302 



THE CANADIAN HORTICULTURIST. 



IMPORTANT TO WINE MAKERS-HOW TO MAKE CURRANT AND 



OTHER WINES. 



HPI currants should be perfectly ripe 

 when g-athered ; they should be 

 stemmed and washed before press- 

 ^p-j iiii,'', which must be done as thor- 

 ouyfhlv as possible with a i 2-inch cider press. 

 Ascertain the amount of juice thus obtained, 

 and then add that amount of water to the 

 same pumice and incorporate the water and 

 pumice well tog^ether ; let it stand a few 

 hours and press it ai^ain. By this process 

 an additional quantity of juice, though not 

 so strong, is obtained ; then mix the first 

 pressing" with the second and weigh a gallon 

 of it, and whatever it falls short of lo pounds 

 to the gallon, add enough of good Havana 

 sugar to make it weigh lo pounds, and so 

 on with the rest. I would here remark that 

 an additional amount of sugar added to the 

 above will make a sweeter wine, and per- 

 haps more suitable to the taste oi many. It 

 would be rather an expensi\e business to 

 those who have but few berries to make 

 currant wine from the first pressing of the 

 currant alone, as it requires one bushel of 

 currants to produce a little over three gal- 

 lons of pure juice. The red currant pure 

 juice weighs 3)4 pounds to the gallon. The 

 white currant pure juice comes almost within 

 the winemaker's rule, weighing 9^4^ pounds 

 to the gallon. The way in which I make 

 currant wine is to use the pure juice alone, 

 or without much water, and I find that I can 

 readily command $3 per gallon for it, where- 

 as the other would be dear at $1 per gallon, 

 and not much of a wine at that. Elderberry 

 wine is made in the same way as first stated, 

 adding about half water in the way of re- 

 pressing the pumice, etc., as if it is made 

 without the addition of too much sugar it 

 resembles claret very closely. Black cur- 

 rant wine is made in the same wav as the 



elderberry, only the berries should be scalded 

 before pressing, and if carefully managed in 

 the fermentation will resemble the Rhine 

 wines. When the juice, sugar and water 

 are well incorporated by stirring together 

 until the sugar is dissolved, it is then placed 

 in an open tub in a temperature of about 60^ 

 F"., there to stand a few days until the 

 froth and impurities rise to the surface, 

 which must be removed as often as it 

 accumulates, and when the liquid becomes 

 limpid and somewhat transparent, then it is 

 placed in a clean barrel to within 5 or 8 

 inches of the bung. A rubber tube passed 

 through a cork which fits the bunghole, and 

 kept air tight with wax, is then inserted into 

 the bung about two inches, the other end 

 passing into a pail of water to the depth of 

 3 or 4 inches. This is done to prevent 

 the oxygen of the air penetrating the fer- 

 menting mass, and also to retain much of 

 the finer aromatic essences which are so 

 essential to fine flavored wines 



A great advantage is also gained thereby 

 in rendering it less necessary to keep watch 

 over the fermentation as pursued by some in 

 keeping the barrel bung full by replenishing 

 with some of the same standing near at 

 hand, which becomes pricked before fer- 

 mentation has ended, rendering it in the end 

 little more than sweetened vinegar. No ad- 

 mixture should be attempted after fermen- 

 tation has commenced, and if the tempera- 

 ture of fermentation is kept at about 60' or 

 65 F., for about six weeks or two months, 

 it will be ready to remove the tube and fill 

 the barrel bung full of the same, made in a 

 separate vessel for that purpose. Then put 

 the bung in moderately tight for a few days, 

 and after that drive the bung in tight until 

 about December, when it must be racked off 



