History of Ancient and Modern Wines. 133 



almost exclusively reserved for tlie royal cellars ; that which we 

 sometimes meet with here is generally a poor fretty wine, without 

 much flavour. 



We difter with Dr. Henderson in his estimation of the Sicilian 

 wines. Marsala, when originally good and well kept, is a fine 

 dry generous wine ; and the Muscadines of Syracuse and some of 

 the growths of the hills at the foot of INIount of iEtna, do not 

 yield to the choicest corresponding products of France or Spain, 

 and far exceed those of Italy. 



On the Greek wines our author is brief and unsatisfactory ; 

 they are very numerous and of all qualities, but they seldom reach 

 England in any perfection. The fact is, that they are slovenly in 

 their cultivation and manufacture, and whatever may be the natural 

 advantages of climate and soil, these alone are insufficient with- 

 out due attention to the growth of the vine, and to the collection 

 of its fruit, and cleanliness and skill of manipulation. Thus it is 

 that the generality of the wines of Italy, Sicily, and Greece, are so 

 indifferent; and hence the eminent and exemplary badness of the 

 Cape wines. 



In Madeira the best vineyards are those of the south side of 

 the island. The celebrated Malmsey is grown on rocky grounds 

 exposed to the full influence of the sun, and the grapes are al- 

 lowed to hang for about a month l^ter than those used for the dry 

 wines, so that they become over-ripe, or partially shrivelled. 

 Another much esteemed wine is the Sercial ; it is obtained from a 

 grape which only succeeds on particular spots, and requires long 

 keeping to confer upon it the full body and the rich aromatic fla- 

 vour which are peculiar to it. Though brandy is added to all the 

 Madeira wines, the necessity or utility of the addition appears ex- 

 tremely doubtful, and the fine and select wines must be in- 

 jured by it; these, however, very seldom reach us in their ge- 

 nuine state, and the demand for i\iadeira wine so far exceeds that 

 which the island can supply, that the market is thronged with all 

 kinds of sophistications and substitutes. 



The effect of an East or West India voyage in ripening and per- 

 fecting Madeira are well known, but unless the wine is originally 

 good, it often does mischief, and the additional expense is se- 

 rious. Madeira is sometimes/breed as it is called, by placing it 

 in heated rooms, like the fumaria and apothecce of the ancients, 

 and the wine thus treated is said to acquire the same mellowness 

 and tint as when long kept, or sent to a hot climate. We know a 

 gentleman very curious in Madeira wine, who assures us that all 

 the benefit of an India voyage may be conferred upon it, by fix- 

 ing the pipe for a few weeks to the beam of a steam engine, where 

 it may get both warmth and motion. 



Of the Canary wines there are several which closely approach 



