CHOICE OF VARIETIES. 01 



ern climates quite inferior wines. It is the course last referred 

 to that forms the true cause of the deterioration of vineyards. 



Who is there can doubt that the saccharine principle is per- 

 fected in proportion to the maturity of the grape, and who 

 therefore can deny the advantage of a selection for northern 

 climates, of those which ripen earliest f The early varieties 

 having a greater chance of arriving at maturity in cold coun- 

 tries than later ones, they should therefore^be preferred for such 

 locations. Who can deny, when the expenses of culture are 

 the same for those which yield but little as for those that yield 

 abundantly, that we may easily increase the product of a vine- 

 yard by a selection only of the best. 



Much difference of opinion exists as to the number of varie- 

 ties which it is advisable to unite in a vineyard ; but all agree 

 on this point, that they should comprise such only as ripen at 

 the same time; and where the vineyard contains many varieties, 

 and the wines are inferior in sweetness or flavour,- it is recom- 

 mended to diminish the number of vines which give it that 

 character, which is deemed far preferable to adding sugar or 

 honey in their composition. For it is well known that some 

 varieties are more saccharine, others more prolific, &tc. and 

 that consequently a proportionate mixture of particular kinds 

 is requisite to produce wines of good quality. 



The influence of the variety upon the quality of the wine is 

 not of recent discovery, but is stated by Cato, Celsus, and 

 Columella among the Romans, and Olivier de Serres among 

 the moderns, who place a judicious selection in the first rank 

 of considerations demanding attention from those who plant 

 the vine. This influence acts directly or indirectly : directly, 

 when a variety at maturity has or has not by its own nature a 

 quantity of saccharine matter ; indirectly, when ripening be- 

 fore or after the diminution of the summer heat, it can acquire 

 or not the quantum of saccharine matter in this or that climate. 



From this cause the pineau of Burgundy, and all other 

 true varieties of the pineau, and the morillon hatif de Jura, 

 among the black; the fie-vert of Jura and the melier of Paris, 

 among the white ; yield every where goqd wine whereas the 



