JOIIANN CARL LEUCIIS ON WINES. I79 



sie of Sorso, Posa, Algbiera, Kasco, ambcr-colorcd, with a fine bou- 

 quet; Giro, sweet, but not spirituous, somewhat resembling the 

 Tinto of Alicante. The wines of Bosa, Saffari, and Ogliastra are 

 dark red, and pretty strong ; as a general rule, they are more like 

 the wines of Spain than those of France. Cannoao, Monaco, and 

 Garnaccia send their wines, under the name of Malvasie, to Hol- 

 land, and other northern places. The best wines are kept in earth- 

 en 'vessels, containing about five or six gallons English. 



Sicily keeps her common wines, but sends some of her sweet 

 ones abroad. Syracuse supplies good red and white wines, of 

 sweet, aromatic taste. The first is pale red, and the white one 

 amber-colored. Mascoli and Mazara have quite good red wines; 

 Catanca has strong ones of a tarry taste, which are consumed 

 mostly at home. The wines of vSicily are of a first-rate odor and 

 good taste, but are from the beginning badly managed, and there- 

 fore do not keep long. The grapes begin to ripen in June, and 

 the vintage commences in September. One thousand vines give 

 from one and a quarter to four pipes of wine. There are culti- 

 vated for wine-making only nineteen species of grapes, of which 

 the best are the Cibibbo, Carmola, Greek Muscat — the dry and 

 the winter grape. In the Lipari Islands the vines are kept high, 

 as in Sicily ; they cut the clusters at the end of August, keep the 

 grapes spread in the sun for from six to eight days, sprinkle them 

 over with ley to neutralize the acidity, and then pack the dry rai- 

 sins for exportation. 



Tuscany has, in general, the best Italian wines. The red ones 

 are somewhat thick and dark, and resemble the Bordeaux wines 

 of inferior quality ; but the white ones are dainty and aromatic. 

 One of the best sorts is the Aleatico, which is sweet, well colored, 

 and has a good bouquet. It is exported in small bottles via Flor- 

 ence. They make also Aleatico in the island of Elba and in the 

 Roman District. In the environs of Sienna, at Monte Pulciano, 

 and other places, good sweet wines are manufactured, and export- 

 ed from Florence in bottles of about one quart each. The barilla 

 contains about from nine to ten gallons. The fiascone, in Flor- 

 ence, about two and a half quarts. 



Fabrioni describes in his work, "Arte di fare il Vino," the 

 method used for making the red and dark wines of Tuscany, as 

 the Carmignano and Monte Pulciano; and the white ones, viz., 

 the Trebiano, Topazio, and Malvaglia. The Carmignano is raised 

 on the hills of Carmignano ; the vintage is from the last days of 

 September to the 10th of October. A few days previous the 

 grapes are spread on mattings and often turned, to get some dry 

 grapes (raisins). The other ones are bruised, and worked well 

 every twelve hours in the seven first days, with forks or the feet. 

 In about a fortnight the fermentation ceases, and the husks and 

 stems are only from time to time pressed down. After the lapse 

 of twenty days the vats are covered, and when the wine becomes 



