No. 7. 



The Vintage in France. 



209 



dress, get their guns ready, and let loose 

 tlicir dog-5, which run about in every direc- 

 tion, skipping and yelping with joy. The 

 signal is given, the stirrup-cup is drunk, tlie 

 vintagers take up their baskets, the scuUlers 

 strap on their scuttles, and the troop puts 

 itself in motion. It is composed generally 

 of ten to a hundred, and somclimes as many 

 as three hundred persons, who walk arm in 

 arm. Arrived at the vinci^ard, the carter, 

 with his enormous vat, stops on the outside, 

 while every vintager, having his section of 

 the vineyard, is put between two of the trel- 

 lises, and then the work begins. The grapes 

 fall into the baskets as if by enchantment; 

 if there are any small children among the 

 workers, they follow as a rear-guard to 

 glean; that is, to gather the bunches that 

 have been overlooked and pick up the grapes 

 that may have fallen on the ground. A 

 manager or overseer follows the work every 

 where with his eye, urging on the slow, and 

 restraining those who are too rapid to do 

 their work well. The scattlers, as running- 

 porters, are constantly going and coming be- 

 tween the vat and the vintagers. In the 

 mean time, the sportsmen have taken their 

 station on the summit of the hill, and there 

 wait for the game which is roused by the 

 labourers. Shot resounds on all sides, the 

 barking of dogs answer, and at every explo- 

 sion the vintagers stop their work to look up 

 and ascertain whether the shot has been 

 lucky or unlucky. In the first case they 

 give a shout of applause; in the latter they 

 laugh at the awkward sportsman. 



At noon a repast, consisting only of grapes, 

 bread, and cheese, is made upon tire grass. 

 At this everyone has his boa mot ready, and 

 tells his little story. Lovers slap each other 

 with no very light blows upon the shoulders, 

 push each other with elbow or knee, and 

 pinch one another till they cry out. These 

 are the three principal signs among these 

 country lovers; the three principal articles 

 in their code of gallantry. When evening 

 comes, the band return to town in the order 

 in which they left it, and repair again to the 

 house of the proprietor, who distributes to 

 eacli one his ten or twelve sous and a small 

 loaf, nothing more. With that the vintager 

 sups as he wishes, or rather as he can. 

 Generally, however, from economy, he goes 

 to bed, upon the principle that "he who 

 sleeps dines." This proverb could never 

 have been invented by a restaurateur. 



Burgundy, during the season of the vint- 

 aare, affords one of the most picturesque 

 scenes that can be imagined. Every hill is 

 covered with a moving, motley papulation. 

 The echoes send back their joyous shouts. 

 All nature seems to enjoy a holiday. The 



game alone finds it a season of tribulation. 

 Surrounded on all sides, it wanders here 

 and there, like an exile driven from the do- 

 mestic hearth. It is to the tlirusi), particu- 

 larly, that the vintages are fatal. That spe- 

 cies of bird, the flesh of wliich is as delicious 

 as tliat of the ortolan, is fond of vineyards, 

 for it prefers grapes to all other food. It 

 eats them in such quantities that it becomes 

 as fat as a quail, and as drunk as — a thrush. 

 The saying is proverbial. But, though they 

 are great drunkards, they ought not to be 

 killed when they cannot stand up; the poor 

 little birds lose their senses entirely, and 

 know not whither to fly. Sometimes they 

 are caught by the hand. 



But now, that the grapes are gathered and 

 the vintage over, let us see what remains to 

 be done to obtain the wine. If the grapes 

 are of the white kind, and intended for white 

 wine, they arc carried immediately to the 

 press-house. Thus are called the vast barns 

 in which is fixed a sort of press composed of 

 immense beams, which are lowered or raised 

 by means of a screw moved by a wheel, 

 which is turned by ten or twelve persons. 

 Between the upper and lower beams are 

 fixed two wide tables or platforms, on the 

 lower of which the grapes are placed, and 

 as the beam descends these are crushed and 

 the juice flows into a basin. From thence 

 it is poured into scuttles by means of large 

 buckets, and the scuttlers empty it into the 

 casks prepared for it. The residuum of the 

 grapes thus pressed is called lees. The 

 lees become so compact from the pressure, 

 that they are obliged to cut them with an 

 axe. After two or three pressings they arc 

 sold to tiie distiller, who makes from them 

 that peculiar kind of brandy which the sol- 

 diers, in their emphatic language, call sacrc 

 chien. 



The grapes intended for red wine, are put 

 into an enormous vat, where they are left to 

 ferment for a w"eek, for it is by fermentation 

 that the juice of the grape, naturally v/hitish, 

 takes the red colour of its skin. To hasten 

 the fermentation, the grapes are crushed by 

 means of a hammer or maul, and men are 

 sent entirely naked into the vat, where they 

 trample them with their feet. They come 

 out from the vat of the colour of boiled lob- 

 sters. This kind of bath is reputed to be 

 very strengthening, and is sometimes recom- 

 mended to sickly constitutions. When the 

 fermentation is in full activity it boils up 

 with a dull heavy sound, enough to make 

 one shudder. The quicker the fermentation 

 the better the quality of the wine. If the 

 harvest has been bad, they throw common 

 sugar into the vat, which maker it better-. 



The day on which the grapes are put to 



