WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 35 



grapes, varieties of the species Vitis labrusca, and of the wine made 

 from them, is far from agreeable. 



The aroma is the odor which comes from the skins of aromatic grapes,* 

 and varies in quantity and quality ^according to the variety of grape 

 and the degree of its maturity. It passes into the wine in wine making; 

 the aroma therefore exists in the grapes as well as in the wine. 



BOUQUET! (Profumo, It.; Bouquet, Fr.). Every fine wine exhales an 

 odor peculiar to itself, which is always delicate and pleasing. Exception 

 may be made of artificial bouquets, which, if not absolutely disagreeable 

 in themselves, are always too strong and intense in a wine. 



The bouquet is due to the volatilization at ordinary temperature of 

 certain substances known as ethers, which are formed by the reactions 

 of the acids and alcohols in the wine during its process of aging.J 



Thus, the bouquet is not to be found ready formed in the grape, as is 

 the case of the aroma. 



SEVE (Abboccato, It.; Seve, Fr.; Gohr, Ger.). The "seve" is neither 

 bouquet nor aroma; it is a certain savor, a certain fragrant quality of 

 the wine due to a smooth and delicate blending of perfections, of aromas 

 and bouquets, which is perceived when the wine is in the mouth and in 

 the act of swallowing, affecting the olfactory organs through the internal 

 nasal ducts. The bouquet and aroma affect the senses before, the seve 

 after drinking the wine. 



Carpene, writing of Moscato de Segesta, says: "Of the most delicate 

 fragrance and exquisite flavor. It is a dainty, fruity wine, which fills 

 the mouth with an harmonious ensemble of delicious flavors, which 

 cannot be described, but can only be experienced." 



Seve, which is especially the property of fine wines, is due to the 

 presence of certain substances which are formed in the grapes during 



*The ancients held aromatic wines in high estimation. They added to the must, dur- 

 ing fermentation, different varieties of apples, then cane, amomum, cassia, saffron, ginger, 

 and other species of aromas, to communicate the odor that they desired. 



The aroma most highly appreciated was that obtained by the addition of myrrh. We 

 read, in fact, in Pliny: Lautissima apud priscos vina erant myrrhse odore condita, ut adparet 

 Plauti fabula, quae Persa iscribitur, quamquam in ea et calamos addijubet. 



Peppered wine, which was prepared by fermenting the must witn apples and pepper, 

 was very much appreciated in the time of Pliny. 



t Even the bouquet of wines has not escaped imitation and adulteration. The man- 

 ufacture of artificial bouquets or perfumes for wines has become a regular industry i"n 

 France and Germany, where it is carried on on a large scale. There is a large consump- 

 tion of such articles as "bouquet" of Pomard, or of Bourgogne, extract of Bourdeaux, 

 the "Rancio des vins," "seve" of Baume", of Me"doc, of St. Julien, of Champagne, of 

 Sillery, etc. 



The substances most usually employed to add an artificial bouquet to dinner wines, 

 are: Florentine iris, raspberries, cloves, vine flowers, mignonette, nutmegs, bitter 

 almonds, etc. To these should be added certain chemical products which are prepared 

 more especially in Germany. All these attempts to imitate nature have been out very 

 partially successful. 



A wine may be perfumed artificially, but it is impossible to give it "seve." This 

 artificial perfume is always too pronounced, and is never as delicate as the natural 

 bouquet of wine. These artificial bouquets impress the sense of smell, but not that of 

 taste. If a perfumed wine, then, is tasted without being smelled, its natural " seve " can 

 be distinguished. Artificial aromas are not lasting, and gradually disappear from the 

 wine. 



J Chemically, the difference between aroma and bouquet is, according to Maumene" 

 and Berthelot, the following: 



The former is due to certain hydro-carbons and to the products of their oxidation; 

 perhaps, also, as Ordonneau states, to the ether of a high, fatty acid produced by inter- 

 cellular alcoholic fermentation, and which, being fixed, remains in the pellicle; this has 

 enabled the experimenter to obtain it from the pomace of Folle Blanche. 



The latter seems to be due to a mixture of aldehydes with one or more essential oils 

 and of numerous ethers, the product of the combination of fatty and other polyatomic 

 acids with ethylic and other alcohols; there are, for instance, valerian, amylic, propyl- 

 acetic, etc. 



