424: 



rOMESTIO ECONOMY. 



[CnAP. IV. 



bottling, Ly putting into ciicli lnu-rcl two ounces of isinglass, dissolved in !i 

 quart of wine." 



Cahoon's seedling yields the greatest quantity of juice. Mr. Gaboon's 

 motliod of making wine is to mix equal quantities of water v;ith the jniee 

 of the stalks, and to each gallon three and a half pounds fair quality of JN'ew 

 Orleans sugar, iilling the barrels quite full, and refining witii isinglass, 

 and allowing the wine to j-emain till spring, when it is l)0ttlcd. By adding 

 or diminishing the quantity of sugar, it will vary the strengtli of the wine 

 in the same projiortion. Tlic pure juice, without water, makes a very strong 

 wine l)y using four pounds of sugar to each gallon. Mr. Gaboon estimates 

 that 2,.5U0 gallons of wine can be made from an acre planted witli his seed- 

 ling. Sold at from $3 to Si a gallon, this Avould yield a return of $5,000. 



The fault of the above is the nin-cfined quality of the sugar. AYell-made 

 rhubarb wine will cease to ferment in about eight weeks, and then it should 

 be corked tightly, and kept one year undisturbed before bottling. In three 

 years it will become like a dry sherry wine. 



472. Bottling and CorkSt — Use none but strong, heavy bottles, and look to 

 your corks if you would have your wine keep. One of the greatest mis- 

 takes made by those who are new beginners in wine-making is the using of 

 poor corks ; they do not reflect that the common cork permits the air to 

 reach and destroy the wine. Besides this, a poor one can not be drawn 

 without breaking, and thus injuring the flavor of the wine. If wine-makers 

 would desire to have their wine keep well and taste well on opening, let 

 them never use any but the very best velvet corks. The use of the best 

 quality will more than doubly pay Ijy securing the wine from spoiling, and 

 retaining the flavor, which is often lost by a bad cork. 



Bottles should always be stored upon their sides, or in racks, M'ith the 

 corks down. If poor corks are used, they must be covered wiih sealing-wax. 



473. Wine of Graiics. — Most of the wine made in this country is barely 

 drinkal)le; what is called pure juice of the grape is often but little, if any, 

 better than very poor sour cider, and is not generally palatable to the com- 

 mon taste. In a trial of wine that I attended, a number of first-rate judges 

 of Avine finally settled upon a specimen of currant wine, as superior to any 

 of the sweetened specimens of grape juice; yet the concoctors of it label it 

 " pure juice of the grape," " fit for sacramental purposes and for the sick." 

 They insist that fermentation of sugar does not pi'oduce alcohol. They are 

 mistaken ; fermentation produces it, and distillation separates it. Tiiis 

 sugared wine is not pure — it is one fourth alcohol. Much of the imported 

 wine is sugared. Some of the best wine can not be imported ; we can not 

 move from place to place the very best wines made of pure grape juice. 



These sweetened beverages all lack one very essential element of wine, 

 and that is the gout, which all genuine grape wines j)osses3. Unfortunately, 

 with very few exceptions, American grapes have proved so deficient in 

 grape-sugar, that they would not make wine without adding cane-sugar, 

 which makes rum instead of brandy, which is the true spirit of wine. Some 



