CHAPTER IV. 



OF THE VINOUS FERMEJVTATIOjV. 



Every farmer of the least care wili have his vats cleaned out with 

 i]\e greatest attention before the beginning of the vintage. Some 

 rub them with very ripe Portugal quinces ; others, if the vats are 

 of stone, give them several coats of quicit-lime, to destroy the malic 

 acid in the must. If the vats are of wood, some wash them with 

 warm water; dry them and pour brandy down the sides ; others rub them 

 with decoctions of aromatic herbs, with salt and water, with boiling 

 must, &c. All these methods are good, when cleanness is the result ; 

 but quick-lime has, I fear, some inconveniencies ; the calcareous salts 

 formed by this apphcation, by mixing with the wine may communicate 

 a bad taste to it, and properties injurious to health. 



The quickest fermentation is the best ; to make sure of it, a vat that is 

 begun must be filled on the same day ; the grapes also are not to be 

 carried to the vat until towards ten o'clock, or even noon, so that the 

 heat of the sun may warm the must. If it is foreseen that the vat 

 cannot be filled in twelve hours at furthest, the vintage had better 

 be deposited carefully in puncheons, and the pressing be deferred 

 until next day. It is unsafe also to have vats of too great a size ; be- 

 cause in cold seasons, they are harder to heat, and more difficult to 

 fill, and the wine is apt to lose its bouquet in them. The farmer who 

 can master these objections does well to prefer the large vat, because 

 the fermentation is always more active in a large body of must tlian a 

 small one. 



The presence of sugar and Vv^ater are not^one necessary for fer- 

 mentation ; heat also is required up to 12 degrees of Reaumur at least. 

 To this effect several gallons of the must are to be heated in kettles, 

 and poured into the vat. One precaution must be remembered ; the 

 must is to be removed from the fire the instant it has reached the 

 boiling point, or it will acquire a sweetness that will make the wine 

 unfit for keeping. If the vintage has taken place during a very warm 

 spell, or even during a middling temperature, the fruit will contain 

 heat enough, and no external assistance be reaeired to promote the 



