56 VITIS, OR 



21. The coloring principle is immaterial to wines. 

 There are wines of all colors, clear as water, white, yel- 

 low, green, hyacinth, red, brown, black, &c. These 

 colors do not impart any value to wine 3 although the 

 finest and dearest wines are commonly pale, yet Con- 

 stantia and Lachrynia, &c. are red. 



22. Some wines lose their color or change it by age. 

 Any wine catx be made colorless, or clear as water by 

 infiltration through animal charcoal or ivory black. It 

 may be colored afterwards to any shade of yellow by 

 burnt sugar, and any shade of red by cochineal or Bra- 

 zil wood. The red Champaigne is colored by elder- 

 berries juice, boiled with tartar, a few drops are suffi- 

 cient to color a bottle of wine. Some kind of grapes are 

 used to color pale wines. 



23. Therefore, the essential operations to correct a 

 bad Must, or to make a good Must and wine, are to ob- 

 viate any deficiency in the juice of the grapes or other 

 fruits, by supplying the due proportion of sugar, tartaric 

 acid, mucilage, and water that may be lacking, besides 

 destroying or absorbing the malic acid, avoiding the 

 mixture of tannin, and procuring a grateful aroma. 



24. The art of wine making includes, besides this fun- 

 damental knowledge, many practical operations, such as 

 gathering the grapes, carrying them, extracting the juice, 

 mending it, fermenting the liquor, fining and clarifying, 

 preserving the wine, obviating the defects and diseases. 

 It is even a part of this art how to drink the different 

 wines. 



25. Carbonic acid is always evolved in the act of fer- 

 mentation, and escapes with some alcohol by evapora- 

 tion. When restrained and prevented from escaping, it 

 produces the brisk and sparkling wines. When fermen- 

 tation is allowed to take its course, all the carbonic acid 

 disappears. 



26. Grapes ought to be gathered in the day time and 

 a dry fair day. For the best wines, none but the sound 

 clusters are to be used ; for the very best, the sound 

 grapes ought to be separated from the peduncles, which 

 are to be thrown away. Grapes are to be carried to the 

 vats or presses in baskets, without being crowded and 

 bruised. If dirty, they ought to be washed. 



