30 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [lo Jan.. 191 1. 



To commence the fermentation in bulk, with a starter, in the shape of 

 a small quantity of specially selected grapes, crushed and allowed to fer- 

 ment under the most favourable circumstances possible, is, therefore, essen- 

 tially logical. It is also peculiarly applicable to the new method of wine- 

 making. The active ferment of the starter, after being accustomed to 

 life in presence of SO^, has an even greater advantage over competing 

 organisms, when transferred to the large vat, than it otherwise would. 



Technical details in connexion with the use of starters, being much the 

 same as where cultivated yeasts are emploved. their consideration can be.st 

 be held over for the article dealing with the latter. 



Conclusion. 



The whole of what has been written above applies to dry wines. For 

 the present, at least, it will be well to limit the application of sulphiting 

 to these. So' far as sweet wines are concerned, it can only be recommended 

 experimentally and with caution. The development of a porty or rancio 

 character is closely allied with the defect known as casse, it is largely 

 an oxidation process. Though faulty in dry wines, it becomes an advan- 

 tage, in fact, a necessary development, in the case of the sweet wines for 

 which there is such a large demand in the local market. It is highly 

 probable that the protection against oxidation, which enables sulphurous 

 acid to prevent casse in dry wines, will, in similar manner, hinder the 

 development of the rancio character in sweet wines. 



This reservation applies also to our so-called Australian sherries. 

 As regards the delicate wines of cooler districts, caution must again be re- 

 commended, though for a rather different reason. In these privileged 

 regions, with cleanliness, care, and grapes in good order, fermentation 

 troubles are of very rare occurrence. The high natural acidity of the 

 grapes and cool temperatures during fermentation, owing to late maturity, 

 are sufficient protection against injurious micro-organism. 



Will the wines made according to the new system, faultless though 

 they may be, equal the delicate wines which these districts have proved 

 themselves capable of producing in years past by the old method ? The 

 question is a delicate one which can only be answered by time and com- 

 parative experiments. The writer has a clear recollection of experiments 

 conducted by his father, at St. Hubert's, many years ago, when the 

 debourbage system was tried. The white wine produced by it, although 

 in many respects excellent and especially so, as regards condition, did 

 not, wuth age, develop the bouquet and character of wines made in the 

 ordinary way. The process was therefore discontinued. 



In Northern Victoria, circumstances are vastly different and the ad- 

 vantages of sulphiting are almost certain to greatly outweigh any other 

 consideration. There is not the slightest reason why they should not be 

 as marked with us, in the directions previously indicated, as they have so 

 abundantly proved in Southern France. 



Whether it be dry whites or dry reds for the local market, or the 

 heavy full bodied reds which make up' the bulk of our export trade, the 

 northern wine-maker cannot fail to welcome the possibility of regularly 

 turning out his wine in faultless order and free from the defects which 

 have so often given him trouble in the past. 



In the hope that such anticipation will be fully realized, the new 

 method of wine-making is now brought under the notice of Victorian wine- 

 makers. Any hesitation the writer may have felt — and caution is always 

 advisable in connexion with innovations in wine-making — is dispelled by 

 the marvellous extension of the new method in Southern France. 



