1(38 GliAPE CULTURE AND WINE-MAKING. 



lies in the direction of tlie Decbanci, and the choicest spot there 

 is what is called the " Church Piece." It lies contiguous to the 

 church itself, which probably shelters it from the northerly winds 

 on one side, and radiates the light and heat of the southerly sun 

 on the other. 



In good seasons a barrel of Rhenish wine realizes the sum of 

 5000 florins. 



Here the owners of extensive vineyards pick their grapes as 

 soon as they begin to rot, and the gathering of such clusters as 

 are not found in this condition is deferred to a later period, till it 

 arrives. The berry must be of a light-brown color and opaque, 

 not green and transparent ; the kernels brown and not white ; the 

 fruit itself of a sunburnt and sweet taste to the palate ; the vine- 

 stem must be in a dry and sapless state. 



The entire bunches of the Riesling grape are deposited in a 

 treading-tank, and are crushed>by the feet of the laborers. By 

 this operation the bouquet (which originates from the part of the 

 inner side of the husk) will be easier extracted, and the wine 

 much more flavored ; still more so if the must thus gained re- 

 mains undisturbed for twenty-four hours. After this interval, 

 the husks are thrown into the ordinary wine-press. The ferment- 

 ing process is carried on in the barrel, the bung-hole of which is 

 covered either with a vine-leaf or an inverted bung. The bungs 

 used for this purpose are eight or nine inches long, which are 

 plunged to half their length in the wine. By this means the 

 bungs are constantly soaked by the wine, which causes them to 

 swell and fit better to the vent of the barrels. 



In Eelfeld, the largest town in the Rheingau, situated close upon 

 the River Rhine, the vintagers pick the rotting grapes first. 



The crushing of the berry is seldom performed by the wine- 

 mill, but, for the most part, is done in the tread-tub, as the bou- 

 quet is by that means more readily extracted. The press is gen- 

 erally used, however, immediately after the treading by the foot, 

 when the fruit is very ripe ; but in less ripe grapes an interval of 

 twenty-four hours is suftered to elapse before the mechanical press- 

 ing operation is performed. The fermentation is carried on in 

 separate barrels, which are hermetically sealed by water. It is 

 not considered that the wine itself is benefited by this mode of 

 treatment, but it is adopted rather for the sake of security to the 

 work-people, as it prevents the escape of the carbonic acid gas 

 into the vaults where they arc employed. 



Steinberg — a quarter of an hour from the convent of Eberbach 

 — produces, by its skillful management, an excellent kind of wine. 

 It yielded in the year 1819 eighty-four pipes. Here the grapes 

 are gathered as late in the season as possible, and they are never 

 cleared off from the vines at once, but in two or three different 

 pickings, as they become fit for use. The work is done here two 

 or three weeks later than in the Rheingau, and care is taken never 



