FARMERS' REGISTER 



395 



to 90,000 tons. From 20,000 to 25,000 tons used 

 \o tro to I lie French colonial seiilemenis in the 

 East and West Indies. About iin equal qunntiiy 

 was exported to Normandy and Flanders. Those 

 that are called crude wines ol' Medoc, are ai- 

 inost all exported to England. The red wines 

 of Haul Biion, Valence, and in <reneral those 

 named De Grave, are sent to Holland, Ham- 

 burg, and (he Hanse towns. The hesi red 

 wines of JMontferdt go to Holland. Those of 

 interior quality, used to go to the French colonies, 

 or the wesiern deparinienle of the kingdom. The 

 while wines ol" Grave, Carbonnieux, Marlillac, 

 Loesnan, &c. are sent to Denmark, Sweden, and 

 ihe Ualtic ; but the best of these go in bottles to 

 Paris. The red wines of St. Macaire, (brmerly 

 went in pari. Ibr the use ol' the l*'rench navv, pari- 

 ly to Briiiany and Normandy, the rest to Bremen 

 and Lubec. 



III. Throughout Provence and Languedoc, the 

 souche, or stem of the vine, is never suffered to 

 grow higher than about two leet li-om the ground. 

 The shoots of the year are always cut down to 

 ihe stem soon afier the vintage. The new shoois 

 put forih every year, are of an amazing length. 

 The grapes grow in a large cluster round the ruois 

 of them, and are shaded by the shoots as by an 

 umbrella. The cutiinijs ol the vinq are made into 

 faiiizols for fuel. The vintage begins about the 

 middle of September. The ordinary wines of Pro- 

 vence are not held in much estimation; hut there 

 are some of a superior quality, the Muscat wines 

 in particular, which are liiile infrrior to Fronti- 

 gniac. Roquevarre, noi lar from Nans, is famous 

 jbr Muscat graphs. Great quantities are dried lor 

 raisins. A wine is made in many parts of Pro- | 

 vence, called Vin cuit. It is not the produce of! 

 any particular kind of fruit, but made from any ! 

 common white irrape, the juice beinij boiled after 

 ii is pressed, till it is reduced about a fourth, which 

 gives it a richness and sweetness, not to be ob- 

 tained by any other process. The Muscat wines 

 are boiled in like maimer, as are also the evyeet 

 wines. The process of wine-making is very ne- 

 gligently perjbrmed in Provence in general; ihere 

 is no selection of grapes ; red, white, ripe and un- 

 ripe, are pressed promiscuously loaeiher. The 

 method of |)ressing is very rude and simple. A 

 man, and commonly iwo or three children, pull ofl' 

 their shoes and siockinirs, and jump into tlie vats, 

 where they trample on the grapes till all the wine 

 is pressed oiu. The only sort of grape used lor 

 drying, besides the Muscat, is a large white grape 

 called the Pause. Four or five bunches ol' the 

 I'ruit are tied together, and then dipped into a cal- 

 dron of ley of wood ashes and water, as it is boil- 

 ing over ihe lire, till the grapes look streakv. 

 "Without this process, ihey would turn black and 

 wi;her when laid out to dr}'^, instead of retaininir 

 their sweetness and moisture. After the dipping, 

 they are hung upon a line Ibr 24 hours, and then 

 separated, anil spread upon a sort of hurdle made 

 of reeds, which is laid out in the sun all day, but 

 taken in at night, to protect the fruit from the dew. 

 An excellent sweetmeat is made in Provence, and 

 in other parts of France, by boiling down the juice 

 and pulp of the "irape, Ireed from the skins and 

 stones, till it becomes a rich syrup, wlien slices o! 

 melon, lemon, pears, Sec. arc preserved in it. It 

 goes by the name of confiture raisinee. 

 IV. The province of Burgundy, iu the opinion 



of many, produces the choicest of the French 

 wines. Tlie best is made at Baom, Nuiiz, Ro- 

 manee, Premeau, Chamberlin, Belz, Coulanue, 

 Chassane, Volenay, Ma9on, and Clos- Vougeot. 

 V. Wine is also the produce of many other parts 

 of France. A great deal of the wines made in 

 the Beaujolais, are sold under the name of MaQon. 

 The wines of Anjoii and Orleannois are thick and 

 heady. Auvernat, commonly called Casse Tiiille, 

 is made at Orleans, and is a full good wine. An- 

 other Orleans white wine is Genetin. Poitou pro- 

 duces a tolerably good white wine, which resem- 

 bles Rhenish. Hermitage is ihe produce of a 

 vine, which is grown u|)on the banks of the Rhone, 

 bctv\een Valence and St. Valliere. Near this also, 

 the Cole rati is made. It takes its name from the 

 hill on which the vines grow, being lully exposed 

 to the warm rays of the south sun, which contri- 

 butes so much to the excellence of the wine. The 

 average yearly produce is nearly 1000 hogsheads. 

 The true Vin de Cahors, which has a great repu- 

 tation, is the produce of a range of vineyards, very 

 rocky, on a ridge ol' hills to the south of Cabors, 

 and is called Vin de Grave, because growing on a 

 gravelly soil. The wine of Condrieaux, a small 

 town in the Lyonnois, on the banks ol' the Rhone, 

 about seven leagues from Lyons, is very much es- 

 teemed. The original plants from which iJiis wine 

 is made, were, according to tradiiion, brouirht from 

 Dalmatia, by order of the Emperor Probus. 



Luscious wines and liqueurs are common in 

 otliHr parts of France, as well as Provence, of 

 which those of Crotat and St. Laurent are the 

 most esteemed. Froiitigniac, a town in the de- 

 partment of the Herault", is remarkable lor its ex- 

 cellent muscadine wines. They are the most per- 

 lt;ci, and the best adapted for keeping. Lunel, ail 

 old town in the department ol'lhe Garo, is another 

 place, in the viciniiy of which muscat crapes are 

 cultivated in great (juaniiiies, the soil beinij pecu- 

 liarly suited to them. The muscadine ol Lunel 

 is of a more delicate flavor than Frotitigniac, but 

 it will not keep so wel!. The muscat grapes grown 

 here are also dried, and are s^-nt all over Europe. 

 They are called in the country passerilles. Au- 

 bagne, between Marseilles and Toulon, |)roduces 

 also muscadine wine. The Malvolsie d'' jlubagne, 

 as it is called, is particularly celebrated. The 

 muscadine of Rivesaltes. a town in the depart- " 

 ment of the Eastern Pyrenees, is richer tinji 

 either Frontigniac or Lunel. and comes very near 

 the Cape wine. Bezieres is of a quality inferior 

 to Rivesaltees, Frontigniac, and Lunel. Lujueurs 

 of various sorts are made in different pari.s of 

 France. Those of Montpeliier are most es- 

 teemed. In the beginning of the last century, 

 France exported, upon an average of five years, 

 fiom the year 1720 to 1725, annuailv, wine to the 

 amount ol 20,880,200 livres; in 1778, the expor- 

 tation amounted to 24,570,170; in 1778, to 33,- 

 032,100. The revolution nearly annihilated the 

 exportation of French wines. 



The brandies made in France, are esteemed 

 the best in Europe. They are distilled in every 

 part of the kingdom where vines are grown ; and 

 in the distillation, not only wines of an infi^'rior, but 

 also those of the best quality, are used. The 

 brandies most celebrated, or made in the irreaiest 

 quantities, are those of Bourdeaux, Rochelle, Cog- 

 nac, Charente, Isle of Rhe, Orleans, the country 

 of BlsGcis, PoitoHj Tourraine, Anjou, Nantea-^ 



