VITACE^E. 223 



character, and has become wine, or in other words, there has been the forma- 

 tion of alcohol. Where the juice contains too large a proportion of sugar, some 

 tartar is added to it, and where the saccharine matter is deficient, sugar is 

 added. It requires great attention and practical skill to manage the fermenta- 

 tion properly, as on this depends the quality of the wine. Almost every kind 

 of wine requires a different treatment, and the same fruit is obliged to be 

 managed differently in different seasons. 



After this it is drawn off into casks, where a slow and almost imperceptible 

 fermentation continues, with a loss in the quantity of the fluid, which loss 

 must be supplied by the addition of other liquor. The result of this insensi- 

 ble fermentation is a gradual increase in the quantity of alcohol, and the de- 

 posit of the tartar, which collects on the sides of the cask, mixed with the 

 colouring matters of the juice. A variety of modes are adopted at this period 

 of the process to give the different wines their peculiar characters and strength ; 

 these differ not only with the kinds of wine, but with the product of every 

 vineyard, for the odour and flavour of wines depend not only on cultivation 

 and soil, but also on the methods of conducting the fermentation in its different 

 stages ; though it is also certain that the same grape, in the same climate, soil, 

 and mode of treatment, will produce wines of very various qualities. Posi- 

 tion and aspect have much influence, for the product of two adjoining vine- 

 yards, but differing in exposure, are widely dissimilar. 



The quality and flavour of the fully fermented wines depend principally 

 on the method of conducting the fermentation ; but the sweet and half fer- 

 mented wines derive their taste more immediately from the grape. Thus Ma- 

 deira, Sherry, Marsala, and Port, are dry and strong ; Malaga, Tokay, Tinto, 

 Montefiascone, &c, are sweet, and contain sugar from the fermentation being 

 imperfect. Champagne, and other sparkling wines, owe their briskness to 

 the presence of carbonic acid ; whilst Hock, and the Rhenish wines generally, 

 and many of the French, contain much uncombined acid. The roughness 

 and flavour of the red wines are usually derived from the husks of the fruit, 

 but are often artificially communicated to them by the addition of astringents, 

 as rhatany, kino, &c. The tints of wines are either natural or communicated 

 by the addition of various matters, and the strength is constantly augmented 

 by the addition of brandy. 



It would require a volume to notice, even in a brief manner, the varieties of 

 wine, and their supposed excellencies and demerits. It may be sufficient to say, 

 that whatever may be their differences, the essential constituents are the same, 

 though the relative quantities of each, vary with the kind of wine. Wine con- 

 tains alcohol, an odorous principle generally supposed to be a volatile oil, co- 

 louring matter derived from the husk, tannin, bitter extractive, sugar, gum, fer- 

 ment, acetic acid, malic acid, tartaric acid, bitartrate of potassa, bitartrale of 

 lime, other salts of lime and carbonic acid. The quantity of alcohol varies 

 exceedingly ; from 9 to 25 per cent, according to Brande, and from 7 to 17 

 per cent, according to Christison. (See Carson's edition of Pereira's Elements 

 of Mat. Med., ii. 645.) 



Medical Properties, fyc. — Wine is stimulant and tonic. In moderate quan- 

 tities it excites the energies of the system, promotes digestion, quickens the 

 action of the heart and arteries, increases the secretions, enlivens the senses, 

 awakens the passions, and improves the intellectual powers. But as these 

 are the result of an artificial stimulation, its habitual use in a state of health 

 must prove injurious, by exhausting the vital powers, to a degree commensu- 

 rate to the quantity and quality taken, and to the condition of the system, and 

 its susceptibility to the action of alcohol. When taken to excess it intoxi- 

 cates, with its degrading consequences. Its habitual and long-continued use 

 even in moderation, is equally destructive to mind and body, producing dys- 



