CHAPTER IV. 



VARIOUS SORTS OF MADE- WINES. 



This chapter will refer more particularly to the wines prepared in 

 the domestic way, and to cordial wines. Vinegar and its compounds 

 shall be treated of separately. 



1- Made Wines. 



Under this head we must not include the syrups prepared from the 

 must, because they do not contain a drop of alcohol. These syrups 

 are only used for sweetmeats, or cordials, or for vats that are filled 

 with meagre fruit ; or, as is practised in some parts of the Archipelago 

 and Egypt, to make a delectable sherbet, that will keep in wooden 

 vessels, if stored in a cellar, for some time. 



By made-wine is understood a fermented table-drink, obtained from 

 a mixture of concentrated must, brandy, and some spices or aromatic 

 seeds. The preparation of these wines belongs to the housekeeper or 

 her daughters. 



The use of these drinks is very ancient ; it passed from Asia to 

 Greece ; from that all over Europe ; they are still in request in Italy, 

 Spain, especially in the neighbourhood of San Lucar, and in some 

 departments of France, mostly in the Bouches-du-Rhone. The follow- 

 ing is the most general recipe. 



Pick the ripest, finest, and most sweet smelhng grapes of the Malvo- 

 sie and the Muscat kinds, at the hottest time of day, to avoid the 

 least humidity. Lay them on hurdles and transport them with great 

 caution to the spot in which they are to be exposed to the sun. Here 

 they must be left for 5 or 6 days ; turned three times a day, and shelter- 

 ed at night. The sixth day they are to be crushed in the vat. Of 

 the must thus obtained, only the upper part is taken out for this pur- 

 pose, the lower notjbeing considered so exquisite and rich. Thisf7-ea77i 

 of the must is put in a copper boiler over a clear charcoal fire, or at 

 least a fire without smoke, where it must boil until reduced to one 

 third, being in the mean time carefully skimmed. It is then poured 

 Into new, or perfectly clean, wooden vessels, and when cold is transfer- 



