WINE 1141 



grapes are bruised in a small -wooden mill. When it is intended to make red wine, tho 

 gr.apes mashed by this process are allowed to stand for two or three days, and are then 

 pressed, jn order that the colouring-matter in the skins may be absorbed by the grape 

 juice or 'must.' A sample of good Catawba wine examined by Dr. Chapman -was 

 found to contain 11 '5 per cent, of alcohol. 



Large quantities of sparkling wine are made at Cincinnati, and at St. Louis, and 

 sold as sparkling Catawba. 



GERMANY. The principal wine-producing districts of Germany are situated in the 

 Khine valley and its tributaries ; the chief vineyards being in the narrow portion of the 

 river known as the Eheingau, between Mainz and Assmannshausen. The generic name 

 of Hock, given to the produce of this district in England, is derived from Hockheim, 

 which is, however, not on the Ehine, but on the north bank of the Main, about 3 miles 

 east of Mainz. The fine wines of the Eheingau are among the most perfect products 

 of the wine-grower's skill ; being remarkable for their delicate flavour and bouquet. 

 The first place is held by the low vineyards of Steinberg, belonging to the Prussian 

 Government and Schloss Johannisberg, the property of Prince Metternich. The prac- 

 tice of allowing the grapes to become dead ripe before gathering prevails here, in the 

 same manner as described in the picking of the fine wines of Sauternes. The other 

 principal centres of production in the Rheingau are at Eudesheim, Marcobrunn, and 

 Geisenheim. - ; At Assmannshausen and Ingelheim, red wines are produced from a Bur- 

 gundy grape. Other red wines are made at Runkel, on tho Lahn, and more particu- 

 larly in the valley of the Ahr, which, under the names of Walportzheimer and Ahr- 

 bleichart, is in considerable demand for local consumption at Bonn, Cologne, and other 

 towns on the lower Ehine. 



The principal vineyards of the Moselle are situated between Trier (Treves) and 

 .Coblentz, the villages giving their names to the best known growths, being Zeltingen, 

 Piesport, and Brauneberg. The wines resemble those of the Ehine valley, but are lighter, 

 and have less flavour. They mature quickly, but will not keep .for any length of time. 



A considerable amount of effervescing wine is produced at various manufactories 

 (SchaumweinfabriK), at Coblentz, and other places on the Ehine; both Ehenish and 

 Moselle wines being so treated. The natural deficiency of saccharine matter in the wine 

 is supplied by the addition of sugar. The so-called muscatel flavour of the sparkling 

 Moselle and Hock is mainly derived from the alcoholic infusion of elder-flowers. 



AUSTRIA. The total average vintage in Austria is estimated at 158,986,000 florins 

 = 3,974,650^., while the value of the wine production amounts only to 40,000,000 

 florins, or about 1,000,000^. sterling. 



The Austrian wines are on the average but of middling quality ; yet there are some 

 which can bear comparison with all but the very best Ehine, French, and Spanish 

 wines. The principal wines of Austria and Hungary are 



'Red wines,' grown at Erlan, Carlowitz, Szeksard, Buda, Adelsberg, Villau, and 

 St. Andre ; 



' Schiller wines,' a pale, reddish-coloured wine, grown at Erlan and Carlowitz ; 



' White wines,' grown at Pesth, Steinbruch-Berg, Totfaln, Moor, Teting, Voslan, 

 and Eust ; 



' Wines of the first press,' grown at Eust and Oedenburg. 



FRANCE. The chief wine-growing districts of France are Provence, Languedoc, 

 Eoussillon, Auvergne, Bourgogne, Saintonge, and Champagne, the rich valleys of the. 

 Gard, Herault, Garonne, Dordogne, the Loire and the Rhone, and the neighbouring 

 departments as far as the Pyrenees, the Hautes-Pyren^es, and the Pyr6nes-0rientales. 



The average production of wine per annum is between 40,000,000 and 42,000,000 

 hectolitres (of 22-0096 gallons English). 



The following account of the principal French wines is condensed from Viscount 

 Chelsea's Report on the Effects of the Vine Disease. He divides France into six 

 principal districts : 



1st. The southern, including Corsica, Eoussillon, Languedoc, and Provence. 



(a.) Corsican. Corsica produces both dry and sweet wines, but in quantities too 

 small for exportation. 



(b.) Eoussillon. These wines are produced exclusively in the Department of the 

 Pyrenees-Orientales, which contains about 125,000 aeres of vineyards. Sweet, dry, 

 and ordinary wines are equally abundant. Strong, rich in colour, and being generous, 

 they keep long, travel well, and are good for mixing 'with others. There are three 

 recognised varieties, 1st, those of Banyuls, of Collioure, and of Port Vendres, red 

 wines which generally improve with age : 2nd, those of Eivesaltes ; the greater portion 

 being ordinary wines of commerce, deep and brilliant in colour ; 200 acres alone 

 produce fine wines, as Muscat, Mandbes, Grenache, Malvoisie, and Eaneio: 3rd, 

 Perpignay ; the wines of this district will keep an indefinite time, and are sent to 

 North and South America. 



