578 



Journal of Agriculiiirc. 



[lo Sept.. 1909. 



completed whilst the road.s are still in tolerable order, and before the winter 

 rains have made them almost impassal)le. In former days, it was at this 

 stage that the almacenista appeared on the .scene, and it was to his bodegas 

 that the mostos were carted. The reconstituted vineyards now mostly 

 belong to the large mercha its, who bring their n.ew wines into their own 

 establishments. 



Fermentation takes place in the well ventilated bodegas of the usual 

 type peculiar to Jerez, or, sometimes, even in the open air. as illus- 

 trated in the photograph showing portion of the grounds of Messrs. 

 Gonzalez, Byass and Companv, where the viostos undergo fermentation and 

 remain undisturbed until the first racking, with no other protection than 

 the shelter of a few acacias. Under such conditions the advent of the 

 cold weather is better able to exert its beneficial effect and to ha.sten the 

 clearing of the wine, thus r)TeDnrino; it for earlv rackinc-t 



JEREZ WINE CARTS. 



The mostos ferment (juietly and steadil\ , and without throwing much 

 froth out at the bunghole. Nothing st^ms to be done to control the 

 process or to limit temperatures in any way. Fermentation is entirely 

 spontaneous. The use of plaster, when crushing, has no doubt much to 

 do with regularizing the process, as has also the comparativelv small bulk 

 in which it takes place— less than joo galls., for the butts are never full. 

 Thus it is that ill effects seldom seem to result from the churning up and 

 heating the young wine receives in transit during weather which is often 

 hot, conditions which are scarcelv favourable for satisfactory fermenta- 

 tion. Nevertheless, "off" casks are n(,t unknown. Among the many 

 \oung wines 1 saw were <x'casional " scuddx (ines. " Scud " is the 

 term used bv the Knglish merchants of Jctcz to designate the disease of 

 wine, due to the development of filiform bacteria known in French as 

 iourne, and characterized b\ the spiral, silky cloud which is not unknown 

 to us in Northern Victoria, where it is often erroneously termed " ropi- 

 ness." J 



\ This is quite in accordance with tlie ideas of Dr. K. Cailes on the use of cold in wine-niakina:, see 

 Jdiini'il Vol. VI., p. 398. 



I Hoiiiness is really due to an entirelv different ferment. It is little known cither in .Australia or 

 Southern Spain, being limited to wines of low alcoholif strciiLjth, aii<l deficient in tannin. A rojiy wine 

 though clear, is viscous, pouring out like nil. 



