1871 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



143 



and at a suitable temperature to convert all the su- 

 gar into alcohol by fermentation, or to purify from 

 albumenous matter, saccharine and other organic 

 fluids, without fermentation by this process, at a 

 certain high temperature, rendering them free from 

 deterioration by elementry exposure. 



This is accomplished by means of a force air 

 pump in connection with a rubber hose and a per- 

 forated metalic pipe mouth piece or plate. The 

 pipe or niDuHi piece lowered to the bottom of the 

 cask or vat, the impelled air causes a violent com- 

 motion, and an intimate contact of oxygen with ev- 

 ery particle of the fluid. By this method, in from 

 five to fifteen days, all the albumenous parts of the 

 gluten are rendered insoluble, and at the same time 

 the sugar is transformed into alcohol. The question 

 as above has beim for many years propounded in 

 wine countries of Europe, viz : " By what means 

 can spi'cdy maturity and stability be imparted to 

 wine, so as to save the immense loss of labor, inter- 

 est, storage, leakage, and evaporation ? 



The question has been solved by the patentee of 

 air treatment. The discovery made is that the oxi- 

 dation of the gluten, which takes place slowly 

 during years, by the old process, can be accomplish- 

 ed by the proper application of the same agent, air, 

 before and during fermentation, in less than two 

 mouths, and with the most desirable results. The 

 waste of time, and oxidation, has been the ruin of 

 the wine industry, and the saving of this leakage as 

 above stated, will, by adopting the air treatment, 

 be the surest fimndation on which the prosperous 

 wine industry of the United States can rest. The 

 theory seems as plain as the execution is simple, 

 the air rising through the must produces two ef- 

 fects, viz : the mechanical stirring of the yeast, 

 thereby a reviving and invigorating of this physi- 

 ologically acting organism, and a chemical, directly 

 oxidizing, action uniformly upon every part of the 

 albumenous gluten, the only nitrogenous matter in 

 the must. The air treatment, by employing artifi- 

 cial currents of air, essentially acts upon the living 

 principle, that air rapidly moving over every part 

 of solid, or in passing through an organic fluid, 

 supports, invigorates, purifies and preserves by the 

 ozone formed in its rapid passage. Stagnant air, 

 however, is wanting in ozone, and in contact with 

 quiescent fluids, or juicy solids favors speedy de- 

 cay. Only total exclusion from air also preserves. 



The American wine industry and production, to 

 be worth several million of dollars annually, finds 

 in the air treatment its principal promoter, by 

 which quickly and economically, good, cheap and 

 well matured wines can be manufactured in large 

 quantities, and at low rates, to reduce the importa- 

 tion of wines and to suppressed intemperance by 

 distilled liquors. 



The practical application of the patent air treat- 



ment for wine making may be described in its gen- 

 eral features, as follows, to-wil: 



After the juice is cxjjressed from the grape in 

 sufficient quantities, and placed in a vat or large 

 cask with one head removed, the nuist at a temper- 

 ature ofsixtj'-fivc to .seventy-five degre(^s fahrenheit 

 is vigorously air-treated from twenty minutes to 

 one hour. A scum forms on the surface, consisting 

 of coagulated albumenous and resinous matter, 

 which should be carefully skimmed oil" to prevent 

 any unpleasant taste. Violent fermentation soon 

 sets in with copious foaming. About twenty-four 

 hours after this subsides, gentle air-treatment for 

 about five minutes at a time, twice a day, soon fin- 

 ishes the fermentation. According to the experi- 

 ence of the writer, the fermentation, by air-treat- 

 ment is best conducted at a temperature of the must 

 (for Scuppernong at fnmi seventy-five to eighty-five 

 degrees fahrenheit) at from sixty-five to seventy-five 

 degrees fahrenheit. Must at twenty-five per cent, 

 or less of sugar, is finished and the wine dry (that 

 is, all the sugar converted into alcohol,) in from six 

 to ten days ; an addition of cane sugar requires 

 longer time, unless the sugar soluti(m is previously 

 started into fermentation. The bung may be left 

 fully or partially open during the fermentation, to 

 be closed when finished. 



In about a week after the fermentation has ceased 

 the wine should be drawn from the lees into a clean 

 cask, closed tight, and in about a month it is fully 

 clarified by itself or by the usual clarifiers under 

 air-treatment, is pure from ground taste and tenden- 

 cy to after fermentation, ripe and ready for ship- 

 ping or bottling. A superior flavor distinguishes 

 the wine thus made. 



Imperfectly fermented or unfinished wines of ant/ 

 kind, if otherwise sound, may at any time be perfect- 

 ly finished within a few weeks, under the directions 

 devised for the purpose by the patentee. It never 

 yet failed in a single case. The details of this op- 

 eration are also very simple. Wines finished in 

 this manner are rather loose in acidity than gain, 

 while the usual after fermentation alwuys inm-eases the 

 amount of acidity. 



It is not necessary as in the old process to con- 

 struct deep, cold cellars ; the glutenous albumenous 

 parts having been removed by air-trealment, there 

 remains no disturbing agent to cause any detrimen- 

 tal action on the stability of wines thus made. 

 Simply keep the casks full and air-tight, and the 

 wine will keep as well in a garret as in a cellar. 



The cost of manufacturing wine by this process 

 will be the saving of time, cellars, ca.sks, interest, 

 labor and evaporation, amounting to at lea.st fifty 

 per cent., and give a more uniform and superior 

 product; and be the means of placing the wine in- 

 dustry of the country on a footing second to no oth- 

 er branch of domestic agriculture. Nobody 



