JOHANN CARL LEUCUS ON WINES. 189 



Ions. Astracan has very good wines. The German colonists 

 on the rivers Sarpa ana Volga also produce good wines. In 

 some parts of the Caucasus grapes prosper, as they also do in 

 Mingrclia, without cultivation ; so that this region resembles an 

 extensive vineyard. The wines arc still better than those of the 

 Crimea. In Georgia also grapes grow wild, and the wine made 

 from them kccjis not over a year. In Daghestan we find also ex- 

 quisite grapes. Here they condense the must, and mix it with 

 rose-water. In Derbent the grapes are very sweet, and they give 

 a good light red wine. In Grusia all the hills and mountains are 

 covered with vineyards, the vines sometimes forming hedges, and 

 sometimes climbing up on mulberry, j)omegranate, and walnut 

 trees. The wine is not kept over a year. In Shirwan some wine 

 is made, which is the best on the Caucasus. 



In England a great deal of wine was formerly made by the 

 monks, but the grapes did not come to maturity every year. Now 

 a little is made by the farmers in Sussex, from grapes which climb 

 upon the walls of the houses ; in Derbyshire also some is made ; 

 but these are of very inferior quality, and hardly worthy of notice 

 as to quantity. 



