427 



was kept submerged in the vat by means of a false head, and was 

 not, as is often done, poked down three or four times a day into the 

 liquid below. The result is a wine which is completely fermented : 

 that is to say, a wine which does not contain any appreciable 

 amount of grape sugar left. It is, moreover, lighter in colour than 

 wines fermented at a high temperature, and which had a floating 

 cap repeatedly pushed down into it. It is not so harsh to the 

 palate, and does not contain any excessive proportion of extracted 

 matters. It has, moreover, cleared in the cask, and already looks 

 less turbid and more forward than wine from other vattings 

 fermented at a higher temperature and without the cooling assist- 

 ance of ice. 



The ice used was valued at 5s. the 2cwt. block, and if taken in 

 larger quantities where provision is made for its safe storing, it 

 could be supplied at a smaller cost. With railway freight added, 

 it cost about 3s. a cwt. The amount of ice used varied from 301bs. 

 to 851bs. per vatting of 200 to 350 gallons of must in fermentation. 

 A liberal' computation would be half a cwt. per vatting of 250 

 gallons of must, or less than one-twelfth of Id. per gallon of wine 

 made. The ice was sawn into blocks which would fit into empty 

 kerosene tins. These tins were provided with a wire handle, for 

 convenience of handling, and weighted with bricks on top of the 

 ice, so that they sink to two-thirds of their height into the ferment- 

 ing mass, and rest over the perforated false head which keeps the 

 cap down. 



The ice melts more or less quickly, according to the degree of 

 heat in the must, and as the upper layer of the liquid in the vat is 

 cooled, the hotter layer underneath should be run into a tub by 

 opening the cock at the bottom of the vat, and either pumped or 

 bucketed back on to the top of the fermenting liquid. This 

 equalises the temperature all through the mass, and allows 

 fermentation to proceed without hindrance. 



Considering the success which has attended these experiments, 

 and the mere nominal cost at per gallon of wine made, the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture does, on application, assist those wine-makers 

 who are not too far from a railway station by supplying them, 

 during the period of vintage, from the Government Eefrigerating 

 Works, and at a price which covers cost of making, the necessary 

 amount of ice for the purpose of controlling the temperature during 

 fermentation. 



The ice is forwarded by rail, wrapped in bagging, and wine- 

 makers should make arrangements for taking prompt delivery at 

 their nearest railway station, and conveying the ice to their cellars 

 with least possible delay. On taking" delivery, the block of ice 

 could be wrapped up in a blanket and transferred on arrival to an 

 ice chest. Such a chest can readily be constructed by anyone who 

 can use tools. It really consists of two boxes, viz., a smaller one 

 inside a larger, with a 4 to 5 inch interval between their sides. In 

 that interval cork grit, which can be procured from wholesale 



