CHOICE OF VARIETIES, 



meunier, the garnet of Burgundy, the saumoireau or gouais of 

 Aube, produce every where bad wine ; and the terret of Gard, 

 the aspirant of Herault, the bouteillant of Bouches-du-Rhone, 

 among the reds ; and the broumesque of Aude, and bon*bou- 

 lenque of Vaucluse, among the whites; which afford good 

 wines in those departments, yield only miserable ones in the 

 vicinity of Paris, for want of sun to acquire suitable maturity. 



Unfortunately a great number of vignerons strive to obtain 

 quantity rather than quality ; in which case they select, of the 

 reds, the carignan of Herault, the chaliane of Drome, the 

 feldlinger of Bas-Rhin, the merveillat of Vaucluse, the pique- 

 poule of the upper Garonne ; and of the whites, the clairette 

 of Vaucluse, the courtanet and the semillon of Lot and Ga- 

 ronne, the lourdaut of Drome, the melon of Cote-d'or, the 

 sauvignon of Jura, all of which are good varieties; or of the reds, 

 the croc-noir of Mayenne, the raisin-rouge of Cantal, the mou- 

 tardier of Vaucluse ; and of the white, the rochelle of Seine- 

 and-Marne, the piquant-paul of Basses-alpes, the saint-pierre 

 of Charente-inferieure, the vicane of the same department ; all 

 of which varieties produce weak wines. 



The garnet, notwithstanding the inferiority of its wine, has 

 been preferred by the French vignerons, because it yields crops 

 often tenfold, and on account of its forming new clusters 

 when the first are injured by frost, and also because it succeeds 

 in every soil and exposure. It was this variety that by an or- 

 dinance of Philip the Bold was torn up in the vineyards of 

 JBurgundy in 1395, and which again in 1731, as well as the 

 melon, was destroyed in the vineyards of Franche-Comte, by 

 an order from the 'parliament of that province, but which, not- 

 withstanding, unfortunately (say French writers) is widely 

 cultivated in the north-east of France. 



It seems to be understood that grapes with thin skins afford 

 the best wines, but although that may be generally the case in 

 the north, witness the pineau, I <Jo not think that inlhe southern 

 districts those with thick skinis should be rejected. The dif- 

 ference in the varieties of vines in relation ta the climate 

 ought to be taken into serious consideration, especially when 



