306 



CURING AND STORING. 



Another process is, after pouring in the 

 mixture for a ten-gallon cask, to beat up 

 the whites of two or three eggs into a 

 froth, put them into the cask, and with a 

 long stick mix them thoroughly with the 

 wine. In five or six days, draw the now 

 clarified wine off by a spigot, and without 

 shaking the cask at all, into a clean cask, 

 bung up and tin, to be drawn off into 

 glass m November or March. 



The more carefully your juice is strained, 

 the better the quality of sugar, and the 

 more scrupulously clean your utensils, 

 particularly your kegs, are, the purer and 

 better will be your wine. 



The best quality, when you gather your 

 own fruit, and make it yourself, costs you 

 only the price of the white sugar, and 

 when bottled will cost you in money 

 about twelve and a half cents a bottle. 



WINE, Currant. — The currants 

 should^ be fully ripe when picked; put 

 them into a large tub, in which they 

 should remain a day or two ; then crush 

 with the hands, unless you have a small 

 patent wine press, in which thev should 

 not be pressed too much, or the stems 

 will be bruised, and impart a disagreeable 

 taste to the juice. If the hands are used, 

 put the crushed fruit, after the juice is 

 poured off, in a cloth or sack and press 

 out the remaining juice. Put the juice 

 back into the tub after cleansing it, where 

 it should remain about three days, until 

 the first stages of fermentation are over, 

 -and removing once or twice a day the 

 scum copiously arising to the top. Then 

 put the juice in a vessel — a demijohn, 

 keg, or barrel — of a size to suit the 

 •quantity made, and to each quart add 

 .3 lbs. of the best yellow sugar, and soft 

 water sufficient to make a gallon. 



Thus, ten quarts of juice and 30 lbs. of 

 sugar will give you 10 gals, of wine, and 

 so on in proportion. Those who do not 

 like sweet wine can reduce the quantity 

 of sugar to two and a half, or who wish 

 it very sweet, raise to three and a half 

 pounds per gallon. 



The vessel must be full, and the bung 

 or stopper left off until fermentation 

 ceases, which will be in 12 or 15 days. 

 Meanwhile, the cask must be filled up 

 daily with currant juice leftover, as fer- 

 mentation throws out the impure matter. 

 When fermentation ceases, rack the wine 

 off carefully, either from the spiggot or 



by a syphon, and keep running all the 

 time. Cleanse the cask thoroughly with 

 boiling water, then return the wine, bung 

 up tightly, and let it stand 4 or 5 months, 

 when it will be fit to drink, and can be 

 bottled if desired. 



All the vessels, casks, etc., should be 

 perfectly sweet, and the whole operation 

 should be done with an eye to cleanli- 

 ness. In such event, every drop of 

 brandy or other spirituous liquors added 

 will detract from the flavor of the wine, 

 and will not, in the least degree, increase 

 its keeping qualities. Currant wine made 

 in this way will keep for an age. 



WINE, Gooseberry. — Pick and 

 bruise the gooseberries, and to every 

 pound, put a quart of cold spring water, 

 and let it stand three days, stirring it twice 

 or thrice a day. Add to every gallon of 

 juice three pounds of loaf sugar ; fill the 

 barrel, and when it is done working, add 

 to every twenty quarts of liquor, one 

 quart of brandy, and a little isinglass. The 

 gooseberries must be picked when they 

 are just changing color. The liquor ought 

 to stand in the barrel six months. Taste 

 it occasionally, and bottle when the sweet- 

 ness has gone off. 



WINE, Grape. — Take two quarts of 

 grape juice, two quarts of water, four 

 pounds of sugar. Extract the juice of 

 the grape in any simple way ; if only a 

 few quarts are desired, we do it with a 

 strainer and a pair of squeezers, if a larger 

 quantity is desired, put the grapes into a 

 cheese press made particularly clean, 

 putting on sufficient weight to extract the 

 juice of a full hoop of grapes, being care- 

 ful that none but perfect grapes are used, 

 perfectly ripe ^and free from blemish. 

 After the first pressing put a little water 

 with the pulp and press a second time, 

 using the juice of the second pressing 

 with the water to be mixed with the clear 

 grape juice. If only a few quarts are 

 made place the wine as soon as mixed 

 into bottles, filling them even full and 

 allow to stand in a warm place until it 

 ferments, which will take about thirty-six 

 hours usually ; then remove all the scum, 

 cool and put into a dark, cool place. If 

 a few gallons are desired place in a keg, 

 but the keg must be even full, and after 

 fermentation has taken place and the scum 

 removed, draw off and bottle, and cork 

 tight. 



