with a new 

 wine deticient in acidity. This blending wine can easily be obtained 



