274 GRAPE CULTURE AND 



life and bouquet, than vice versa. The best and choicest 

 French and European clarets are not noted for their depth of 

 color especially, but for their fine bouquet. This gives them 

 their value, and it is this in which the Italians, with their 

 naturally excellent product, are so far behind the French. 

 They are, perhaps, the most slovenly wine makers on the 

 face of the earth, and today prefer the Mission and Malvasia, 

 with their deep color and roughness, to the choicest red wine 

 grapes. Anything that will " scratch the throat," which is 

 rough and acid is good for them, and their wineries, where 

 everybody makes his own wine, are enough to shock the sen- 

 sibilities of any common man or woman, and create a pre- 

 judice against the use of wine. Let me not be understood, 

 however, as if there were not good and skillful wine makers 

 among them. But they are like angels visits, "few and far 

 between," and deserve all the more credit as honorable ex- 

 ceptions to the rule. 



Italy, as recently illustrated by Dr. Springmuchl, possesses 

 some of the choicest material in the world, yet it is generally 

 spoilt for want of proper management, and needs the manip- 

 ulation of the French, the great wine doctors par excellence, 

 to make it drinkable, and to introduce it to the world as 

 choice Bordeaux claret. 



The method above given is what the French call making 

 claret with f outage or frequent stirring, and, if closely watched, 

 will I think produce our choicest clarets and Burgundies, as 

 it will preserve all their freshness, and yet extract all the color 

 and tannin as well as the aroma. That a claret or Burgundy 

 can never be as delicate as a fine white wine will be evident 

 from the above. I have generally made some Zinfandel for 

 my own drinking, which I prefer to the darker colored and 

 rougher wines, and which has all that fine raspberry flavor 

 so characteristic to the grape. To make this I simply draw 

 some must from the bottom of the vat, after it has fermented 



