1 
To cor re ft ranknefs, eagernefs, and pricking of facks, 
and other fv/eet Wines, they take twenty or thirty of 
the whiteft lime (tones, and (lack them in a gallon of 
the Wine ; then they add fome more Wine and ftir 
them together in a half tub, with a parelling ftaff; 
next they pour this mixture into the hogfhead, and 
having again ufed the parelling inftruments, leave the 
Wine to fettle, and then rack it. 
This Wine may probably be no ill drink for grofs 
bodies, and rheumatic pains ; but injurious to good 
fellows of a hot and dry conftitution, and meagre 
habits., 
Agairxft the pricking of French Wines they preferibe 
this eafy and cheap compofition : take of the powder 
of Flanders tile one pound, of roche allum half a 
pound •, mix them and beat them well, with a conve- 
nient quantity of Wine ; then put them' into the hogf- 
head, as the former. 
When their Rhenifh Wines prick, they firft rack them 
off into a clean and ftrongly-fcented cafk or vat, 
then they add to the Wine eight or ten gallons of 
clarified honey, with a gallon or two of (kim-milk ; 
and beating all together, leave them to fettle. 
Sometimes it happens, that claret lofes much of its 
brifknefs and piquantnefs ; and in fuch cafe they 
rack it upon a good lee of red Wine, and put into it 
a gallon of Sloes or Bullace, which, after a little fer- 
mentation and reft, makes the Wine drink brifk and 
rough. 
To meliorate thetafte of hungry and too eager white 
Wines •, they draw off three or four gallons of it, and 
infufing therein as many pounds o( Malaga Raifins 
ftoned, and bruifed in a (tone mortar, till the Wine 
has fufficiently imbibed their fweetnefs and tinfture 
(which it will do in a day’s time,) they run it through 
an hippocras bag ; then put it into a fre(h cafk well 
feented, together with the whole remainder of the 
Wine in the hogfhead, and fo leave it to fine. 
To help (linking Wines, the general remedy is rack- 
ing them from their old and corrupt lee ; befides 
which, fome give them a fragrant frnell or flavour, 
by hanging in them little bags of fpices, fuch as Gin- 
ger, Zedoary, Cloves, Cinnamon, Orris-roots, Cu- 
bebs, Grains of Paradife, Spikenard, and other aro- 
matics. 
Others boil fome of thefe fpices in a pottle of good 
found Vfine of the fame fort, and tun up the de- 
coction hot. 
Others correft the ill favour of rank-leed French Wine 
with only a few Cinnamon canes hung in them. 
Others again, for the fame purpofe, ufe Elder flowers 
and tops of Lavender. 
Having thus run over the vintners difpenfatory, and 
deferibed many of their principal receipts or fecrets, 
for the cure of the acute difeafes of Wine, we (hall 
come to the fourth head, which contains medicaments 
proper for their chronic diftempers ; viz. lofs of fpi- 
rits, and decay of ftrength. 
Concerning thefe, therefore, it is obfervable, that as 
when Wines are in preternatural commotions, from 
an excefs and predomination of their fulphureous parts, 
the o-rand medicine is, to rack them from their lees, 
fo on the contrary, when they decline, and tend to- 
wards palling, by reafon of the fcarcity of their fpirits 
and fulphur,° the moft effeftual prefervative is to rack 
them upon other lees, richer and ftronger than their 
own ; that being from thence fupplied with the new 
fpirits, they may acquire fomewhat more of vigour 
and quicknefs. 
I fay, prefervative ; becaufe there is, in truth, no re- 
ftoring of Wines after they are perfectly palled and 
dead, for nothing that is pad perfection, and hath 
run its natural race once, can receive much amend-. 
ment. 
But befides reinforcing of impoveriflied Wines, by 
new and more generous lees, there are fundry con- 
feftions, by which alfo, as by cordials, the languilh- 
inp- fpirits of many of them may be fuftained, and, 
to° fome degree, recruited, of which the following 
examples. 
