SHERRY WINE MAKING. 



19 



September, and seldom being completed till the end of 

 October. In the vine3^ards yielding the common wines 

 this is not the case ; when the majority of the grapes are 

 ripe, they gather the whole, and their vintage is over in 

 8 or 10 days. My observation, as to the shortness of the 

 time it would be requisite to keep the wine in the vats, 

 appeared to get over his difficulty ; and from what he 

 said, I think it likely that he will not allow another vin- 

 tage to pass without giving them a trial. He said he was 

 sensible of the advantage of sulphuring wine, but that it 

 was difficult to prevent the taste from remaining : and 

 that it sometimes happened that the English merchant 

 would not be persuaded that there was no taste of 

 sulphur, even when none had been used. He had got 

 M'Culloch's book, and was aware of the qualities of the 

 sulphate of potash, which that writer so strongly recom- 

 mends. On returning from the cellar to the pressing-room 

 we found the presses at work. There were eight troughs, 

 similar in shape and dimensions to those formerly de- 

 scribed, each with its wooden screw in the centre. A 

 large quantity of grapes being heaped up in one part of 

 the trough, they commence by strewing upon them as 

 much powdered gypsum, or sulphate of lime, as a man 

 can take up with both hands. A portion of the grapes 

 are then spread over the bottom of the remainder of the 

 trough, upon which the men jump with great violence, 

 having wooden shoes, with nails to prevent their slip- 

 ping. After the greater part of the grapes are pretty 

 well broken, they are piled up round the screw, and a flat 

 band, made of a kind of grass, is wound round the pile, 

 commencing at the bottom, the broken grapes being 

 heaped and pressed in as the band is wrapped higher and 

 higher, till they are all compressed into it. They then 



