THE GKAPE. 47 



ON THE FERMENTATION OF GU1APE JTJICE. 



The excellence of the wine must depend in no small 

 degree on the ripening of the grapes, and the care with 

 which they are gathered and treated. 



In countries in which the vintage begins everywhere 

 on the same day, it cannot but be -that a good deal of 

 wine will be prepared from unripe grapes. For it 

 cannot be supposed that grapes^ growing in sunny and 

 warm places will ripen at the same time with those 

 which are more exposed to cold. 



The quality of much home-grown wine might doubt- 

 less be improved, were the vintage more carefully con- 

 ducted. Those who know the care expended upon the 

 better sorts of grapes (even in the pulling of them), 

 know also that the excellence of the wine depends not 

 only on climate, soil, and the kind of grape, but also 

 on the fostering care bestowed by man upon the vines. 



A really well-flavoured wine can only be obtained 

 from ripe grapes, and such as are free from admixture 

 with unripe or overripe grapes. Great care must be 

 taken during the vintage to keep the decaying grapes 

 from the ripe ones ; for to pick them over again after- 

 wards is simply impossible, at least in the case of 

 ordinary wines, which are prepared in large quantities. 



Thus the possibility of the future wine being spoiled 



