IjatS' On the different Qualities of IVines. 



will grow better, when its tartness is owing to a too slow 

 and incomplete ferment iti on, in which the sugar has nat 

 been entirely converted into alcohol. M. Chaptal, in the 

 following p;issage, clearlv establishes the t.ruth of this as- 

 sertion. " We must only, says he, draw off those wines 

 which have been well made: if a wine is very tart, or very 

 sweet, we must let it undergo a second fermentation upon 

 its lees, and not draw it oft" until the middle of May ; it 

 may even stand until the end of June, if it continues tart. 

 It sometimes becomes necessary to return wine upon its 

 lees, and to mix them well togelher, that a new I'ermenta- 

 tion may be excited, which will ameliorate tlie wme." 

 There are certain rules to be observed in the raeking of 

 wines; it should never be done in frosty seasons, nor when 

 a moist wind blows ; a dry cool wind is preferable ; it is 

 most advantageously done, just previous to the periods ot 

 the shooting of the vine, its coming into blossom, and the 

 turn of the grape ; for it is at these periods the wine fer- 

 ments most. In every wine country, experience has de- 

 monstrated the proper time for this operation. 



Biimstonivg of Wines. — Whatever care is taken in the 

 racking of wines, they will again ferment, unless they un- 

 dergo the o])eration of brimstoning; that is to say, if they 

 are not impregnated with sulphurous gas, by means of 

 burning sulphur matches in the casks, either when com- 

 pletely empty, or containing a few pails full of wine only, 

 to wliich more wine is added every time the burning is 

 renewed. At Marseilles in Langucdoc, they use for the 

 brimstoning wines, must, which has been so strongly 

 charged vv it h sulphurous gas, as never to have fermented ; 

 two or three bottles of which, mixed with each cask of 

 wine will also preserve that from fermentation. The brim- 

 stoning by burning matches has one disadvantage, that of; 

 depriving the must of the flavour of the fruit, and commu- 

 nicating to it an unpleasant taste. On this account, other 

 auti-fermentescible substances are sometimes employed. 

 Thui, M. Ferpere recommends sulphuric acid; M. Astier 

 employs the red oxide of mercury; and M, Parmentier has 

 proposed the oxide of manganese, which is less hazardous. 



What IS the chemical action produced upon the must 

 and upon the wine, by the operation of briinstoning ? Thip 

 action tends evidently to preserve these fluids from fcrmen- 

 laiion, and as this cannot take place without the presence 

 of a ferment, we have reason to conclude, that this agent 

 is changed in its nature, and rendered insoluble, perhaps 

 because it abstracts from the oxides and acids employed, a 



pbrtion 



