No. 216.] 629 



if any effervescence or hissing recurs, remove the cork and replace 

 the cloth, and keep it full with the must kept in bottles, or with su- 

 gar and water, if there be no must left, until it becomes still, (hence it 

 is called still wine,) then cork it tight, let it remain six or twelve 

 months, and when it is drawn into bottles, place thin flannel or lin- 

 en over the funnel, so that the wine may pass clear into the bottles, 

 which must previously be well cleansed, and before filling must be 

 rinsed and turned down in a basket to drain. If desirable, one de- 

 sert-spoonful or one tablespoonful of good Cog. Brandy may be 

 thrown into each bottle previous to filling, to neutralize any drops 

 of water remaining, and to give flavor to the wine — cork tight with 

 new corks, and lay away in a warm dry place to mature. 



Observe particularly, that if the fermentation goes on beyond a 

 certain point while in the must, it will turn to vinegar, so it is best 

 to draw it from the must an hour or two too soon, than ten minutes 

 too late. It is also liable to sour if the demijohn is not kept full to 

 the brim during the subsequent fermentation, if a vacuum is left in 

 the vessel admitting air, it injures the quality of the wine, if it does 

 not turn it sour. 



Directions for making Champagne Wine. — Some grapes are 

 better for champagne than others — the scuppernong is best adapted 

 for it — the muscadine also is very good, by taking off the skins af- 

 ter the grapes are mashed, the skins containing the coloring matter 

 not being suitable for this kind of wine. The process of making is 

 precisely as the former, with this difference, that it must be bottled 

 off during the process of fermentation, — from fourteen to sixteen 

 days (in this climate) is the proper time to draw it off, and bottle 

 it — cork with new corks, leaving the space of an inch or more be- 

 tween the end of the cork and the wine, wire and seal the bottle, and 

 keep them in a cellar or cool place, it will be fit to use in six 

 months. 



How TO MAKE Wine in i,argk Quantities, — Gather the grapes 

 when ripe, and if there be time and help to do it, pick out the rotten 

 and green berries if any — throw the bunches of grapes into a trough, 

 tramp down or press them moderately, too much pressure may extract 

 some juice from the bunches or crush the seed, which will injure the 

 quality of the wine — draw the juice immediately, place it in a vat 

 or large vessel to ferment twenty-four hours, then draw it out, add 

 the sugar and put it in casks, keeping them full to the brim or bung 

 until the fermentation is all over, then bung tight and leave to ma- 

 ture. 



