248 pliny's natural history. [Book XIV. 



cocoum." 50 In other countries again, they follow a similar 

 plan in making a wine called " tethalassomenon." 51 They 

 make a wine also known as " thalassites," 52 by placing vessels 

 full of must in the sea, a method which quickly imparts to the 

 wine all the qualities of old age. 53 In our own country too, 

 Cato has shown the method of making Italian wine into Coan : 

 in addition to the modes of preparation above stated, he tells us 

 that it must be left exposed four years to the heat of the sun, 

 in order to bring it to maturity. The Rhodian 54 wine is 

 similar to that of Cos, and the Phorinean is of a still salter 

 flavour. It is generally thought that all the wines from 

 beyond sea arrive at their middle state of maturity in the 

 course of six 55 or seven years. 



CHAP. 11. (9.) EIGHTEEN VARIETEIS OF SWEET WINE. 



RAISIN- WINE AND HEPSEMA. 



All the luscious wines have but little 56 aroma : the thinner 

 the wine the more aroma it has. The colours of wines are 

 four, white," brown, 58 blood-coloured, 59 and black. 60 Psythium 61 

 and melampsythium 62 are varieties of raisin- wine which have 

 the peculiar flavour of the grape, and not that of wine. Scy- 

 belites 63 is a wine grown in Galatia, and Aluntium 64 is a 

 wine of Sicily, both of which have the flavour of mulsum. 65 



ro "White wine of Cos. Fee thinks that Pliny means to say that the sea 

 water turns the must of a white or pale straw colour, and is of opinion that 

 he has heen wrongly informed. 



51 " Sea -water " wine. 52 " Sea-seasoned " wine. 



53 Fee says, that if the vessels were closed hermetically this would have 

 little or no appreciable effect ; if not, it would tend to spoil the wine. 



54 Athenseus says that the Rhodian wine will not mix so well with sea- 

 water as the Coan. Fee remarks that if Cato's plan were followed, the 

 wine would become vinegar long before the end of the four years. 



65 Sillig thinks that the proper reading is " in six" only. 



56 The sweet wines, in modern times, have the most bouquet or aroma. 



57 " Albus," pale straw-colour. 58 " Fulvus," amber-colour. 



59 Bright and glowing, like Tent and Burgundy. 



60 it Niger," the colour of our port. 



61 Supposed to be a species of Pramnian wine, mentioned in c. 6. This 

 was used, as also the Aminean, for making omphacium, as mentioned in B. 

 xii. c. 60. See also c. 18 of this Book. 



62 " Black psythian." 



63 Mentioned by Galen among the sweet wines. 



64 See B. iii. c. 14. Now Solana in Sicily, which produces excellent 

 w j ue< 65 Honied wine. 



