Sept.] THE VINEYARD. 495 
If besides it be desired to have a headj or intoxicating wine, add 
some tartar and sugared matter to the must, which will produce' a 
greater portion of spirit. 
If the wine be required to have a great deal of body, add, after 
the ceasing of the fermentation, a fresh sugared matter, such as 
strong must deprived of its tartar. 
It has been suggested to me, that exposing the casks of weak 
wine to the winter frost till the watery particles contained in the 
liquor are converted into ice, and then drawing oft" the pure wine, 
would be the best method of giving it a sufficient body. If this 
answers the end, and it is very probable it may, as pure wine 
requires a much greater degree bf cold to freeze it than water, the 
middle and eastern states of the Union possess an advantage in that 
respect over most of the wine countries of Europe, as the cold of 
their winters is not sufficiently intense to answer that end. 
Should the wine be required with much, little, or no colour, let 
it be remembered that this quality resides exclusively in the skin 
of'the fruit, so that you may conduct the process according to your 
desire. 
Different flavours and fragrancies are communicated by the dif- 
ferent kinds of grapes, and also from other ingredients; the odour 
of Muscatel, for example, is given with the flowers of elder and 
other herbs; some use peach flowers, and consider them to com- 
municate an agreeable flavour to wine. 
The absolute and essential qualities in wine are to have.no 
defect, nor be liable easily to contract any, to be able to keep long, 
and bear transportation. 
An essential article in the preservation of wine is to keep the 
air totally excluded out of the vessels, for which purpose Davanzati 
advises to "take off' the rind of a piece of dried bacon, and leave a 
little fat adhering to it in the centre, after that make use of it in the 
manner of a bung, and cram it in with might, that the cask may be 
well stopped up: extend out the rind afterwards over the cask after 
having done it over with ashes; then cover it over again with very 
dry ashes; and that they may not fall off', nail a piece of stuff' over 
the same. The cask being then sufficiently shut up, the air will not 
penetrate into it, and the wine cannot change its nature." 
I mention this to show the necessity of the casks being kept air- 
tight and bunged eff"ectually, not doubting but many other methods 
may be used equally eff'ectual, perhaps much more so than that 
recommended by Davanzati. 
A wine cellar should be dry, so deep under ground as that the 
temperature of its heat maybe nearly the same winter and summer: 
it should be at a distance from streets, highways, workshops, sewers 
and necessaries; if arched over the better. 
Of all other methods wine is best preserved in bottles, well 
corked and sealed; but this should not be done till it is clear and 
fine, and all fermentation subsided. 
Tartar and the lees of wine are the principles of its destruction, 
and none but sweet wines can bear the existence of them; by often 
drawing it off in order to purge it of these, there is too great a 
