On Colonial Wines. 65 
place, carefully boiled down till of nearly the thickness of 
treacle, and most carefully seummed while being evaporated. 
It consists then of the natural saccharine matter of the ripest 
and best grapes, to which is added when cold five per cent. 
of brandy. This is used, if occasion require it, for giving 
additional sweetness and fulness to wine. This is a very 
different affair from the geropiga prepared for sophisticating 
Port wines. _ 
4. The use of brandy for the purpose of what may be 
ealled fortifying wines, 2.¢., making artificially a compound to 
resemble some HKuropean wine, and perhaps for the dishonest 
purpose of passing it off for what it is not, [ reprobate. 
5. Regarding fining wines, it may be mentioned that 
when whites of eggs are used, unless the wine shows a vast 
excess of tannic acid, when they have been beaten up to a 
froth, a small portion of brandy is added to diminish the 
effect they would otherwise produce in taking too much of 
the tannic acid out. By ignorance of this much wine has 
been utterly ruined. 
It belongs naturally to this place, to state that no real 
advance in wine making, and in creating marketable wine— 
wine | mean that can be supplied from year to year of the 
same character—can be made, unless accurate accounts of 
every circumstance of climate, soil, vines, fermentation and 
after-treatment be kept in every wine cellar, as well as sam- 
ples of the wines themselves. This for the sake of reference 
and comparison. 
I would suggest here, that were cellar-books purchasable, 
ruled and headed so as to give a column for each particular 
I have alluded to, and a good many others which I need not 
touch upon at present, with an ample space on one of the 
margins for remarks, one great step would be taken in the 
right direction. ‘The owner of a vineyard would soon find 
his account, in having such records carefully kept. It is 
only by adopting these necessary means, that wine of a kind 
which happens to secure a market can be continuously sup- 
plied from year to year. I have no doubt but my friend 
Mr. Blake of Tabilk, has by him books that would serve as 
perfect models of this kind of record. I cannot be too em- 
phatic in saying that everything done to each particular 
wine should be carefully recorded. 
It is not, however, my intention to write an essay on 
elementary matters and technicalities in wine making, but 
to poimt to one or two things which occur to me as not 
having been sufficiently insisted upon in the several useful 
E 
