WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 21 



The taster should be provided with a porcelain cup, or with the Bor- 

 delais silver cup, which, however, may be made smooth, and if so, the 

 bottom should be a little raised; this cup is especially applicable to 

 young or blending wines, as it is the best for observing the tint and 

 intensity of color and the degree of limpidity. 



There are two kinds of Bordelais cups; one preferred by the sellers, 

 and the other by the buyers. 



Naturally the seller tries to show off his wine to the best advantage; 

 for this purpose he prefers a cup with a raised bottom, bright, shining 

 hollows in the sides, and a large rim, on which the rays of light have a 

 pleasing effect. 



The high rim and the yellowish tint that the maker gives to the silver 

 of the cup concur to improve the appearance of the wine. The buyer's 

 cup, on the contrary, is of silver of its natural color, and without the 

 exaggerated rim, and without anything that might modify the appear- 

 ance of the product to be examined. 



In Bordeaux they prefer a cup almost without border, a kind of plain 

 saucer, having in the center a slight convexity. In this cup the wine 

 appears exactly as it is, without the slightest artificial alteration. 



Lately the buyers of the Gironde have begun to use the twin cup 

 that is, two cups joined together with a hinge by means of which it is 

 possible to have two wines, which it is desired to compare, in almost the 

 same conditions with regard 4o light. 



Besides the Bordelais cup he should have at his disposal glasses 

 of various forms, but all thin and homogeneous. Some should be 

 chalice-shaped, but not too long; some of the shape known as " Borde- 

 lais;" some cognac glasses, narrow at the mouth and widening below, 

 that is, truncate egg-shaped. By means of the latter, the bouquet, fra- 

 grance, and odors generally can be best perceived, especially when their 

 disengagement is aided by shaking. 



Conical glasses, on account of their form, serve very well to judge of 

 the color of a wine, as according to the height in the glass where the 

 wine is examined, there will be a greater or less thickness for the rays 

 of light to traverse. Between the two extremes the differences of tint 

 (the gamut of color going from rose to red in the case of red wines, and 

 from white to golden in the case of white wines) is very interesting, and 

 may sometimes give very useful hints. 



The different aspects under which a wine can be considered are so 

 numerous, there is such an almost infinite number of possible differences 

 in the various qualities and defects that have to be considered, that even 

 the most expert taster would find himself in great perplexity without a 

 proper and systematic arrangement of his sensations. To avoid this 

 perplexity he proceeds as follows: 



He takes a glass containing a small quantity of the wine; raises it to 

 a level with his eyes, examining it carefully first at arm's length, and 

 afterwards more closely; raises and lowers the glass in order to view the 

 wine from above and from below. By inclining the glass and viewing it 

 in different positions, by giving the wine a rotary motion, making it rise 

 up the sides of the glass, he is assisted in his observations. In this way 

 the taster learns all that can be discerned by the organ of sight, namely: 

 the color or colors, the degree of limpidity, the disengagement of bubbles 

 of gas, and the degree of persistence with which they cling to the sides 

 of the glass. 



Its appearance is, to a certain point, a sign of the condition of the 



