and the Method of making Wines . 405 
wine might bring itself to perfection by insensible fer- 
mentation during the whole winter. 
66 Having examined this wine on the 17 th of March 
1778, I found that it was almost entirely clear, the re- 
mains of its saccharine as well as its acid taste had dis- 
appeared. The latter was that of pretty strong wine made 
from pure grapes : it was not unpleasant, but had no per- 
fume or bouquet , because the grapes, which we call ver~ 
jus , contain no odorous principle or aroma: these ex- 
cepted, this wine, which was quite new, and which still 
had to gain by that fermentation which I call insensible , 
promised to become racy and agreeable.” 
These experiments seem to me to prove, beyond all 
doubt, that the best method of remedying the want of 
maturity in grapes is to follow the process indicated by 
nature ; that is to say, to introduce into the must that 
quantity of saccharine principle necessary which it could 
not give them. This method is the more practicable, as 
not only sugar, but also honey, molasses, and every other 
saccharine matter of an inferior price can produce the 
same effect, provided they have no disagreeable accessary 
taste which cannot be destroyed by good fermentation. 
Bullion caused the juice of grapes, taken from his park 
at Bellegames, to ferment by adding from 15 to 20 pounds 
of sugar per muid«* The wine they produced was of a 
good quality, 
Rozier, long ago, proposed to facilitate the fermenta- 
tion of must, and ameliorate wines by the addition of ho- 
ney, in the proportion of a pound to two hundred of must. 
All these processes depend on the same principle, viz. 
that no alcohol is produced where there is no sugar ; and 
that the formation of alcohol, and consequently the gene- 
rous nature of wine, is constantly proportioned to the 
quantity of sugar existing in the must : it is thence evi 
* 280 quarts. 
