i23 



roilad for five oy six mmutes. If the heads of tlie casks appear strain- 

 ed during this operation, a spigot hole must be instantly made near 

 the bung, but only a very slight portion of the gas must be permitted 

 to escape ; it is the carbonic acid gas which destroys the vegeto-ani- 

 mal principle which is the cause of ropiness. Two days after, the wine 

 must be fined ; but instead of whisiiing with the bung open, the cask 

 must be only rolled and then left to rest. Five days after, the wine 

 will be found Umpid, clear, clean, free from roping ; it must then be 

 racked off*. Bottled wine that needs clearing, must be poured into a 

 cask and proceeded with in the same manner. 



There are other remedies pursued, such as drawing the vcine over 

 fresh lees ; fining and stumming with care ; raising the tempera- 

 ture of the air ; bringing the bottles into the open air ; fining with is- 

 inglass and whites of eggs together ; all these things may be repeat- 

 ed over several times, if need be, taking care to pour the wine from 

 a considerable height, that by its agitation it may become imbued 

 with atmospheric air. But to tell the truth, the wine is never as 

 good, cured by these prompt measures, as when it f:lowlr re-esta- 

 blishes itself 



2. Acld'itij. 



All wines may sour, but weak ones are most liable to turn acid. 

 This change ia very common at the rise of the sap,, or during the flower- 

 ing ; it must be remedied in the very onset, as it is a constantly in- 

 creasing fault. The wine must be drawn oflT into a cask that has been 

 highly impregnated with sulphur from burning matches ; this cask 

 must be placed in a colder spot than tnat where the wine was stored 

 previously, and must be filled-up faithfully, as is done with the new 

 wine. Every vintner has his own r^ci^es. One boasts that one fifth 

 of skimmed milk added to the cask will cure it ; another that honey or 

 barley-sugar melted in the wine is the thing ; another commands the 

 wine to be saturated with acetate of magnesia j another that it be fined 

 with bone-glue. But the best means is to pass the wine, during 

 the vintage, through the vat, after having drawn off the new v.nne. 

 This will restore it to its taste, but it must be consumed as fast as 

 possible ; because it is very sure to return to its previous state during 

 the next shooting of the Vines. 



If the acidity has arrived at the second degree of fermentation, 

 nothing can be done ; and it must bo converted into vinegar. If the 

 atridity is onW on the surfnre there is a way of rf^meclying, which -5 = 



