WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 37 



portion, with a series of sensations which are agreeable or disagreeable, 

 according to the nature of the flavors and their degree of intensity.* 



NEUTRAL FLAVOR (Sapore neutro, It.; Saveur neutre, Fr.). A wine is 

 said to be neutral when it has no marked aroma or taste, f 



Wines of neutral taste are the best base for the making of imitative 

 wines, as they acquire most easily the taste of the wines with which they 

 are blended. 



VAPID, FLAT, INSIPID (Tnsipido, It.; Plat, Fr.). A wine is vapid when 

 it is lacking in alcohol and vinosity, or when, without having any defect 



* With regard to tastes in general, writers are at variance. The greater or less num- 

 ber of tastes and the possibility of their classification have been discussed. 



The number of tastes may be considered as infinite, and therefore a classification 

 almost impossible. Such classification, however, has been attempted. Haller distin- 

 guishes twelve tastes, which have been reduced by Linnaeus to ten: sweet, acrid, fatty, 

 astringent, bitter, viscous, saltish, watery, and insipid. 



Vintschgau proposes another taste metallic. 



Physiologists distinguish in the sense of taste four specific energies, that is, four ele- 

 mentary sensations, viz.: sweet, bitter, acid, and salt. The first two affect only the 

 nerves of taste; the acid taste, on the other hand, if too strong, may cause pain, for 

 which reason Vintschgau believed that acid and salt tastes affect also the sense of feel- 

 ing, as is seen in touching concentrated solutions of acids. 



Nothing is known with certainty as to the way in which different tastes are distin- 

 guished, and we must be content with supposing that each flavor sweet, sour, bitter, 

 salt acts upon special nerves which serve to distinguish them. This is the more proba- 

 ble, as different parts of the tongue are unequally affected by different tastes. We are 

 still more in the dark regarding the intimate nature of the tastes, the chemical compo- 

 sition of the substances which they characterize seeming to have no connection with 

 them. 



The chemical composition of a substance has nothing to do with its sweet, bitter, or 

 salt taste; with regard to the acid taste, however, it may be said that every substance 

 which tastes acid is also an acid from the chemical point of view. 



t The vineyardist in making a choice of varieties to plant should keep in view the 

 flavor which they will give to his wine. If he is planting in a new locality, where it can- 

 not be known what kind of grape will there best develop its flavor, he should choose a 

 variety which gives a wine ot neutral taste. 



The French, who are masters of the art of imitating wines, have this maxim: "There 

 are more buyers than there are connoisseurs." 



Trusting to the truth of this saying, they have been able to establish that great com- 

 merce of wine which has become one of the principal sources of riches to France. The 

 cities of Cette, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lunel, Montpellier, and others of the south of 

 France are centers of the production of large quantities of "wines of imitation." 



Do you wish to make, for example, a hectolitre of fine Bordeaux ? 



Take- 

 Red wine of the south (Roussillon or Narbonne) __ .. 60 litres. 



White wine of good quality 25 litres. 



Old wine of Alicante 12 litres. 



Old wine of Malaga 3 litres. 



" Conservatore enantico" 25 grammes. 



The renanthic conservative is dissolved in about a litre of warm white wine; the whole 

 is then well mixed and allowed to stand for two weeks. During this time a slow, insensi- 

 ble fermentation goes on, which completely mixes or blends the ingredients. 



The wine is then drawn into sulphured casks, clarified, racked again, and the Bordeaux 

 is made. 



This, however, is too expensive a Bordeaux; here is a cheaper one: 



Red common Spanish wine 70 litres. 



Wine of Narbonne 1 25 litres. 



Wine of Malaga 5 litres. 



Bordeaux extract A quarter" of a bottle. 



(Enanthic conservative 30 grammes. 



This is treated in the same way as the first. 



If a still cheaper Bordeaux is desired 



Ordinary red wine 81 litres. 



Roussillon and Narbonne 15 litres. 



Old brandy 1 4 litres. 



Bordeaux extract A quarter of a bottle. 



(Enanthic conservative 30 grammes. 



The above information is for the edification of those who prefer a bottle of this Bor- 

 deaux to a bottle of Chianti, of Valpolicella, of Valtellina, and of many other Italian 

 wines which are far superior to these French concoctions. 



