154 



The Gra'pe Culturist. 



WINE RACKING. 



[Essaj- read bJ-fore the Nauvoo Wine (j 



It has often been asked, " when is 

 the proi)er time to rack our wines?" I 

 now propose to answer the question. 

 Generally speaking, there is no very 

 positive rule as to the time most 

 favorable for racking. Some rack 

 early, even when their wine is not 

 clear ; others rack late. It may be 

 said that it is fancy which answers for 

 a rule ; yet there happens circum- 

 stances that deserve to be taken into 

 consideration, for wine does not possess 

 each year the same constitution. This 

 diversity may necessitate modifications 

 in the rackings, and vary their time. 



What is that which through the 

 operation of racking we strive to take 

 out of the wine ? The lees, that is to 

 say, a mixture of tartar, vegetable 

 fibers, much comminuted, of ferment, 

 decomposed during the fermentation, 

 of ferment still undecomposed, always 

 in quantity in wine of bad years, and 

 in those of coarse grapes, coloring 

 matter, extracts, etc. ; of all these 

 substances there is none that can in 

 any way contribute to the preservation 

 of a wine, whilst there ai-e some, the 

 pure, undecomposed ferment, especiall}', 

 whose action, when under favorable 

 circumstances, is eminently able to 

 hurt it. 



Contrar}^ to the opinion of a tew 

 popular vintners, I hold that the dis- 

 turbance of wine is not alone due to 

 the effects of temperature : Wine feels 

 all the motions of the vine ; it is a fact 

 easily witnessed. Who that has not 

 seen his wine remain quiet in June 

 when the mercury stood at the highest, 

 while in the latter part of Jul}^ and in 



rowers' Club by E. Baxtei", President.] 



August, the heat instead of increasing,, 

 often lowers quite sensibly, and wine, 

 on the contrary, becomes deeply agi- 

 tated I It is a fact which I have, time 

 and again, observed when the seed in 

 the berry is al)out being perfected. It 

 is on these principles, and in regard to 

 the influence the motions of the vine 

 possess upon wine ; it is also from the 

 qualit3', better or worse, of this liquid ; 

 or, if preferable, from the proportion, 

 more or less abundant, of its ferment,^ 

 that we should judge of the opportu- 

 nity, and of the most favorable time 

 for racking. 



DECEMBER RA.CKING. 



When wine is surcharged with fer- 

 menting matter, lees, it is proper to 

 rack it towards the end of December. 

 The cold weather usual at that time, is 

 a very favorable condition for this 

 operation. 



The importance of this racking rests 

 in the fact that it clears wine from its 

 coarse lees ; that it prepares the rack- 

 ing for March, and causes it to be 

 always more perfect ; j-et it should 

 never take its place. This December 

 racking may particularly be useful to 

 wines coming from rich soils, to infe- 

 rior wines, or to those that are made 

 from unripe grapes, and which contain 

 a large proportion of acids and fer- 

 ment. It is a well demonstrated fact 

 that the less sugar a wine has the more 

 acids and ferments it contains. 



MARCH RACKING. 



No racking, in my opinion, is so 

 important and deserving of careful 

 attention as the March racking. This 



