ON THE ART OF MAKING WINZ. 18 



tation of foreign wines by circuitous means, as a 

 fruitless attempt. 



The last principle, that of flavour, is so uncer- 

 tain and fugacious, that it is difficult to establish 

 any general rules respecting it. In many grapes, 

 as those of Frontignan, the flavour of the fruit is 

 absolutely identified 'with the wine which they 

 yield ; but in all such cases the wine is sweet and 

 half fermented. The finer flavours of the supe- 

 rior wines, those of claret, hermitage and burgun- 

 dy, bear no resemblance to that of the fruit, but 

 are the result of the vinous process. In the 

 manufacture of many wines, recourse is had to 

 flavouring ingredients, such as orris-root, grape- 

 flowers, almonds, mignonette, a process which is 

 imitated in this country in the making of elder 

 and cowslip wines. If the flavour of fruits could 

 be transmitted with certainty to the wines, we 

 might expect similar results from the strawberry 

 and raspberry ; but the effect of fermentation is 

 generally such as to volatilize or destroy this de- 

 licate principle. Hereafter I shall point out a 

 probable method of attaining this object. 



If a knowledge of the circumstances which at- 

 tend and modify the intricate process of fermenfa- 

 tion, be necessary in the making of wine from the 

 grape, it is still more requisite to investigate the 

 various accidents and causes which may affect it, 

 ^hen the substances exposed to its action, are, 



