lo Oct., 1908.] Viticulture in Europe. 581 



year there were only five or six misses. I discussed the question of bench 

 V. field grafting with Mr. Mostyn, who seems to be of opinion that both 

 are good, but that field grafting, on the whole, seems to give the best 

 results. It is the more popular method in the district. 



Montilla. 



From Graiiada to Montilla is a short journey by rail, though it occupies 

 some hours, a slow branch line joining the main line at Bobadilla. Mon- 

 tilla is a small town nearly due south of Cordoba, from which it is about 

 20 miles distant. It is widely known for its wine — a true sherry of very 

 high quality. Though only a small district, owing to the limited area of 

 the type of soil on which the best wine is produced, it is a most interesting 

 one as it presents a striking example of the preponderant influence of soil 

 in deciding the character of the wine. Though about 100 miles from 

 Jerez', as the crow flies, and separated from it by country of very different 

 nature, and producing wines of distinct types, the wine of Montilla at 

 once strikes one by its strong resemblance to that of Jerez, so much so that 

 the bulk of it finds its way to England where it is sold as sherry. 



The similarity of soil is at once apparent. In a railway cutting near 

 the town one may notice the same soft, chalky, limestone rock which forms 

 the subsoil at Jerez, where it is known as Tosca. The surface soil, likewise, 

 is the same whitish grey soil and at once recalls the Afuera type, though 

 it is perhaps a trifle more clayey. It is on this class of soil that the vine 

 which produce the celebrated Montilla wines are planted. The Sierra de 

 Montilla, and also Moriles, some 7 miles distant, are among the localities 

 which produce the best wines. 



Montilla may claim to be the parent of sherry. It has given its name 

 to the type of that wine so universally known a.s "Amontillado"; this 

 word really means " like Montilla." 



In Shakespeare's time the wine so much consumed in England under the 

 name of " sherris sack" was totally different from what we now know 

 as sherry. It was a wine made by partial boiling of the must and was as 

 dark as stout or porter, very similar in fact to the Brown Malaga of the 

 present dav. Montilla methods of treating and maturing found their way 

 to Jerez, and the resulting wine, which gradually superseded the sack of 

 former days, became known as Amontillado. 



Now-a-days there is practically no difference between the wines of the 

 two places, though Montilla growers claim that theirs possess more bouquet. 

 They are certainly very fine wines, clean, delicate and highly perfumed, 

 but it would need an expert sherry taster to distinguish between the wines 

 of the two places. 



Whilst in Jerez I met one of the leading vineyard owners of Montilla, 

 Don Antonio Garcia Toro, and it was his invitation to call on him, on my 

 way through to Madrid, that led me to break my journey in order to .see 

 something of this interesting district. I was very cordially received by 

 Don Antonio and it is to him that I am indebted for the inform.ation that 

 follow'S. 



Methods at Montilla. 



As Montilla and Jerez have so much in common it will be sufficient to 

 describe the points in connexion with culture, wine making and treatment 

 peculiar to the former locality. 



The soil is carefully prepared for planting in the same way as at 

 Jerez. Phylloxera made its appearance a good many years ago, and the 



