CHAPTER 1. 



SELECTION OF JVIAES. 



Brandy cun he obtained from all wiues, but in very difterent propor- 

 tions and qualities ; the heaviest wine gives the most and the richest. 

 The wines of the South yield the best brandy ; one very rich wine of the 

 department of Drome gives one third of its bulk in brandy ; wines of 

 Hcrault yield one fourth; of la Gironde, one fifth ; and of la Cote- 

 d'Or, only one eighth. Further north the product is still less. 



The sweeter the wine the more excellent the brandy; and from 

 old wines it is better than from new. Common coarse wines fur- 

 nish it plentifully, but rather weak, and very subject to have an em- 

 pyreumatie flavour. Wine on the turn will yield a large quantity, 

 but of inferior quality, and containing much malic acid. From wino 

 high-charged with tartar the brandy is still poorer. Brandy fi'om 

 wines made of green grapes, or grapes gathered in cold and rainy 

 weather, is inferior and scanty. Austere wines yield an abundance 

 before the souring is complete, but after that, it is of a very poor quality. 



White wines are generally preferred to red for distilling, not be- 

 cause they produce more brandy, but because they are cheaper, and 

 the liquor of a milder and pleasanter taste. The white grapes of the left 

 bank of the Charente, of the environs of Rochelle, of Saint Jean d'An- 

 gely, of Surgeres, of la Tremblade, of the isles of Oleron and Re, 

 especially the white grape called la FoUe-hlancke* m the west of France 

 the wine of which is unsavoury but very spirituous, yield the brandies 

 ?o highly appreciated in commerce under the name of Cognac. 



In Gard and Herault where brandy is made yearly in great quanti^ 

 ties, they distil only red wines, and the quality is inferior, generally 

 speaking, to that manufactured in the West, both in taste and smell; 

 notwithstanding the incontestible superiority of the wine. 



As yet the causes of this difference are not understood ; whether 

 owmg to the grape, or the processes employed, or whether owing to 



*It is most rife in Champagne, in the environs of Cognac, Jarnac, 

 Rouiliac, Ruffec, andAigre. 



17 



