60 VITIS, OR 



44. Water is seldom wanted to dilute the Must, unless 

 to make Piquette, or a very thin poor wine, in quantity 

 rather than quality. Coarse sugar is the best to sweeten 

 the Must, because it contains mucilage. Syrup will do 

 as well 'f but molasses will not do, unless deprived of 

 their bad taste by charcoal. Honey gives a flat taste to 

 wine. Our maple sugar will do very well, and also the 

 fresh syrup or molasses of maple. 



45. Mucilage is the leaven of wine ; it separates by 

 fermentation into lees that sink, and froth or yeast that 

 rises. Whenever mucilage remains in the wine, it is 

 liable to ferment again even in bottles, therefore, the 

 whole must be separated by racking and fining. If a 

 second fermentation is needed, it may be produced by 

 putting any wine over lees, and mixing them by rolling 

 the casks. 



46. Yeast of beer must never be used for any wine, 

 not even currant wine ; it gives a bitter taste of hops, 

 an ammoniacal flavor and flatness. A wine leaven, use- 

 ful for all artificial wines, may be prepared by drying 

 the lees and froth of wine : it may be kept long for use. 



47. So true are these principles, that sugar and vege- 

 table mucilage or extract may form wine alone with wa- 

 ter, but tartar adds to the strength and helps the fer- 

 mentation by promoting the change of sugar into alcohol. 

 But such artificial wine would be tasteless unless flavor- 

 ed by fruits. 



48. Sweet wines are the best of all wines, because the 

 whole sugar has not been converted into alcohol, either 

 by a deficiency of mucilage or by the fermentation being 

 suspended before the end of it : which may be done at 

 any time by decanting or separating the liquor from the 

 lees and froth, then straining or filtering, clarifying and 

 sulphuring. 



49. Whenever tartar must be added, crude tartar is 

 the best, because it contains some mucilage of the grapes. 

 Cream of tartar is not so good, although it is said to pro- 

 mote the briskness or sparkling property. 



50. Quicklime is the ingredient commonly used to 

 correct the acidity of some grapes : but if not used spa- 

 ringly it gives a bad urinous taste to wine. In Spain, 

 they only sprinkle the grapes with it. In France, they 



