FARMERS' REGISTER— MAKING CHAMPAGNE WINE. 



435 



The sparkling white wine of Champagne is 

 made of black or white grapes of the first quality; 

 they are gathered with care, and cariied immedi- 

 ately, cautiousl}-, and without iaeing shaken to the 

 press: the)' are immediately crushed to prevent 

 the juice Irom fermenting and becoming colored. 

 The licjuor [iroduced by the first pressmg is kept 

 separate — this is the best (]uahty. 



Tlie wine is afterwards put into casks in which 

 the fermentation is etiected; about the middle of 

 December it is fined and racked; it is fined and 

 racked a second time about the month of JNIarch; 

 afterwards it is bottled and the corks are tied. 



Some months alter they proceed to the clearing, 

 (degnrgement) an important and delicate opera- 

 tion, the object of which is to remove the deposite 

 which is ibrmed in the bottles, and which injures 

 the transparenc}' of the liquor. 



The clearing is peribrmed in several different 

 manners, of which each merchant makes a secret; 

 this operation consists, generally, in bringing by 

 degrees towards the neck of the bottle the deposite 

 which is formed in the wine. When this deposite 

 is collected near the cork, that is suddenly drawn, 

 and the sediment permitted to escape, after which 

 tlie bottle is filled up again and corked anew; some 

 months after a second clearing is made, and sugar- 

 candy and brandy are added to the wine. 



It is not till after fifteen or eighteen months 

 after bottling, that the sparkling white wine is 

 supposed to have received the perfection requisite 

 for its exposure to sale. 



Such in a few words, gentlemen, is the general 

 process lor the preparation of the sparkling wines 

 of Champagne. M. Boyer enters into lengthened 

 details on the greater number of these operations, 

 and describes a new method of clearing, to which 

 many merchants give the preference. 



I have the honor to propose to you in the name 

 of the Committee of the Economical Arts, 



1st. That M. Boyer receive the thanks of the 

 society for his communication. 



2nd. To insert in the Bulletin an extract from 

 the memoir of M. Boyer. 



Approved in the sitting of 6th March, 1833. 

 Signed, 



iiERPiN, Reporter. 



ME3IOIK ON THE MAKIPfG OF THE SPARKLING 

 WHITE WINES OF AI. 



To make the sparkling white wines of Ai, the 

 ripest and soundest black grapes are gathered, 

 (the white being destined only for ordinary wine,) 

 rejecting such as are dry, rotten, or bruised, they 

 are put into large panniers which are carried on 

 the backs of horses, takinij care to cover them to 

 protect them from the heat of the sun: in the 

 courts or gardens near the press, these panniers 

 are set in the shade. 



If the sun heats the atmosphere too much, and 

 dries the grapes so as to occasion the commence- 

 ment of a fermentation, the panniers are slightly 

 watered; the object of the watering in this case is 

 to liinder the wine from turning yellow in the 

 making. 



Operations. 



To make the sparklino" white wine of Ai, the 

 grapes are not detaclied from the clusters. 



The vintage vat is first washed and well cleans- 



ed, and then the nuts and screws of the press are 

 carefuliy examined and well greased.* 



Alter these preliminary operations, the panniers 

 of grapes are brought to the press. The fi'uit is 

 poured into the vat on the evening, or sometimes 

 in the following morning after it is gatliered. The 

 press is filled according to its strength and dimen- 

 sions, that is to saj^, with from ahout twenty to 

 ibrty panniers; this operation is called forming and 

 filling a mai-c of grapes to make a sac. Forty 

 panniers of grapes yield from nine to ten pieces 

 (or casks) of white wine, each cask containing 

 two hundred bottles. 



When the filling is finished, three successive 

 pressings are given; each of these pressings lasts 

 fi'om twenty-five to thirty minutes, together an 

 hour and a half at most; a longer time would color 

 the wine. The juice which ttows spontaneously 

 from the grapes is called mere govte. 



For the second operation the press is loosened, 

 the surface of the liquor (or mi(st) is skimmed, 

 and all impurities removed, even the stems of the 

 clusters which have been pressed, and which 

 cover its surface: this skimming is repeated after 

 every pressing. 



The edges of the marc which, by the pressure, 

 is enlarged and misshapen, are trimmed; the trim- 

 mings are cast upon tlie mass; and tfien they pro- 

 ceed to a second and a third pressing. 



The wine produced by the first pressing is called 

 vin de pressoir en pur noir. As there is 7tiust still 

 remaining in these marcs they are trimmed again 

 and receive another pressing, which is called pre- 

 miere taille; the wine produced from it often enters 

 into that of the best quality (cZc choix;') it is allow- 

 ed to drain. The second pressing is called seconde 

 taille or vin de tisane. If a third pressing is given, 

 its product is a poor and harsh wine. 



At each pressing the grape juice fJows into a 

 small vessel, called the barlvn, placed for this pur- 

 pose under the press. The first pressings being 

 given, the must which proceeds from them is called 

 vin d'elite, vin de choix, and improperly de cuvee; 

 this vin d'' elite which has flowed into the barlon is 

 carried into a tub where it remains all night to 

 deposite its first lees, considered as the first fer- 

 mentation which does not take place till after the 

 pressing. It is now that the wine becomes white. 

 This first fermentation is indicated by the pre- 

 sence of a mucous or floating scum, called cotte, 

 which is formed on the surface of the miist; the 

 wine Avhich becomes clear allows the bottom of 

 the tub to be seen. After the pressing, (qu. fer- 

 mentation?) the wine is carried to be put into 

 puncheons, which have been fumigated with sul- 

 phur afler being well rinsed. At this moment, 

 and if there is occasion, the makers pour into the 

 cask a bottle of Cognac brand}', in order to give 

 the wine more body and to pre\-ent too great a 

 fermentation; by these means the maker obtains, 

 besides, the advantaire of preserving the luscious- 

 ness of the wine. The first pressing is set apart. 

 The two next pressings give the vin dc pressoir. 

 Afierwards comes the vin de rebechage, so called, 

 because the pressmen spade and break up, and 

 prepare for more complete draining (^emetisent^ 



* Tlie substance employed is a composition of oil 

 and mine de plomb, (a mineral resembling talc and of 

 which crayons are made) or soap alone is used, — Tr. 



