AND WINE MAKING. 171 



made hundreds of such experiments, modifying the treat- 

 ment with the character of the variety. I know, there- 

 fore, wliereof I speak. Of course the above is an ex- 

 treme case ; but few varieties have so much flavor and 

 character as the Rulander, and the treatment which pro- 

 duced so fine a wine from this grape, would have made a 

 very flat ** Maxatawney," a grape which has but Httle 

 character. When making such experiments I made it a 

 rule always to keep some of the pure juice by itself, for 

 comparison, and the tests were, therefore, made with the 

 greatest fairness, and with but one aim, that is, to ascer- 

 tain how the best possible wine could be made from any 

 variety. Were I to give more of these experiments here, 

 my readers would, perhaps, be even more astonished than 

 I was, at the results ; but facts are stubborn, and can not 

 be controverted. Seeing, and in this instance, tasting, 

 is believing, and as I kept a very careful record of all 

 cellar operations, there could be no mistakes. 



I will here quote one of my first experiments made with 

 very imperfectly ripened Catawba grapes, made in 1865, 

 when that grape ripened very poorly, on account of mil- 

 dew and rot. I found, on testing the must, that it would 

 only show from 52° to 70°, while a normal Catawba must 

 should weigh at least 80° in good seasons. My calcula- 

 tions for making the additions which I knew were imper- 

 atively necessary, were based upon the following reasons : 

 If normal must weighs 80°, and this averages but 60°, 

 there is a deficiency of half a pound of sugar to the gal- 

 lon of must. But there should also be an excess of acid 

 of at least one-third, as the Catawba has a superabund- 

 ance of acid in even the most favorable seasons. I must, 

 therefore, add at least one-third more water to dilute 

 the acid, and to this water add 2 lbs. of sugar to each 

 gallon, so that the whole mixture will weigh 80°. I did 

 so, fermented all on the husks 36 hours, and the result 

 was a very fine, golden-colored Catawba, which I sold 



