GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. 



133 



wines of Cosperon and Collioure, in the same depart- 

 ment, are produced on hills of schist, as nearly as possible 

 resembling those of Malaga. But though the dry wines 

 of both these soils are well known, they are not distin- 

 guished for their fineness or flavour. Their excellencies 

 are their strength and rich colour, which make them 

 valuable for mixing with the weak and hght-coloured 

 wines of the ordinary growths of Burgundy and Ma9on5 

 which supply the chief consumption of Paris. 



The limited extent of the first-rate vineyards is pro- 

 verbial, and writers upon the subject have almost uni- 

 versally concluded that it is in vain to attempt accounting 

 for the amazing dilFerences which are frequently observed 

 in the produce of vineyards similar in soil, and in every 

 other respect, and separated from each other only by a 

 fence, or a footpath. My own observations have led me 

 to believe, that there is more of quackery than of truth in 

 this. In all those districts which produce wines of 

 high reputation, some few individuals have seen the 

 advantage of selecting a particular variety of grape, and 

 of managing its culture so as to bring it to the highest 

 state of perfection of which it is capable. The same 

 care has been extended to the making, and subsequent 

 management of their wine, by seizing the most favour- 

 able moment for the vintage — by the rapidity with which 

 the grapes are gathered and pressed, so that the whole 

 contents of each vat may be exactly in the same state, 

 and a simultaneous and equal fermentation be secured 

 throughout — by exercising equal discrimination and care 

 in the time and manner of drawing off the wine, and in 

 its subsequent treatment in the vats or casks where it is 

 kept — and lastly, by not selling the wine till it should 

 have acquired all the perfection which it could acquire 



