FARMERS' REGISTER— WINE MAKING. 



477 



color the must. Tlie grapes are gently arranged 

 bv' hand in the jjress, and when it is full, they are 

 pressed down, though not very hard, Avithout their 

 having been previous]}^ mashed. The juice thus 

 obtained, has at this time a little color; but this is 

 deposited in the bottom with the lees. It is then 

 put into casks, and treated afterwards in the same 

 manner, as according to the other process above 

 doscribed. Before it is put into the casks, the 

 strength of the must should be tried, and such su- 

 gar added as may be needed. In order to have 

 tiie wine effervesce, it must be carefully excluded 

 from the air as much as practicable, the vessels 

 kept full, bunged very close, and after it has been 

 drawn from its first lees, it should be twice fined 

 with the white of eggs, or isinglass, at short inter- 

 vals of time, so as to be able to bottle it in March. 

 Very strong bottles should be selected lor this pur- 

 pose; the champagne ones being made for the ex- 

 jiress purpose, arc probably the best. The corks 

 should be of the very best quality", and fastened 

 down with wire, or tied over with bladder, which 

 answers both purposes of wire and wax. 



Wine made in this manner is necessarily more 

 costly than according to the other, for three rea- 

 sons: — much more care and attention are required 

 during the process; it is made of the ripest and 

 most perfect juice; and lastly, because only a por- 

 tion of it (about one-half) can be obtained by this 

 process; for, on unscrewing the ])ress, it is found 

 that only the ripest berries are broken; all the 

 others, though ripe enough for the usual purpose 

 of making wine, are left entire. The contents of 

 the press have then to be passed throug-h the rol- 

 lers, or to be otherwise mashed, and put into the 

 vat with the rest of the crop. This wine, when 

 made with all due care, is nearly colorless, and, 

 whether it is made to efTervesre, as champagne, 

 or not, is a very delicate and pleasant liquor, not 

 liaving any of the astringency of colored wines. 

 I have reasons to believe, that under certain cir- 

 cumstances, a small quantity of sugar-candy, 

 about half an ounce per bottle, is added at the 

 time of bottling it. This may add to its briskness, 

 as it does to its taste. It is surprising to observe 

 the difierence between this colorless wine and the 

 other made at the same time and with the same 

 grape, the latter being fermented in the vat for 

 twenty-four to thirty-six hours, more or less, as 

 circimistances may require. Those which I make 

 with my Madeira, which is a very suitable grape 

 Jbr the purpose, have apparently no points of re- 

 semblance. 



Rather than interrupt the description of the 

 usual process of making wine, I have not inserted 

 in its proper place, a subject on which writers as 

 well as practical men, do not yet agree. It is whe- 

 ther it is best to separate the berries from the 

 stems, or to leave these and ferment the whole 

 together. It is very probable that in this, as on 

 most subjects of difierence, both sides are right in 

 particular circumstances. The advocates for 

 stemming the grape, say, that by this operation, 

 the wine is more delicate, and has none of the 

 roughness imparted to it by the stems in the other 

 mode of proceeding, and that the skins and seeds 

 are sufficient to give it a due degree of astringency. 

 The other party say, that the wine ferment<^d with 

 the stems is much more durable, and that its 

 rouohnes'S disappears in a great degree as the wine 

 acquires age, and that the greater quantity of 



tannin which it has acquired from the stems, and 

 which pi-oduces its astringency, renders it a more 

 tonic and wholesome wine, as well as a more du- 

 rable one. Both are certainly correct to a certain 

 extent, and where tlie grapes acquire a sufficient 

 richness to make a desirable wine without the 

 stems, as is generally the case in warm countries, 

 it is certainly more pleasant to the taste, and where 

 the grapes are deficient, the stems are properly left 

 to add the very desirable quali!}^ of durability to it. 

 When, therefore, it is desirable to stem the grapes, 

 it is well to be informed of the speediest manner 

 of doing it. Of the various ways which I have 

 read of and tried, the following appears to me en- 

 titled To the preference. The grapes are thrown 

 into a box, the bottom of which is made of canes, 

 or narrow strips of wood, crossing each other so as 

 to leave open squares of about three-fourths of an 

 inch. This box being placed over a small vat or 

 large tub, hogshead, or the like, the grapes are 

 rubbed by hand hard against the bottom, by which 

 means the berries fiill through and the stemsbeing 

 well shaken, are thrown into an empty vessel rea- 

 dy to receive them. These may be afterwards 

 mashed and help to fill the vinegar cask. Some 

 considerable time will be saved, when the grapes 

 are stemmed, by placing the riddle or stemming 

 box over the ho'pper of the rollers; for the berries, 

 though a good deal mashed and bruised by the 

 operation "of stemnnng, are not sufficiently so. 

 This operation adds a great deal to the time and 

 trouble, at a season when both are precious. 



It will perhaps be objected to my process of 

 making wine, that, as I add some sugar to it, it is 

 not the' pure juice of the grape. True; but if the 

 fruit is not sufficiently rich in saccharine matter, it 

 seems to me allowable to supply the deficiency. It 

 has been observed before, that the grapes of old 

 vines are richer than those of young ones. The 

 deficiency of sugar is therefore correcting itself 

 gradually every year. Besides this, some seasons 

 being very wet and cool, do not produce as rich a 

 fruit as more dry and hot ones do; and it is Avell to 

 know how to remedy the defect. Some persons 

 recommend to supply the deficiency by the addi- 

 tion of brandy, which, I think, is objectionable— 

 unless, perhaps, it be added before fermentation, 

 when it is possible a chemical mixture may be the 

 consequence; whereas, if it be added after the fer- 

 mentation is over, the mixture is only mechanical. 

 Whether it is prejudice in me or not, I think it 

 is always injurious to the wine to add brandy to 

 it, unless it be done at the beginning of the process; 

 and a great deal of it is probably evaporated dur- 

 ing the fermentation. My little experience tells 

 me, that spirits, either mixed with water or with 

 wine, attack the nerves, and are productive of 

 many disastrous consequences to health, destroy- 

 ing the tone of the stomach, &c. I have always 

 been of opinion that brandy is never added to wme 

 in France, unless it be to prepare it and make it 

 suitable for certain markets abroad. I never have 

 read any book, or seen any person having any 

 knowledire on the subject, but denied stoutly such 

 addition ^beino: made for home consumption, until 

 very lately, when I read in the "Manual of the 

 Wine Drinker," (anew book,) that, in the neigh- 

 borhood of Bordeaux, a certain kind of spirit, call- 

 ed "trois-six,' is put into the wine in sjiecified 

 quantities; and about the same time I saw a lady, 

 who is the owner of vineyards in that country, 



