MALT LIQUORS. 367 



What is said ^23. ALCOHOL IN WINES. Wines differ 



of the pro- i n the amount of alcohol which they 



portion of al- . 



coholin tain; from five per cent., in the weakest 



champagne, to twenty-five, in the strongest 

 sherry. Those of southern climates are strongest, be- 

 cause the grapes of those regions contain more sugar 

 to undergo conversion into alcohol. Most wines also 

 contain more or less acid and urifermented sugar. 

 What is said 924. TARTAR. The acid of wine is 



of acid in . ., , . . . ^ . . 



\tines? tartanc acid, which exists in combina- 



tion with potash in the juice of the grape. It grad- 

 ually deposits in wine casks in the form of acid tar- 

 tra'te of potash or cream of tartar. This separaton 

 of tartar is one source of the improvement of wines, 

 and more particularly of the rhenish wines, by age. 



925. FLAVOR OF WINES. The wine 



What is said . 



of the flavors flavor which belongs to all wines, is 

 owing to the presence, in extremely small 

 portion, of an etherial liquid called aenanthic ether. 

 Tliis substance does not exist ready formed in the 

 grape, but is produced in the re-arrangement of atoms 

 which takes place in fermentation. Its vinous odor, 

 when separated from the wine, is most intense. It is 

 prepared in Europe from grain spirit or cheap wines, 

 and is used in this and other countries for producing imi- 

 tations of wines of higher price. Potatoe whiskey is 

 commonly the basis of these manufactured wines. 

 Beside the general vinous flavor, different wines, like 

 flowers, have an aroma, or bouquet, peculiar to them- 

 selves. These are owing, to other and different flavor- 

 ing substances, present in still smaller proportion, than 

 the aenanthic ether. 



