ON THE ART OF MAKING WINE. 59 



follow the tendency which is pointed out by the 

 nature of the fruit. I have also reason to think 

 that much advantage would result from the use of 

 tartar in this case, by which, among other defects, 

 the ammoniacal taste so common in this wine 

 seems to be prevented. The proportion of tartar 

 need not be specified, as it has been mentioned be- 

 fore, and that of sugar is to be regulated by the 

 principles already laid down. With careful ma- 

 nagement, wines are thus produced from currants 

 not easily to be distinguished from the Colares of 

 Portugal, which, although not in the first class of 

 wines, is certainly superior to most of our domes- 

 tic manufactures. A considerable improvement 

 may be made in the fabric of all those wines pro- 

 duced from fruits of which the flavour is either 

 bad, or which possess no flavour at all ; and this 

 is by boiling the fruit previously to fermentation, 

 a practice which I have caused to be adopted in 

 currant wines with decided success. From this 

 treatment many tastless fruits acquire a flavour, as 

 is well known, and many bad flavours are convert- 

 ed into agreeable ones. In no case, perhaps, is 

 this more remarkable, than in the black currant, 

 which, harsh, and comparatively insipid in its natu- 

 ral state, acquires by boiling a powerful, and to 

 most persons a highly agreeable flavour. 



In making wine from this variety of currant, 

 the effects of this process are very remarkable ; the 



