328 



FOOD AND FOOD ADULTERANTS. 



COMPOSITION OF AMERICAN WINES. 



The earliest analyses of American wines on record were made by 

 Merrick, 1 in 1875, comprising six varieties of California wines. 



In October of the same year Mallet and Cooper 2 published analyses of 

 twelve samples of Virginia wines. The mean of these analyses is given 

 in the table from Konig. 



The work of Professor Hilgard on California wines began in 1880 and 

 has continued down to the present day, the results being published in the 

 Bulletins of the Station. These publications include extensive series 

 of analyses, which afford a most valuable index of the composition of 

 California wines, especially as many of the analyses were made on wines 

 manufactured in the laboratory and hence known to be absolutely pure. 

 A standard of composition could very properly be established from them, 

 and a limit for the amount of each constituent present in pure wines, by 

 which the addition of alcohol, water, sugar, &c., in sophisticated wines 

 could be detected. The number of different determinations made ou 

 each sample is not very large, unfortunately, including only the more 

 important constituents. I give below tables of the entire work done 

 on wines known to be pure : 



Composition of wines made at the Titicultural Laboratory, 1884. 



'Amer. Chemist r>. 86. 



. \.-\\ > ::-'. Kin. 



