148 AMERICAIT GRAPE GROWING 



kept up, that the laborers do not drop crumbs of bread, 

 etc., among the grapes, as these will cause acetous fermen- 

 tation. The weather should be dry and fair, and the 

 grapes dry when gathered. 



MAKING THE WINE. 



The apparatus being all ready, we can commence opera- 

 tions, and here we must know, first and foremost, what 

 kind of wine we intend to make, whether light-colored 

 and smooth, or dark-colored and astringent. The char- 

 acter of the wine depends chiefly on its fermentation on 

 the husks, although of course we cannot make an entirely 

 white wine out of a grape with very dark juice, nor a red 

 wine, except by artificial coloring, out of a white grape, 

 or one with very light-colored juice. The general rule 

 is, however, that fermentation draws acid, tannin, color, 

 and flavor out of the skins and stems, so that if we desire 

 to develop the greatest amount of these, we must let the 

 must remain longer on the husks ; if, on the contrary, 

 we desire a mild, smooth wine, it should not ferment long 

 on the husks. Many of the red wines of Europe are left 

 on the husks for several months, and the wine is drawn 

 from them when it is about finished. 



To make white, or light-colored, smooth wine, the 

 grapes which were gathered and mashed during the day 

 can be pressed and put into the cask during the following 

 night. The mill is placed above the fermenting vat, 

 and the grapes are mashed as soon as they are carried in, 

 or hauled to the press house. The vat is covered with a 

 cloth during the day. If the season has been good, and 

 you have a perfect grape to deal with, such a one as has 

 all the ingredients of a good wine in the proper propor- 

 tions, it will make good wine without any other addition. 

 If not, sugar, or sugar and water, must be added, but I 

 will speak of this in a separate chapter. With the Con- 

 cord grape, many make both a white and a red wine. The 



