446 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



had not, to even a greater extent than the region of Champagne, possessed 

 ready-made storage of great extent and suitability. The subterranean 

 quarrying-out of limestone has, in the Saumur district of the Touraine, 

 left vast caverns which are available for the storing and preparation of 

 the millions of bottles of Saumur wine which are now consumed wherever 

 civilisation has extended. The local storage facilities in Champagne and 

 Saumur must not be lost sight of by our Colonial brethren if this branch 

 is to be successfully developed. The manipulation of the article is 

 conducted on precisely the same lines as that employed for the production 

 of Champagne ; and Saumur is distributed to the consumer now at 

 extremely moderate prices to those who are willing to accept it under its 

 own name, while no doubt many a bottle is drunk at much higher price 

 and enjoyed by those who are not sufficiently connoisseurs to judge an 

 article on its own merits. At the Paris Show a special building was 

 devoted to the exhibition of these Saumur wines, the principal shippers 

 of which elected to invite public favour for the wine itself apart from any 

 borrowed glory which might be shed upon it by the more attractive name 

 of Champagne, and they carried off a Grand Prix — the same honour as 

 was awarded to Champagne. 



Port wine, as we know it in this country, is not a " natural " wine in 

 the sense in which we have used and explained that term. The " natural " 

 wine of the Douro is a full red wine, coarser and fuller-bodied than true 

 Claret, and is the ordinary beverage in the country itself, under the name 

 of Consumo, besides being largely exported to the Brazils. It probably 

 would not be popular in this country, with the choice of Clarets and 

 Burgundies before us, whereas "Port," which it becomes when checked 

 in its normal unassisted development, is a wine suited to our climate at 

 all times as a stimulant, used as it is in small quantities, and not as a 

 voluminous beverage such as Vin Ordinaire or beer. 



Although many are under the impression that the present form and 

 characteristics of Port and its suitability for transit over long distances 

 are due to scientific investigation, these are far more the result of what 

 we call chance than is either known or imagined. For example, perfect 

 as is the procedure now observed in the production of Port wine, it was 

 mere accident, or perchance necessity, which occasioned that method in 

 the first instance. When the war with France debarred this kingdom 

 from the import and enjoyment of her red wines, probably difiering but 

 little from those now shipped, a substitute was sought in Portugal, our 

 ally. As, however, her wines in their natural state would not stand the 

 voyage, the addition of alcohol cured their want of stability and made the 

 wine strong, but lacking the characteristic sweetness which rendered 

 agreeable to the palate. Gradually, therefore, the Port wine as we know 

 it was evolved ; the fermentation was checked at a very early stage, and 

 the natural sugar thereby retained, with the result' we have mentioned. 

 In fact, nearly all preserved wines, whether Port, Sherry, Madeira, or 

 Marsala, owe their individuality to accidental experiment in order to 

 preserve their qualities while travelling, to the great benefit of both 

 producer and consumer, if we would only recognise that by the addition 

 of brandy they are no longer beverage wines. 



In like manner Champagne owes its origin to the circumstance that 



