THE !N"EW YORK WINE INDUSTRY 1263 



few miles out of the town at liheims is the Pleasant Valley Wine 

 Company. Four miles down the lake from llammondsport, at 

 l"rl>ana, are the cellars of the Urbana Wine Company. Five 

 miles further down on the lake is the plant of the White Top 

 Champagne Company. At the foot of Lake Keuka at Penn Van 

 are the Hammondsport Vintage Company, Empire State Wine 

 ( 'ompany and Garrett & Company. The leading champagne house 

 outside of the district is the Brotherhood Wine Company, at Wash- 

 ingtonville, N. Y. 



It requires skill and expert knowledge to make champagne. As 

 the process is interesting, and as it is not generally understood, 

 some of the principal features may be briefly described. 



When the wine has gone through its first fermentation, it is 

 racked off into casks, where it remains for some time, or until a 

 blend of the different wines is made. This is called the " cuvee." 

 The wine is now bottled and a second fermentation is started. 

 The bottles are put in cool vaults, where they are packed in hori- 

 zontal layers with thin strips of wood between each layer. The 

 wine in this stage is said to be in " tirage," (Fig. 408). 



The gas that has been generated by fermentation is confined in 

 the bottles and absorbed by the wine. Thus, when a bottle of 

 champagne is uncorked, the gas, seeking to escape, bubbles through 

 the wine to the surface and produces that sparkling effect which 

 is so much admired. 



It is necessary to keep the vaults at a fairly even and low 

 temperature, or from 50 to 55 degrees F. ? in order to prevent loss 

 from breakage which a sharp or sudden rise in temperature would 

 cause. This factor is controlled in most of the cellars by a cold- 

 storage system. The pressure of the gas, being from 75 to 80 

 pounds per square inch, requires the use of French bottles of 

 great strength and of the best Spanish corks. The corks are 

 secured to the neck of the bottles by a metal band, called an 

 " agraffe." 



After the wine has been in tirage from one to two years, the 

 bottles are placed on clearing tables (Fig. 411), or A-shaped 

 racks, the neck of the bottle pointing downward. In order to 

 throw the sediment, which has formed during the fermentation, 

 down upon the cork, the workmen turn or shake each bottle daily 



