WINE-MAKING IN CALIFORNIA. 335 



the case. Red wines however, will generally deposit and loose 

 a little of their color with age, and if well handled, can be 

 taken off clear. 



The conditions to be observed as to temperature, weather, 

 etc., are about the same as have been described in racking, in 

 fact bottling is racking, only into smaller receptacles, and for 

 greater convenience in handling small quantities for con- 

 sumption. 



The exact time when wine is ripe for the bottle, cannot be 

 determined generally, this must depend on its development. 

 Many wines are riper when a year old and more fit for bot- 

 tling, than others are at three years old. But it is hardly safe 

 to bottle even the most developed wine until it has passed 

 through its first summer, as a slight fermentation is apt to set 

 in, which must have entirely subsided, before it is fit for the 

 bottle. With very heavy, full bodied wines, it may take sev- 

 eral years. But when fully ripe, wine will develop and keep 

 better in bottles than in wood, as there is always some evapor- 

 ation through the pores of the latter, which is excluded in the 

 bottle. 



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