Various Notices* 
321 
ailFercnt vines upon the same stalk. Most parts of Biscay abound 
in these vines, which border the high roads, generally growing to 
the height of about three or four feet. The wine in Biscay is 
sold at a certain price, as regulated by the police, and until tlie 
whole produce of the vintage is disposed of, no foreign wine is 
permitted to be brought into the province ; hence it happens that 
the sole study of the proprietors of vineyards is to collect a 
large quantity of wine, without attending to quality or flavour, and 
consequently Chacoli has become proverbially despicable in Spain. 
Indeed the grapes are not allowed to arrive at a state of maturity, 
but are gathered and squeezed, while sour and nearly devoid of 
substance ; now if the juice were allowed to collect and meliorate 
in the grape, if the green fruit were not mingled with the ripe, if 
the wines were made with the same care as are those of otiier 
provinces, this despicable Chacoli would undergo a proper fermen- 
tation, gain strength, acquire a delicious flavour in lieu of its pre^ 
sent acid and nauseous taste, and would moreover prove equal in 
every respect (except that of seniority) to the French Champaign, 
which, of its kind, stands at present unrivalled. 
“ The wine of Guidas, in Castile, is made from cherries, and is 
a species of Ratifia. Foucal wine, which takes its name from a 
village situate near Madrid, is of a good quality, but it is onlp 
reckoned an ordinary wine. 
“ The wines of Val de Penas, Ciudad Real, Ribadavia, and 
Rioxa, and those called La Mancha are very good, and except in 
regard to different degrees of colour, are nearly similar in every 
respect. 
“ The best wines of Arragon are those denominated Garnachas, 
so called frpm the species of grape which produces them : the 
best of all is a red wine named Hospital ; it is excellent as to fla-^ 
vour, strength. See. and is besides a capital stomachic. Caninea, 
called likewise white Garnachas, is very fme, and is much eS“ 
teemed. 
“ The wines of Peralta, Tudela, Tafalla,and Arandillo in 
varre, are nearly alike, and are excellent both as to flavour and 
quality. That of Peralta is well known under the title of Rancio, 
which it receives when old enough to merit that distinction. To 
these may be added the wine of Iluesca, which is very good. 
“ The wines of Xeres, better known under the name of Sherry, 
are made at the aforesaid town, which is situated in the province 
of Andalusia. They are not only dry but sweet ; the dry, hov/«, 
are the most esteemed, more particplaidy when their 
