322 GRAPE CULTURE AND 



of perfection, has fully developed its flavor and bouquet, in 

 short, when it has arrived at full maturity. If bottled at that 

 period, it will retain these qualities and perhaps even improve 

 for some time, as it is made as near air tight as possible, but 

 we cannot expect any further improvement in casks, and it is 

 not a remunerative article to keep after this. 



Thus it often happens that a certain wine is older, that is 

 more developed, at six months or a year, than another is or 

 will be in three years; owing to the treatment it may have re- 

 ceived. Let us consider the means we have to age a wine, 

 in succession, and we will know better how to attain age as 

 soon as possible. 



Fermentation. Complete fermentation is certainly the first 

 step towards complete development; without it we cannot 

 expect to have a wine which will develop rapidly. If this 

 progresses regularly and thoroughly, not too fast or too slow, 

 so that the wine is dry in six to eight days from pressing, 

 there will be little trouble afterwards. Air treatment will do 

 a great deal to help this along, and should be applied, in red 

 wines by frequent foulage or stirring, in white wines by keep- 

 ing them in a well-regulated temperature, and if they show- 

 any sluggishness, by conducting air through them by the 

 D,Heureuse process, racking in the, manner indicated, by 

 letting the wine run through the faucet in a spiral manner, 

 or through the rose of a common watering pot, so that every 

 particle comes into contact with the air. Of course, this is 

 only to be applied while fermentation is still going on; when 

 this is over, it would work to the detriment of the wine, in- 

 stead of improving it. 



Temperature. This is an important agent in aging wine, 

 after it is thoroughly fermented. Wines kept at an even 

 temperature, summer and winter, will improve more and 

 faster, than those subjected to sudden changes. Hence the 

 difficulty of properly aging wines in very hot climates. 



