476 



FARMERS' REGISTER— WINE MAKING. 



has been raised, is to be depressed down into the 

 more hquid part at the bottom. This is deemed 

 necessary, lest the top having immediate access to 

 the air, should become too acid and impair the 

 quality of the wine. I usually stir and push it 

 down twice in about twenty-lour hours. The vat 

 being provided with a large code, two or three 

 inches above its bottom, this serves to draw oil all 

 the liquor that will run out without pressure, and 

 it is at once put into the casks ready to receive it. 

 Tlie remaining contents ol' the vat are then carried 

 to the press to extract all tlie juice, and this last is 

 either mixed with the former, or is put into sepa- 

 rate vessels; for tliat from the press is more astrin- 

 gent than that which has run freely fi-om the vat. 

 When only a small quantity of wine is made, it is 

 not usual to keep these two qualities separate, as 

 it gives a great deal of additional trouble to have 

 two sets of vessels, the contents of which are to 

 be kept always separate. The casks into which 

 this must is put, (for it is not yet wine,) are not 

 filled by about three or four inches, according to 

 their sizes. The object of this is to allow room 

 for the continued fermentation, and prevent loss by 

 the must running over. The bung holes are then 

 covered by iwo or three vine leaves and loaded 

 with a double handful of moistened sand. Some, 

 instead of this, use small bags full of sand. Either 

 act as a valve that will rise if the fermentation is 

 violent, and suffer carbonic acid gas to escape. It 

 is yet the opinion of some persons that the casks 

 should be filled up, so that the rismg of the fi-oth 

 and other matter excited by the fermentation, 

 should run out of the cask; but the only difference 

 that I ever could find is, that in the latter case, 

 eome of the wine is lost with the foam, &c.: 

 whereas, by the former process, it settles to the 

 bottom and adds that much to the lees. The fer- 

 mentation will go on for two or three weeks, de- 

 creasing gi'adually in energy, till at last it is insen- 

 sible, and is no longer heard by apjjlying the ear to 

 the cask. When this is the case, the casks are to 

 be filled up to within about an inch of the top, and 

 the bung driven in close. In this state great care 

 is to be taken, and the casks visited at first often, 

 aA)out twice a day, lest the fermentation increasing 

 should burst the cask or produce some leaks. The 

 better to guard against this, a gimlet hole is made 

 within an inch or two' of the bung, and stopped 

 .with a peg that can be loosened and taken out for 

 a moment occasionally, at the frequent visits to the 

 casks. The taking out of this peg for a minute 

 allows the escape of the gas, and precludes all dan- 

 ger. The whole is finally left undisturbed for six 

 or eight weeks, except that the casks are of\en 

 filled up; for as the fermentation increases the bulk 

 of the liquor, the vessel, which should be kept fldl, 

 must be filled up when it has subsided. After 

 this, taking advantage of a clear cold day, the 

 wine is to be drawn off its first lees, and put into 

 other casks which must have undergone a due 

 preparation to receive it. The fumigation with a 

 sulphur match is by no means to be omitted here; 

 for it is then more necessary than at first. Its ob- 

 ject is, besides purifying the air contained in the 

 cask, to prevent an undue renewal of the fermen- 

 tation, towhichthe wine is liable after beingstirred, 

 and thus exposed to the atmospheric air. Until 

 this period the must, in its progress to becoming 

 wine, is very harsh and unpalatable, and, to a per- 

 son not accustomed to it, it would seem that it has 



spoiled, and never can make good wine. It has 

 now, however, become very pleasant, palatable 

 and wholesome, although its fermentation is not 

 fully completed. It becomes again, at certain pe- 

 riods, as if about to spoil and turn to vinegar; but 

 the owner, or his substitute, need not be alarmed; 

 for it is only produced by a slight renewal of fer- 

 mentation, which though not otherwise perceptible, 

 has in reality produced this effect, which will have 

 disappeared in a few days, or a week or two, with 

 an evident improvement of the wine. These pe- 

 riods of renewed fermentation are said to be, first 

 when the sap rises in the vine in the spring, se- 

 cond when it is in bloom, and then, when tlie fruit 

 is acquiring its maturity. Although these are the 

 observations of illiterate men, who attribute to 

 these periodical circumstances of the vine the re- 

 newed fermentation of tfic wine, the fact is true, 

 though the cause must be looked for elsewhere; 

 probably that which affects the vine and that 

 which afl'ects the Avine, are the same changes in 

 the temperature of the atmosphere, together with 

 the state of the wine. 



The above described manner of making wine is 

 the general practice founded on experience from 

 time immemorial. (I must except the addition of 

 sugar, which is not done in Europe, except by 

 very ihw; and this is probably the reason that their 

 wines vary more in quality, according to the sea- 

 sons, than would otherwise be the case.) There 

 are, however, many alterations, probably improve- 

 ments, lor the purpose of varying the quaUties and 

 properties of the wine. If a highly colored wine 

 is desired, and this is much regarded in France, it 

 is suffered to ferment longer in the vat. The color- 

 ing matter is obtained from skins by fermentation, 

 which also extracts from the stems and seeds an 

 astringent principle, which is very manifest in all 

 red wines, and strongly marked in port. This as- 

 tringency is certainly one of the good qualities of 

 wine, when not in excess. I believe, that for one 

 cask of white wine that is made in France, one 

 thousand of red is produced. Some of the white 

 wines are, however, more pleasant to delicate pa- 

 lates, (I mean generally, for there are many ex- 

 ceptions,) and in some cases, are as wholesome, 

 though their properties are difl'erent. The best 

 white wines, if we except a very few of the 

 choicest kinds, are probably those made of black 

 grapes, of which champagne is the most noted, 

 fn making these wines, great precautions are ne- 

 cessary to prevent their acquiring any degree of 

 color from the skin. It is according to the process 

 of making champagne, that I make a white wine 

 of my Prladeira grape, which is known to a few 

 gentlemen in Baltimore, and to many in Soutli 

 Carolina. The process is as follows: the grapes 

 being fully ripe, and the Aveather favorable, the 

 gathering commences as early as possible, by day 

 break if ])racticable, (or it ought to be discontinued 

 by the middle of the day, unless the sky is cloudy, 

 fiir fear the heat of the sun should tinge the juice. 

 They are gathered and picked with uncommon 

 care, so as not to bruise them and leave no rotten 

 berries in the bunches, the finest of which are se- 

 lected. As fast as the baskets of the gatherers 

 arc filled, they are very carefully and gently emp- 

 tied into the press, if near enough, if not, into tubs to 

 be carried to it by men; taking the utmost |irecau- 

 tion lest they should be bruised by either removal, 

 lor fear the fermentation should commence and 



