AMOUNT OF ALCOHOL IN WINE. 139 



Either the amount of sugar exceeds that of the 

 albuminous matter which is to be converted into 

 sugar, and then the wine remains sweet after fermen- 

 tation, since it still contains undecomposed sugar. 



Or, the proportion of albumen to be resolved into 

 ferment is greater, and then nearly the whole of the 

 sugar will be decomposed, and the wine will remain 

 slightly acid. 



Or, the quantity of sugar and of substances con- 

 vertible into ferment are equal, in which case the wine 

 retains something of each, and is not acid. 



Liqueur- wines exemplify the first, E/hine wine the 

 second, and Burgundy the third. 



But a still greater distinction must be made. 

 Where much sugar, and a large quantity of the sub- 

 stances from which ferment are formed are present, 

 the wine will be strong and rich in the amount of 

 alcohol ; when less of these substances exist, the wine 

 will be proportionably less strong, and it will be weak 

 if only a small quantity of either be present. 



The opinion that wines containing a great deal of 

 alcohol must necessarily be also sweet, has been de- 

 cidedly contradicted, it being asserted that they do 

 not contain a sufficient amount of the constituents of 

 ferment to resolve all their sugar into alcohol and 

 carbonic acid. But there is another point to be con- 

 sidered here. Even when sugar and ferment are 

 present in sufficient quantities, it is not possible by 

 means of fermentation to produce an alcoholic liquid 



