I 
WIN 
pafs them over, and mention the obfervatidns of a cer- 1 
tain curious author on this fubjeht. 
The myftery of Wines confifts in the making and me- 
liorating of natural Wines. 
Melioration is either of found or vicious Wines. 
Sound Wines are bettered, 
1. By preferving. 
2. By timely fining. 
3. By mending colour, lfnell, or take. 
i. To preferve Wines, care muft be taken, that after 
the prefting they may ferment well; for without good 
fermentation they become qually, i. e. cloudy, thick, 
and dufky, and will never fine themfelves, as other 
Wines do ; and when they are fined by art they muft 
be fpeedily fpent, or elfe they will become qually 
again, and then will not be recoverable by any art. 
To preferve Spanifh Wines, and chiefly Canary, and 
therefore principally that which is razie, which will 
not keep long, they -make a layer of Grapes and 
Giefie, whereby it acquires a better durance and tafte, 
and a white colour, moft pleafing to the Englifh. 
Razie Wine is fo called, becaufe it comes from Rhe- 
nilh Vine cuttings, fometimes renewed. The Grapes 
of this Vine are flefhy, yielding but a little juice. 
The French and Rhenilh Wines are chiefly and com- 
monly preferved by the match, thus ufed at Dordt in 
Holland : 
They take twenty or thirty pounds of brimftone, rack 
into it melted, as Cloves, Cinnamon, Mace, Ginger, 
and Coriander-feeds ; and fome, to fave charges, ufe 
the reliques of the Hippocras bag, and* having mixed 
thefe well with the brimftone* they draw through this 
mixture, long, fquare, narrow pieces of canvas, which 
pieces they light, and put into the veflel at the bung- 
hole, and prefently ftop it clofe : great care is to be 
had in proportioning the brimftone to the quantity 
and quality of the Wine, for too much makes it roughi 
This fmoking keeps the Wine long white and good, 
and gives it a pleafant tafte. * 
There is aftother way for French and Rhenifh Wines, 
viz. firing it. It is done in a ftove, or elfe a good fire 
made round about the veftel, which will gape wide, 
yet the Wine never runs out. It will boil, and after- 
wards may foon be racked. 
Secondly, for timely fining of Wines. All Wines in 
the muft are more opacous and cloudy. Good Wine 
foon fines, and the grofs fettle quickly, and alfo the 
flying lee in time. When the grofler lees are fettled, 
they draw off the Wine ; this is called racking. The 
nfual times for racking are Midfummer and Allhal- 
lowtide. 
The practice of the Dutch and Englifh to rid the 
Wine of the flying lees fpeedily, and which ferves 
mo.ft for French and Spanifh Wine is thus per- 
formed : 
Take of ifinglafs half a pound; fteep it in half a pint of 
the hardeft French Wine that can be got, fo that the 
Wine may fully cover it ; let them ftand twenty-four 
hours ; then pull and beat the ifinglafs to pieces, and 
add more Wine ; four times a day fqueeze it to a jel- 
ly, and as it thickens add more Wine. When it is 
full, and perfectly jellied, take a pint or quart to a 
hogfhead, and fo proportionably ; then overdraw three 
or four gallons of that Wine you intend to fine, which 
mix well with the faid quantity of jelly ; then put this 
mixture to the piece of Wine, and beat it with a ftaff, 
and fill it top-full. 
Note, That French Wines muft be bunged up very 
clofe, but not the Spanifh ; and that ifinglafs raifes 
the lees to the top of ftrong Wines, but, in weaker, 
precipitates them to the bottom. 
They mend the colour of found clarets by adding 
thereto red Wine, tent, or Alicant ; or by an infu- 
fion of Turnfole, made in two or three gallons of 
Wine, and then putting it into the veflel, to be then 
(being well flopped) rolled for a quarter of an hour. 
This infufion is fometimes twice or three times re- 
peated, according as more colour is to be added to 
the Wine; about three infuflons of the Turnfole are 
fufficient ; but then it muft be rubbed and wringed. 
Claret over-red is amended with the addition of while 
Wines. 