When facks Begin to languifh (which doth not often 
happen, efpecially in this city, where it is drank in 
plenty ;) they refrefh them with a cordial fyrup, made 
of moft generous Wine, fugar, and fpices. 
For Rhenifh and white Wines, a Ample decoftion of 
Raifins of the fun, and a ftrong- feented cafk, ufuaily 
ferve the turn. 
For claret inclining to a confumotion, they preferibe 
a new and richer lee, and the (havings of Fir wood, 
that the fpirit being recruited by the additional lee, 
may be kept from exhaling by the unftuous fpirit of 
the turpentine. 
This artifice is ufed in Paris in the moft delicate and 
thin-bodied Wines in France, and is very probably 
the caufe'of that exceeding dulnefs and pain of the 
head, which always attends debauches with fuch 
Wines. 
Nor is it a modern invention, but well known to, and 
frequently ufed by the Romans, in the time of their 
greateft wealth and luxury ; for Pliny (Hilt. Nat. lib. 
14. cap. 2.) takes Angular notice of the cuftom of the 
Italian vintners, in mixing with their Wines turpen- 
tine of feveral forts. 
The Grecians long before had their Vina Picata and 
Refinata, as is evident by the commendation of fuch 
Wines by Plutarch, and the prefeription of them to 
women, in fome cafes by Hippocrates, and they were 
fo much delighted with their Vinum Pifiites, that they 
confecrated the Pitch-tree to Bacchus ; but I (hall 
next take fome notice of the more difingenuous prac- 
tices of vintners in the tranfmutation or fophiftication, 
which they call trickings or compafllngs. 
They transform poor Rochelle and Cogniac white 
Wines into Rhenifh ; Rhenifh into fack ; the lags of 
fack and malmfeys into mufcadels. 
They counterfeit Rafpie Wine with Fleur-de-lys roots.; 
Verdea with decoftions of Raifins ; they fell decayed 
Xeres, vulgarly Sherry, for Lufenna Wine ; in all 
thefe impoftures deluding the palate fo nearly, that 
few are able to difeern the fraud, and keeping thefe 
Arcana fo clofe, that few can come to the knowledge 
of them. 
As for their metamorphofis cf white into claret, by 
dafhing it v/ith red, nothing is more commonly either 
done or known. 
For their converfion of white into Rhenifh, they have 
feveral artifices to effeft it, among which this is the 
moft ufual : 
They take a hogfhead of Rochelle, or Cogniac, or 
Nantz white Wine ; rack it into a freih calk ftrong- 
ly feented, then give it the white parell ; put into it 
eight or ten gallons of clarified honey, or forty pounds 
of coarfe fugar, and, beating it well, leave it to 
clarify. 
To give this mixture a delicate flavour, theyfome- 
times add the decoftion of the yellow Clary flowers, 
or Galitricum, of which drugs there is an incredible 
quantity ufed every year at Dort, where the ftaple of 
Rhenifh Wines was ; and this is that drink with which 
the Engli(h ladies were wont to be fo delighted, under 
the fpecious name of Rhenifh in the muft. 
The manner of making adulterate baftard is thus 
Take four gallons of white Wine, three gallons of old 
Canary, five pounds of baftard fyrup ; beat them well 
together, put them into a clean rundlet well feented, 
and give them time to fine. 
Sack is made of Rhenifh, either by a ftrong decoftion 
of Malaga Raifins, or by a fyrup of fack, fugar, and 
fpices. 
Mufcadel is fophifticated with the lags of fack or 
malmfey thus : 
They diffolve it in a convenient quantity of Rofe wa- 
ter, of mufk two ounces, of calamus aromaticus 
powdered one ounce, of Coriander beaten half an 
ounce; and while this infufion is yet warm, they put 
it into a rundlet of old fack or malmfey, and this they 
call a flavour for mufcadel. 
There are many other ways of adulterating Wines in 
this city ; but becaufe they all tend to the above- 
mentioned alterations, and are not fo general, I (hall 
pafs 
