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4. Sparkling Wines. 



It is only in the neighbourhood of Rheims and Epernay ('Marne,) 

 tliat the famous sparkling wines are produced. These wines are ob- 

 tained by a skilful admixture of black and white grapes ; the bunches 

 selected are the ripest and soundest, and are cleansed from all wither- 

 ed, green, or rotten berries. They are crushed by a press, that screws 

 thrice ; the first pressure affords the must for the wine ; the second, 

 which gives higher coloured and more spirituous wine, is added in 

 the proportion of one tenth or twelfth to the sparkling wine ; and the 

 product of the third pressure is used to add strength to the common red 

 wines of the country. Sparkling wine is bottled in the month of March 

 after the vintage; the ebullition commences two months after ; it is very 

 strong in June, during the flowering of the Vine, and also in August 

 when the grape begins to ripen; at which time the vine-grower meets 

 with great losses from the breaking of bottles. This ferment grows 

 feeble in autumn, and the next season it causes fewer accidents. 



There are two kinds of this wine, the sparkling and the still. The 

 sparkling is made in those seasons when the grape is not as perfect as 

 possible, in seasons when the wines are apt to be light, tart, and not 

 spirituous ; but the still is made from the crops of seasons which were 

 warm and regular, and in which the grape had come to perfection. 

 The sparkling often lose their sweetness and fire in growing old, but 

 become the livelier, the carbonic acid gas being constantly on the in- 

 crease. 



5. Rose Wine. 



The grapes in the department of Marne, intended for rose wine, 

 are culled and gathered with the same precautions as those for the 

 sparkling wine ; they are also crushed in the press ; before being put 

 to the press, they are stemmed and slightly bruised in vessels for 

 this purpose, and left until incipient fermentation, by which the co- 

 lonring matter begins to give a rosy tinge to the must. 



This is the usual method ; but some make use of a mixture called 

 from the place of its manufacture, Vin de Fimes, Fimes wine. It is 

 made from elder berries boiled with cream of tartar, and filtrated. A 

 few drops of this liquor will ffive the colour ; it is of a finer hue and keep^ 



