PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION B. 231 
with that arrived at as the result of the determination of alcohol 
contained in 421 samples of Victorian wines entered at the Cen- 
tennial Exhibition in 1888-9, namely, 25.5 per cent. of proof 
spirit?!, the difference amounting to only 0.4 per cent. 
The minimum strength in alcohol, as would be expected, is 
found in the hock, chablis and claret groups of natural wines, and 
these approximate more or less the French and German averages. 
The average strength found for the French clarets examined 
by Gayon, Blarez, and Dubourg in 188822 is 17.1 per cent. 
However, the same authors point out that this is subject to annual 
variations depending on the climatic conditions during the 
periods of ripening and fermentation, as proved by the results 
they obtained in 1887, being nearly 2.5 per cent. higher. But 
even larger annual variations have been noticed in the Deéparte- 
ment of the Gironde from analyses made by Faure, Boussin- 
gault, and Gayon, for in 1841 the average alcoholic strength was 
only 18.9 per cent. proof spirit, as compared with 26.3 per cent. 
in 1873, a difference of 7 per cent. and actually above our claret 
average. We should therefore expect the average strength in the 
case of our natural wines to be subject to not inconsiderable 
annual variations. 
The port, sherry, and Madeira types are invariably fortified, 
the maximum of alcohol allowable in Victoria being fixed by law 
at 32.5 per cent. of proof spirit. Among the sixty-seven Victorian 
ports and sherries examined, ten were found to exceed the statu- 
tory limit. 
The average strength of the Victorian sherry type is 28.5 per 
cent. of proof spirit. This is below that of the two imported 
samples, and is below that (36 per cent.) given by Blucher (Die 
Analyse der Weine, Kassel, 1894) as the average of twenty-five 
samples. The average results for some hundreds of Spanish 
wines (including sherries) examined by Bonet y Bonfill?? at the 
Madrid Exhibition of 1857, is, however, only 26 per cent. of proof 
spirit, but sherries intended for foreign markets are always ex- 
cessively fortified, as evidenced by the two imported wines ex- 
amined, both of which are from well-known exporting firms of 
Jerez de la Frontera. 
The average alcoholic strength for the Victorian port group is 
49.7 per cent., while that given by Blucher?*, as the mean of ten 
European samples, is 36 per cent. ; this is practically 6 per cent. 
above our figure, and is identical with that found in the case of 
the two imported wines obtained in Melbourne. 
21 The Alcoholic Strength of Victorian Wines, Journal of the Board of Viticulture, 
No. 5, pp. 81-96. Melbourne. 1892. 
22 Analyse Chimique des Vins du Département de la Gironde. Bordeaux. 1888. 
23 José de Hidalgo Tablada. Tratado de la Fabricacién de Vinos en Espaiia y el 
Estrangero, Madrid, pp. 60 ¢t seq. 1880. 
24 Die Analyse der Weine. 1894. 
