494 TH E VINEYARD. [Sept. 
If besides it be desired to have a heady, or intoxicating wine, add 
some tartar and sugarded 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 Musi deprived of its tartar. 
It has been suggested to me, that exposing the casks of weak 
wine to the winter frost, till the watry particles contained in the 
liquor are converted into ice, and then drawing off 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 of 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 Muscadel, for example, is given with the flowers of Elder and 
other herbs; some use peach flowers and consider them to commu- 
nicate an agreeable flavour to wine. 
The absolute and essential qualities in wine are to have no de- 
fect, 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 Davan- 
xati 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 
tis^ht and bunged effectually, not doubting but many other methods 
may be used equally effectual, 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 may be nearly the same winter and sum- 
mer: it should be at a distance from streets, high-ways, workshops, 
sewers and necessaries; if arched over, the better. 
Of all other methods wine is best preserved in bottles, well 
eorked 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 
