6 ON THE ART OF MAKING WINE. 



is converted into the malic acid is questionable, 

 The presence of tartar is the circumstance which 

 most strongly distinguishes the grape from all the 

 fruits which have been applied to the making of 

 wine. In this fruit, it exists in the greatest quan- 

 tity before ripening, and a portion of it disappears 

 during this process. From this peculiarity of the 

 grape, the practice has been introduced of mixing 

 tartar with those washes, which makers of sweets 

 intend for the basis of their wines ; and from it I 

 have also derived the practice of mixing tartar 

 with those native fruits which are deficient in this 

 substance ; a practice which has been attended 

 with the best results. The details of this practice 



will be treated of hereafter in their proper place. 



% 



The effect of the malic acid, another of the' 

 enumerated ingredients in fruits, is very different 

 from that of tartar, inasmuch as it has been found 

 injurious to the fabrication 1 of wine. It is remark- 

 ed, that all wines which abound in malic acid 

 are of a bad quality, although in many cases it has 

 not been determined, whether this acid was an ori- 

 ginal ingredient in the fruit, or whether it was not 

 generated during the process of fermentation." 



In either case, since its existence in wine is found 

 to be injurious, it is important to attend to this fact, 

 as our native fruits seem all to be characterized by 

 an excess of malic acid. This is perhaps one of 

 the most fundamental and least corrigible defects in 

 our domestic wines. To render the nature of this 



