204 



The borders of the Rhine furnish us with 

 a variety of Rhenish wines, the most es- 

 teemed of which is called hock, from Hock- 

 heim, the town where it is made. This wine 

 cannot be kept too long, as it obtains both 

 body and flavour, as well as colour, by age. 

 Hock wine is given with the greatest advan- 

 tage, in cases of the typhus fever. About 

 one half of Germany can boast of having 

 good vineyards, while the other half has 

 none: all the wines of this country require 

 long keeping. 



The advantage of keeping particular wines, 

 was well known to the Romans. 



Est mihi nonum superantis annum, 

 Plenus Albani cadus. 



Hor. 



Phillis, this Alban cask is thine, 

 Mellow'd by summers more than nine. 



Pliny mentions having met with wines in 

 his time that were made in the consulship of 

 Opimius, which was almost two hundred 

 years before. This author says, " there was a 

 wine made at Vienna which sold the dearest ; 

 it had/' says he, " the taste of pitch, and it 

 is reputed cooler than other wines, and was 

 therefore given to allay fever/' 



The Hungarian wines, if not sent to us in 



