THE GRAPE. 



the wine, which did not exist as free in the grape 

 juice ; or, to speak accurately, more free tartaric acid 

 exists in the wine than was present in the grape juice. 

 The wine acquires a harsh or sour taste, and if it be 

 red wine the colour is brighter, and many other pro- 

 perties are developed, which we shall have occasion 

 hereafter to mention more particularly. All this is 

 merely the result of the grape juice containing more 

 phosphoric acid. And in like manner a larger propor- 

 tion of lime or soda will cause other changes. 



In order to explain the numberless varieties which 

 exist among wines, it is necessary not only to take 

 into consideration the so-called ash constituents, but 

 to begin with the composition of the soil, and follow it 

 through the different parts of the vine into the juice, 

 and then pursue it afresh through the process of fer- 

 mentation till the wine reaches us at table. 



I need not apologize for giving in this treatise only 

 a general sketch of the influence which these impor- 

 tant materials exercise on the existence and growth 

 of the plant, the development of the grape, and 

 the formation of the wine. The quality of the soil 

 may differ considerably without having a decided in- 

 fluence on the quality of the wine. Payen* maintains 

 that wine of very good quality, but of dissimilar 

 bouquet, may be obtained from very different soils. 

 The best Burgundy comes from a clayey lime soil ; 

 Champagne from a more thorough lime soil ; Her- 



* Precis de Chim. Indust. 1849, p. 384. 



