426 SUPERIORITY OF THE GRAPE. 



fine, Mr. Redding's decision is probably correct, that 

 those wines need no other than thin native spirit. 



The juice of the grape, in strict and accurate 

 phraseology, is alone intituled to the denomination 

 of wine, the origin of which is buried irrecoverably 

 in the impenetrable recesses of antiquity: and the 

 vine so essentially differs from other productions of 

 the soil, that it succeeds best, perhaps only, in its 

 perfection, on siliceous, sandy, and gravelly soils, 

 where scarcely any other species of vegetation will 

 thrive. " Bacchus loves the hills," but their slopes, 

 not their summits, and will prosper even in the tro- 

 pical climes, indeed in any but the extreme northern 

 or frozen, whilst he rejoices most in the warmest Eu- 

 ropean. Indeed, I repeat, that it is by grace and 

 courtesy, and through necessity, we honour the juice 

 of our other fruits with the title of wine, to which 

 the grape possesses the exclusive right, as the sole 

 proprietor of the TARTARIC acid, all our other wine 

 fruits being distinguished by the malic acid, that is 

 to say, the acid of the apple, pomegranate, orange, 

 lemon, quince, all which the Latins held to be mala, 

 or poma, apples ; whence their production might, in 

 a stricter sense, rather be termed cider than wine. 

 Nevertheless, this secondary wine, skilfully manufac- 

 tured, may be rendered extremely agreeable to most 

 palates, those of j uniors particularly, and equally ex- 

 hilarating, being fortified by the addition of that noble 

 and even medicinal spirit, the best and purest French 

 brandy: in such state, the richest of them might 

 surely, at any rate, serve as useful and appropriate, 

 even delightful summer wines, taking also into con- 

 sideration the immense quantity of them which is 



