758 



Journal of Agriculture. 



[lo Dec, -1909. 



The difference hetwem the action oi the C(j!iiinuous heaters which rub 

 the berries oft', against the [jerioratrd phitc or " concave " and that 

 of the lielix of pegs which tdss or whisk the stalks out nf the crushed 

 mass, is very evident. In the fornicr case, it not infretiut nil) happens 

 that a considerahlf ])r{)j;ui"tion of the stalks thrown <jut at the end oi 

 the cylinder are mfjre (;r less cnmpUteh sliredded. In the l*'rench 

 machines, the stalks coming awa\- from tht- exit are remark. ili]\ little 

 damaged, being scai'ceK more than stripped of their berries. 



Acc(M-ding to analysis* tlie com})ositinn of the stalks does not appear 

 very different to that of the skins but if one chews a .small fragment of stalk 

 a marked difference is noticeable. Both contain tannin in not very 

 different i)n)portions but. in r.ddition to this normal constituent of all red 

 wines, the stalks alsn contain resinous and acri(i substances capable of 

 communicating an unpleasant taste to the wine. The breaking of the 

 outer bark permits these substances to dissob'e freelv out of the broken 

 fragments. m;vnv oF which easiK Find iheir wa\ with the crushed grapes 

 into the fermeiuiim vat. 



FIG. 2. COQ S CRU.SHER AND STEMMER. 



In old days in Australia, when stemming was done with rakes or 

 riddles and was therefore not verv co:iii)lett', it was customarv on some 

 vineyards to j>ress these stalks in order to a\'oid loss of ju'ce ; the resulting 

 wine, known as Grappc, pos.sessed a marked unpleasant taste of its own, 

 rendering it useless except for distillation. This peculiar flavour rendered 

 this " grappe " far more unpleasant than even the " hard ])ress " resulting 

 from the final i)ressings of the fermented skins in which tannin was the 

 substance chieflv in exidcncc but in which it was not accompanied bv 

 the unpleasant stalk\ or ''grassN " tastt- abo\e referred to. 



I think most iieople who have considered the subject will agree that 

 the shredding of the stalks is undesirable tf) sav the least, and the difference 

 between the French stemmers, remarkable for freedom from this defect, 

 and f>ur locally made ones is certainly wortin of note' 



It is somewhat curious that a type of stemmer with pegs instead 

 of beater.s has not vet been manufactu.red in V'ctfiria. notwithstanding 

 the fact that .';ever d imported machines ha\e long been satisfactorilv 

 worked on some of our \ine\ards. Xearlv all the locall\- made machine.s 

 are on a similar pattern to the " Fraser " mill which was first placed 



* Sft' Rods -ll7/iP)/)f/!/«v /// Hot Pliiiiiitc. \\ :!1. 



