AN^D WINE MAKIITG. 225 



and make an abominably, foxy wine, which no one will 

 buy ? Or shall we gather our grapes when well colo^-ed, 

 Galhze the must until the acid and flavor are reduced to 

 the proper amount, and thus produce a very fair, light- 

 red wine, palatable to most, and a refreshing and in- 

 vigorating beverage to all ? I think the latter is the best 

 course, and the only reasonable one. 



At that time the must of Concord grapes will gener- 

 ally weigh about 65° to 70° on Oechsle's Scale, and the 

 Acidimeter will indicate about 6°. Now we make our 

 calculation as follows : A normal must, to suit the 

 palate here, should indicate about 80°, and show 4° on 

 the Acidimeter. To reduce the acid to 4° we must add 

 one-third water, or, in other words, if we have 480 lbs. 

 of Concord grapes, which would make 40 gallons 

 of pure juice, we must add 20 gallons of water. 

 To these 20 additional gallons of water, we must 

 add 40 lbs. of the best crushed sugar, to bring the 

 water up to the ratio of normal must, 80°. But we 

 have also a discrepancy of 15° in the must if it indicated 

 65°. To bring this also up to 80° we must add three- 

 eighths pound of sugar to every gallon of must, or 15 lbs. 

 to the 40 gallons. The addition to 480 lbs. of grapes 

 would then be as follows : 20 gallons of water, 55 lbs. of 

 sugar, and no acid, making 60 gallons of must of normal 

 proportions, instead of 40 of pure juice. These will be 

 about the right proportions for a pleasant and hand- 

 some wine, of good color, i3leasant flavor, and not too 

 acid to suit the general taste, with also the proper pro- 

 portion of tannin, which will be marketable sooner, and 

 at a much higher price, than if we had allowed the grapes 

 to hang a month longer, and then pressed the natural 

 must, which would, perhaps, not contain an excess of 

 acid then, but certainly an excess of foxy flavor and 

 tannin. 



Different grapes will, of course, require different treat- 



