JO May, 1909.] Catalufia. 321 



teuiizer of special construction by means of which all wine was pas- 

 teurized to 75 deg. C. Don Roman Perpiiia uses a " Pastor " pasteurizer 

 — the well known Bordeaux make. An interesting addition to this ma- 

 chine was an air pump by means of which air could be forced into the 

 wine during its passage through the hottest part of the machine in order 

 to artificially develop the Rancio taste. In the case of ordinary dry 

 reds, contact with air at high temperature is carefully avoided. Dry 

 wines are usually treated at 80 deg. C. (176 deg. F.) but fox sweet 

 Avines temperatures oif up to 100 deg. C. (212 F.) are preferred. It 

 is remarkable that, once pasteurized at a high temperature, these sweet 

 wines seem to stand shipment, even to Canada, without risk of fermen- 

 tation though only moderately fortified. Much Tarragona Port is shipped 

 under 30 per cent, of proof spirit. 



I tasted several different wines. One of these, a Priorato, though only 

 two years old, was already distinctly tawny in colour and Rancio in taste. 

 An Australian would probably describe it as "becoming portv. " I was 

 shown a ten-year old Rancio, a very fine wine which had lost most of its 

 colour. It reminded me somewhat of an old Rutherglen Pedro in taste 

 as well as in colour. 



Young wines, on the other hand, were almost as dark as our Shiraz 

 and not unlike it in character. 1 was also shown some Mistela, very 

 dark and sweet with a gravity of 10 deg. Baume. This is sometim.es 

 shipix*d to Germ.any under the name of Geropega. In these Reus 

 bodegas, I again saw some of the huge storage vats similar to those 

 by which I had been so much struck in Barcelona, also pumps &c., prov- 

 mg the scale on which operations are conducted. Sun ripening of wines 

 was, however, less in evidence, the Priorato wines developing more easilv 

 the Rancio character, their natural maturation is, no doubt, usuallv 

 ^sufficient. 



Such is the state of the Priorato district at the present day. The 

 unfortified natural Rancio' wines for which it was famo'us are nO' longer 

 known as such. Under a modified form and probably largely blended, 

 one portion finds its way to South America whilst another portion, forti- 

 fied and probably also blended, is shipped tO' England as Tarragona 

 Port. 



VlLLAFRANCA DEL PaNADKS. 



The Panades is the name of a district, similar in size to the Priorato 

 but quite different in geological formation and in the wines it produces. 

 The former is mainly Secondarv (often 'Cretaceous) and Tertiary. Its 

 soils are rich in lime, usually containing 25 to 30 per cent, of carbonate. 

 Its wines are mostly vin ordinaire of good quality, both red and white. 

 It is said that a good deal of it finds its way to La Rioja to supplement, 

 by blending, the shortage caused by the ravages of phylloxera in that 

 district. The Panades has long been reconstituted, mainly on Rupestris 

 du Lot, which is, on the whole, giving satisfaction. Villafranca is a 

 small but prosperous town, depending largely on the wine trade. Casks 

 and cellars are everywhere in evidence. I saw here a curious form of 

 dray, of which a photograph is reproduced. It is very convenient for 

 the handling of butts and pipes, weighing when full, over half a ton 

 each. These casks are swung bv chains from the prolongation of the 

 shafts, one fore and one aft of the axle. The chains, manipulated by 

 ■winches, permit one man to do all the handling of these heavy vessels. 



