On the different Qualities of Wines . l67 



the nature of a ferment, especially when assisted by agila- 

 tation, change of teniperature, and other causes. In this 

 case, as also when it is necessary to lake away the fcrmen- 

 tescible subsiances, the wine undergoes certain manipu- 

 lations, reduced by M. Chaptal to three, — racking, brim- 

 stoning, and fining. 



Racking of JVines. — The racking of wine is performed 

 by drawing it into another cask, defecating it, and leaving 

 behind the lees, a matter consisting in general of ferment, 

 altered by the fermentation of tlie must, some ferment un- 

 altered by the operation, mucilage, tartar, and colouring 

 matter. The lees, however, are not always the same from 

 every kind of wine ; the quantity of tartar varies, as also 

 that of the colouring matter, according as tlie wine is more 

 or less spirituous ; in different win^^s there is more or less 

 of the ferment, and this has unriergone more alteration in 

 some wines than in others. Thus a sweet Spanish wine 

 does not contain any unchancred ferment, because the sugar 

 in it is more than sufficient to decoinpose the whole of this 

 substance; l^y adding more ferment to this wine, you will 

 diminish its sweetness, and increase the alcohol. On the 

 contrary, a meagre wine of Burgundy will afford a great 

 quantity of unaltered i'crment, because the deficiency of 

 sugar did not permit the whole of it to be decomposed. 

 By the addition of sugar to this wine, the fern;cntation 

 would be renewed, and more alcohol produced. The rack- 

 ing of wines is a necessary operation for the proper keeping 

 of them. In eeneral, this operation should be renewed 

 whenever there is a considerable sediment at the bottom of 

 the cask. Some wines, however, may be kept upon their 

 lees, such as those of St. Thicrrv in Champagne; these 

 will continue to improve, if kept upon their lees for four 

 yearo, provided they arc contained in casks of a very large 

 size. If we consider the different nature of different wines, 

 and of their lees, we shall easily perceive that racking is 

 not equally necessary for all of them. If, for instance, it 

 is a very weak wine, it cannot be racked off too soon, for 

 the small quantity of alcohol contained in it will not be 

 able to prevent the acetic ferinentation taking place, from 

 the action of the ferment in the lees. But if it is a very 

 generous wine, early racking is not necessary, because the 

 great projU)rtion of alcohol renders the ferment of no 

 eflcct. Moreover, a sweet and svrupy wine will become 

 improved by keeping on the lees, because (he sutrar contained 

 in It will be acted upon by the lermcnteseible principle oi the 

 leebi. Kveii a ver) tart wine, when kept upon its sediment, 

 L 4 will 



