485 
Stalky taste and bitterness.—This defect is due to another 
cause altogether to that which produces the disease of “bitterness,” 
described further on. Some grapes, like malbee, yield a wine show- 
ing this defect in a more pronounced manner than others. These 
grapes treat as indicated under the heading “Earthy taste.” 
Heated taste is noticeable in wines which have been fermented 
at too high a temperature. 
Low alcoholic strength, the produce of grapes having a must 
of very low specific gravity and poor in sugar. Blending with a 
stronger wine or light fortification will correct this defect, 
Deficient colour can be remedied by blending with a dark- 
coloured wine. 
Dull-coloured Wines——Wines thus affected have a kind of 
leaden colour, and, in the case of red wine, may even appear black. 
Several causes bring about this trouble, viz.: aeration of wine con- 
taining iron; low acidity or excess of tannin of such wines; the 
action on wine of new casks improperly seasoned ; the fermenting 
of grapes rotting from exposure to wet weather; the fermenting of 
overripe grapes grown in particularly rich ground; the action of 
cold on wines. Such wines require energetic treatment to bring 
back their brilliancy and their normal colour. 
The following treatment has been found satisfactory: add to 
the wine quarter of a pound of common salt per 100 gallons; fine 
with fresh blood, with clots removed, half-pint to every 100 gallons; 
this blood mix with a little wine and pour into the wine. By means 
of the pump, blow air into the cask by contniuous pumping for an 
hour or two; this will cause all the particles of substance in the 
wine likely to blacken to do so. After this, with the fining rod, 
stir the wine up thoroughly, so as to cause the blood to thoroughly 
mix with the wine, then let it rest; the fining will coagulate and 
settle down into the cask, drawing along in its meshes every particle 
of impurity which caused the dull colour. Rack after a few days. 
It is sometimes desirable to run the wine through a filter, not ex- 
posed to the action of the air. An addition of two or three ounces 
of citric acid per 100 gallons of the wine is advisable. 
Putrid Decomposition.—This defect is rare in Western Aus- 
tralia, where the wines are rich in spirit and in tannin, two elements 
which impart to the wine vigour and tone. Blending, fortification, 
and a small addition of tannin remedy this defect to a certain 
extent. 
Casky Taste—Wine run in old casks, left unused for a long 
time, sometimes contracts an unpleasant, casky taste, which often 
spoils their sale. The use of pure olive oil, well beaten into the 
wine, and allowed to float over through the bunghole, has long been 
recommended. Some have also advised the use of powdered mus- 
