394 



FAllMERS' REGISTER. 



Champngne, after being put into circulation, pre- 

 serve their jjooil qualities Ibr ten years ; but when 

 they are kept in celinrs oC their native province, 

 which are t^upcrior Irom the nature oC the soil, 

 (beini; (luii oiii ol' he(l« ol" chulk,) they will conti- 

 nue L'Odd lor 20 or 30 years. 



The price of an ;icre ( 100 rorlf and 22 feet to 

 (he acie) of the best vine\ htiI trmunil in Chiini- 

 pnone. varies from 2000 lo 6000 livres; ihe vine- 

 yanis at Ay selliui; as hi;^h as 6000 livres. The 

 price; of an Mcre of ihe pecond quality varies from 

 3000 lo 3000 iivres. The ordmary expense ot 

 cuitinrr, hoeinrr, lieinir and priiiiia<r the viae-', is 

 80 livree the acre ; of occasinrinlly laopfiing piich 

 ns have fallen, 60 livre-' ; of prop?, 16 or 18 Hun- 

 tliePj 50 in each bundle. 30 livree ; liuuQ and car- 

 riaije of the vines. 42 ; five puncheons Ibr the pro- 

 duce of an acre, 50 Iivres ; expense of jjaihering. 

 pruning', &c., 46 livree; making a total exfiense 

 per acre of 308 Iivres?. With respect to the pro- 

 duce of nn acre of vineyard in Champagne, it is 

 generally understood, that taking 'he average of 

 10 viniagesa, five pieces or puncheons of vvino are 

 obtauied from every acre ; three of these are of 

 the first quality, or choice vvines!, and two of them 

 are ordinary wine?. Valuing the three pimcheons 

 of" t!ie best wine at 150 Iivres each, and the two 

 others at 50, the total produce will be 550 Iivres; 

 from which must be deducted, besides 30S livrets 

 (or labor, &c., the expense of botliing, cooperage, 

 and fining, 30 Iivres fi>r the best wines and six lor 

 the inlerior; the annual interest of the money laid 

 out in Ihe ground, 100 Iivres; tnxes, &c., 72; 

 making in all, vviih tiie labor, 516 Iivres ; which 

 being deducted from 550, leaves 34 Iivres as the 

 nei pioduce o\' an acreol vineyard in Champagne, 

 on an average of yearf. This net produce, how- 

 ever, it IS very difficult lo fix, as the wines of Ay, 

 Haul Vdlers. E;^eriiay, and Pierry, fi-equenily sell 

 lor 800 or 400 Iivres a piece, while some of the 

 oiher wines do not bring more than 90 or 100 

 Iivres. 



It has already been meniioiied. that this pro- 

 vince is equally liimous Ibr iis red wines, and Pome 

 parts of the process by which they are made have 

 been hinted at. To make red wine, the black 

 grapes in general are only jiicked and gatliered. 

 The juice is allowed to lerment, ami the degree of 

 fermentation is ascertained to ho. advantageous, 

 when a lighted candle cannot be held over the tub 

 without going out. When the fermeniaiion has 

 entirely ceaped, the punfheon is hermetically seal- 

 ed. About the end of December, and il possible 

 in dry weather, the wine is drawn off. About Ihe 

 middle ot' iMay, it is again drawn off. A pun- 

 cheon of red wine contains 240 bottles. In gene- 

 ral, the red wines of Haute Montague an; bottled 

 in the month of November, i. e., 13 months afier 

 ihe vintage. The wines ol St. Thierry can re- 

 main three or (bur yonvs on their lees. The best 

 red wines of Haute Montague, will keep in bot- 

 tles in good cellars (br six, eight, ten, or twelve 

 years. These cellars (already alluded to) are 

 Irom 25 to 40 feet in dcpih. Their temperature is 

 generally five degrees of Reaumur below that of 

 the aiiiiosfihere ; the variations are seldom above 

 half a degree. 



Tiie cost of an acre of vineyard, for red wine of 

 the best fluidity, varies from 900 Iivres to 2000. 

 That in Haute IMontagne bears the highest price; 

 the second class tells Irom 300 to 900 livrc. The 



annual expense of cultivating an acre of red wine 

 vineyard, including the expense of vintage and of 

 pruning, is about 200 Iivres. 



Such are the general details of the culture of the 

 vine in Champagne. There are many vineyards, 

 however, and pnriicularly in Si Thierry, where the 

 LTeater part of the vines are always raised lo the 

 height of about five feet, and supported by props 

 of oak six leet high, and an inch in diameier. 



The following are the classes of the white and 

 red wines of champagne. 



FIBST CLASS. 



White loines. 



A v. 



Haut Villers. 



Pieriy. 



Cramant. 



SECO?7D CLASS. 



Avernny 

 Epernay 

 Le Meuil 

 Avis. 

 Oger. 



1 onnere. 



Chaldy. 



Ludes. 



S;idu. 



Troispuils. 



Viiliers. 



THIRD CLASS. 



Hed wines. 



Veizieio. 



Vereiiiay. 



B'lrezy. 



Faist^y. 



Cuinieres. 



Maillj'. 



Damenay. 



Epernay. 



Rilly. 



Montbret. 



Ay. 



Pierry. 



Joigny. 



Tonnere. 



Chao'erj'. 



Ville Domage. 



P.uguy. 



SafHecomte. 



The first class comprises those wines which 

 have long been considered as luxuries at the 

 French, English, and Dutch tables ; the second 

 class compreheud-J wines, which are not much in- 

 lerior in flavor and quality lo those of ihe first 

 class; in the third class, are comprised the wines 

 most commonly used in France. 



As many of the details respecting the manage- 

 ments, &c. of the vineyards and wines of Cham- 

 pagne, are applicable to the other wine districts of 

 France, we shall be more concise in our observa- 

 tions respecting them. 



n. The vines in the Bordelais, and generally 

 in the higher Guienne and Gascony, are not sul- 

 lered to lie on ihe ground like those of Provence 

 and Lariijuedoc, but are supported by poles, some- 

 thing like hops in England. The wines produced 

 in ihis district, are distinguished info Medoc, Haut 

 Brion, Valence, St. Emilion, De Grave, &c. The 

 best Medoc wines, are Lafitte, Latour. and Mar- 

 gouz. Those of Vins de Grave, are Haut Brion, 

 Haut Valence, Morignac, Pessac, Laugon, Ville- 

 nave, &c. The Vin de Laugon, so called from a 

 small town near which it is made, is reckoned the 

 best of all the white wines ol the Bordelais, which 

 are included under the general name of Vins de 

 Grave, from the sandy and gravelly soil in which 

 the vines grow. It has very much of the claret 

 flavor. There are other sorts in difi'erent dislricts, 

 such as St. Julien, St. Manubert, Pouillac, St. 

 Laurent, Ludon, Ma9on, &c. Those which hold 

 the first rank among I he white wines, are Corbon- 

 nieux, Serous, Barsac, Prigniac, Saulerne, Baume, 

 &c. Of the white wine exported from this dis- 

 trict, the total annual amount qnay be from 85,00Q 