White Wines coming over found, but brown, are 
thus remedied : 
Take of alabafter powder, overdraw the hogfhead thred 
or four gallons, then put this powder into the bung, 
and ftir and beat it with a ftaff, and fill it top-full. 
The more the Wine is ftirred, the finer it will come 
upon the lee, that is, the finer it will be. 
To colour fack white: take of white ftarch two 
pounds, of milk two gallons, boil them together two 
hours ; when cold, beat them well with a handful of 
white fait, and then put them into a clean but fweet 
butt, beating them with a ftaff, and the Wine will be 
pure and white. 
One pound of the before-mentioned jelly of ifinglafs 
takes away the brownnefs of French and Spanifii 
Wines, mixed with' two or three gallons of Wine ; ac- 
cording as it is brown and ftrong, more or lefs to be 
ufed. Then overdraw the piece of Wine about eight 
gallons, and ufe the rod ; then fill the veflel full, and 
in a day or. two it will be fine, and be white, and mend, 
if qually. 
The firft buds of Ribes nigra, i. e. black Currants, 
infufed in Wines, efpecially Rhenilh, make it diuretic, 
and more fragrant in fmell and tafte, and fo doth Clary, 
The inconvenience is, that the Wine becomes more 
heady ; a remedy for which is Elder-flowers added to 
the Clary, which alfo betters the fragrancy thereof, as 
it is manifeft in Elder vinegar, but thefe flowers are 
apt to make the Wine ropy. 
To help brown Malagas and Spanifh Wines : take 
powder of Orris-roots and falt-petre, of each four 
ounces, the whites of eight eggs, to which and as 
much fait as will make a brine ; put this mixture into 
Wine, and mix them with a ftaff. 
To meliorate muddy and tawny clarets : take of rain 
water two pints, the yolks of eight eggs, fait a hand- 
ful ; beat them well, let them ftand fix hours before 
you put them into the cafk; then ule the rod, arid in 
three days it will come to itfelf. 
To amend the tafte and fmell of Malaga Wine : take 
of the beft Almonds four pounds, make an emulfion 
of them with a fufficient quantity of the Wine to be 
cured ; then take the whites and yolks of twelve eggs, 
beat them together with a handful of fait, put them 
into the pipe, ufing the rod. - 
To amend the fmell and tafte of French and Rhenifh 
Wines, which are foul : take one pound of honey, a 
handful of Elder-flowers, an ounce of Orris-powder, 
one Nutmeg, a few Cloves to an auln of the Wine ; 
boil them in a fufficient quantity of the Wine to be 
cured, to the confumption of half, and when it is cold, 
ftrain it, and ufe it with the rod ; fome add a little 
fait. If the Wine be fweet enough, add one pound 
of the fpirits of Wine to a hogfhead, and give the 
cafk a ftrong feent. Spirit of Wine makes any Wine 
brifk, and fines it, without the former mixture. 
A lee of the afhes of Vine branches, viz. a quart to a 
pipe, being beaten into Wine, cures the ropinefs of it, 
and fo infallibly doth a lee of Oaken afhes. 
For Spanifh ropy Wine: rack it from the lees into a 
new-feented cafk, then take of allum one pound, of 
Orris-roots powdered half a pound ; beat them well 
into the Wine with a ftaff; fome add fine and well 
dried fand, put warm to the Wine. If the Wine be- 
fides prove brown, add three pottles of milk to a pipe : 
this cures ropy Wine, before it begins to fret. 
To mend and preferve the colour of clarets : take red 
Beet-roots, q. f. ferape them clean, and cut them into 
fmall pieces ; then boil them in q. f. of the fame Wine, 
to the confumption of the third part ; fcunl it well, 
and when cool, decant off what is clear, ahd ufe the 
rod.) 
Firing of Wines in Germany is thus performed : 
They have in lome vaults three or four ftoves, which 
they heat very hot ; others make fires almoft before 
every vat ; by this means the muft fermenteth with 
that vehemency, that the Wine appears between the 
ftaves; when this ebullition, fermentation, and 
