30 The Western Pomologist and Gardener. 1872 



BUgar and water that method might be correct ; but this is not the case, for when you 

 reduce the acid by water you reduce every essential principle of the grape, and the result 

 is, you have a fiery wine without aroma and boquet." Here we have given two sentences, 

 in both of which we have mentioned sugar. In the latter part of the last sentence he has 

 made an imperfect quotation from it to suit his purpose. "We said in our article, " By 

 obtaining must of a high, saccharine quality, we reduce the acid and increase every essen- 

 tial principle in like proportion and give age, smoothness, aroma, and high boguet to our 

 wines." To which he remarks : 



" Truly a marvelous assertion ! How ripeness of the grape, or the amount of sugar the 

 must contains, can give age to the wine, is a problem we would like to hear solved by the 

 Doctor. We rather suppose, in all simplicity, that as the grapes must hang so much longer 

 to become thoroughly ripe, the wine would be younger instead of older." 



How remarkably annoyed Mr. Hussman must have instantly become at seeing the word 

 age, to exclaim : " Truly a marvelous assertion !" as if age only meant length of time. It 

 is a great pity such intelligence should be wasted in " Gallizing" wine. Why not make a 

 grape and wine vocabulary to enlighten this age ? 



If he consults an English vocabulary he will find that age is as much a condition as 

 length of time, as " Any period of time ; time of life ; a hundred years ; maturity ; decline 

 of life." Now, if he cannot understand age, substitute the word maturity, which will read 

 thus : " It will give maturity, smoothness, aroma, and high bouquet to our wines." The con- 

 sultation of a vocabulary might have saved him the ridiculous position he is placed in 

 before the public in his criticisms upon the word age. And to further show that it does 

 not always require length of time to mature wine, we will prove it by Mr. Hussman's own 

 words : " Delaware, made this season, from half ripe grapes, was"valued at $6.00 per gallon 

 within six weeks from the time it was made. It was a perfect wine then, clear and fine, 

 and with an exquisite boquet." — Oraj^e Culturist, August, 1870. 



He next says: "Again, the terms aroma and boquet are generally supposed by him to 

 go together, while they so essentially differ that they are rarely found together in the same 

 wine. Aroma we call the special flavor and scent of the grape, which is developed strong- 

 est in perfectly ripe fruit ; while boquet is developed during fermentation, by the action 

 of the alcohol upon the acid. Thus a wine has generally but little boquet in it, it is very 

 aromatic, because the grape in its greatest state of ripeness contains but little acid." 



It is very evident from this last sentence that he has become considerably mixed up, and 

 has failed to make himself intelligible. We have been so accustomed to this back-handed 

 German manner of expression that perhaps we can tran.spose it and help him out of his 

 dilemma. When transposed, it will read, "Thus a wine that is verj^ aromatic has generally 

 but little boquet, because the grape in its greatest state of ripeness contains but very little 

 acid. 



Now, if this were true, then a wine that contained much acid would have a very high 

 boquet and little aroma ; therefore, green grapes are the best for wine. How he discovered 

 that " the terms aroma and boquet are generally supposed by us to go together," is another 

 of his mysteries which he will have hard work to prove, from anything we have said, 

 unless it is by having the terms conjoined by and.. If so, then the expression, a vigorous 

 and productive vine, proves that they generally go together. 



But when Mr. Hussman begins to tell us what he knows about aroma and boquet, we 

 must confess that we lose entire faith in his ability, when our best chemists and authors 

 tell us: " Neither the general flavor of the wine nor the boquet is present in the must ; 

 but the matter or substance exists there from which these are developed during fermenta- 

 tion and in the cask." — OaU. 



" Dr. Winkler (a chemist distinguished for his explanation of the process of vegetation) 

 has succeeded in throwing new light on the origin of the boquet. He obtained from a 

 wine of rich boquet a peculiar nitrogenous compound, in the shape of a neutral salt, which 

 possessed in the highest degree the flavor of the boquet of the wine. He therefore draws 

 the conclusion that ripe grapes furnish a delicious boquet, while unripe grapes produce a 

 repugnant one." (Hussman thinks " half ripe " grapes produce " an exquisite boquet.") 



But Tlie Wine and Fruit Reporter, in a translation from Prof. Neubauer, sets this matter 



