181 
and the Method of making Wines . 
depending present themselves to the observer. The stems 
of vine sheltered by the trees throw out long slender 
twigs, which bear little fruit, and lead to slow and im- 
perfect maturity. The highest portion of the vine is in 
general the barest ; vegetation there is less vigorous ; but 
the grapes are of a better quality than in low situations. 
The best grapes are always found in those places most 
exposed to the south.* 
4. Seasons .— It is well known that the nature of the 
vine varies according to the character of the season ; and 
its effects may be naturally deduced from the principles 
we have established in speaking of the influence of cli- 
mate, soil, and exposure ; since we have shown how to 
ascertain what effects moisture, cold, and heat, may have 
on the formation and quality of the grapes. A cold and 
rainy season, indeed, in a country naturally hot and dry, 
will produce on the grapes the same effect as a northern 
climate : this state of the temperature, by bringing toge- 
ther these climates, assimilates and identifies all the pro 
Auctions of them. 
The vine is fond of warmth, and the grapes never come 
to perfection but in dry soil exposed to the rays of an ar- 
dent sun. When a rainy year keeps the soil in a state 
of continual humidity, and maintains a moist, cold tem- 
perature in the atmosphere, the grapes will acquire nei- 
ther flavour nor saccharine principles ; and the wine they 
produce will be necessarily abundant, weak, and insipid. 
* The general principles, in regard to the influence of exposure, admit of 
many exceptions : the famous vineyards of Epernai and Versenai, in the moun- 
tain of Rheims, are fully exposed to the north, in a latitude so northern for vines, 
that it is in those places where the region of the vine suddenly terminates under 
that meridian. 
The vineyards of Nuits and Beaune, as well as the best of Beaugenci and 
Blois, lie towards the east ; those of Loire and Cher lie indiscriminately towards 
the north and south ; the excellent hills of Seaumur face the north ; and the 
best vines of Angers are produced from vines which grow in all exposures,--* 
Observations de Creuze-Latouche lues d la Societe d’Jlgri culture de Paris , 
