J)l';i'ARTMENTAL AcTIVlTIKS. 309 



VITICULTURE. 



The Making of Hermitage Wine. — in oidei lo nuet inquiries 

 on this subject, the tnlhiwin^ Ijiicf outline is giA^en. Pick the grapes 

 wlien well ripe, liiii not too lipe, sav 20-22 per cent, sugar, and pick 

 only good grapes. I'ut through the crusher, but see that the rollers 

 are not too closely set ti) make sure that no seeds are cruslied. It is 

 l)resunied that the nracliine employed remoyes tlic stalks. Hun the 

 must and dops into a fermenting tank and add jjotassium meta- 

 hisiilphite at tlie rate of G oz. per ton of grapes. It must be 

 remembered that the amount of meta added will differ according to 

 circumstances. If grapes are yery hot when they come to the cellar, 

 add as much as 8 (.z. per ton, ])ut if yery cold it can be cut down to 

 4 oz. Whether it is needed to add any tartaric acid will dei)end on the 

 acidity of the gra])es, but it is a good practice always to add the 

 same amount of tartaric acid as meta used. This amount of tartaric 

 acid can be used without taking the acidity of the nuist into considera- 

 tion, as yery little of it wiU afterwards be found in the wine. The 

 tartaric acid will liel]) to giye a sound fermentation, Avill help to 

 extract colour, and the resulting wine will haye a nice clean taste. 

 As soon as fermentation starts the djps will rise to the ton ; this must 

 be pressed down every three hours, or oftener if i)()ssi1)le. Tlieo- 

 retically this should be attended to night and day. As it is often 

 impossible, howeyer, for the farmer to do tin's during the night, he 

 should press down the dops the last thine- of an exening, and then 

 make a solution of meta and water, whi(di is snraved (»vei' tlie tank. 

 This will keep the dops sweet for the nipht. The stee])ing should be 

 done again early in the morning. A tumblerful of water is enough for 

 a tank if a fine spray is used. As soon as the colour of the must is dark 

 enough, draw off and pump into a clean cask. If the must and dops 

 are treated as mentioned aboye. draw off after two and a half to three 

 and a half days ; it is yery seldom necessary tf) ferment for a longer 

 period. If the dops are pressed at once, and the press is not worked 

 too hard, the press inust can be added to the wine. If the dops are 

 I5ressed a second time, the must coming off from the press must be 

 kept separate as press wine. During the fermentation the tempera- 

 ture must be carefully watched: if it rises aboye 90° F. steps must 

 be taken to cool it down by whatever means are available. Space 

 ])reyents a discussion heie of the different means of coritrolling 

 temperature in the cellar. 



After the must has been racked from the fermenting-tank to the 

 cask the temperature must be watched too. xVs soon as fermentation 

 is finished give the wine a racking. Eack again eight to fourteen 

 days later. These two raclcings are very important, especially if 

 m eta-bisulphite has been used ; if neglected the wine may develop a 

 bad smell, and su necessitate labour to rectify. After the second 

 racking the wine should be fairly clear within three to four weeks" 

 time. A third racking is then given, Avhich is usually enough to 

 carry it through the winter months. If the wine is not yet sold, rack 

 again in August, together with a good sulphuring, just before the 

 warm weather sets in. The previous lackings nmy be done without 

 sulphuring the casks, although a liglit sul]ihuring is a(lvisal)le just to 

 thoroughly disinfect the casks. 



