68 MADEIRA AND CAPE WINES. 
scarceness, would prefer it to good Claret or Bur- 
gundy. Of all the German wines, that which is in 
greatest demand in England is Hock. This has its 
name from the town of Hochstadt in Suabia, celebrated 
for a great battle which was fought in its neighbour- 
hood by the French and the allies in 1701*. Rhenish 
and Moselle are produced chiefly on the banks of the 
rivers Rhine and Moselle, and have a cool, sharp taste, 
and considerable strength. Anterior to the late wars in 
Germany, there were wines in the cellars of many of the 
noble and wealthy inhabitants of that country which 
were more than a hundred years old, and of such body 
as to be uninjured even by so great an age. 
(jf) MADEIRA and TENERIFFE WINES. To the 
Madeira and Canary islands we are indebted for some 
excellent white wines. Of these Madeira wine is con- 
sidered by far the most valuable, particularly after it 
has been ripened by conveyance into a hot climate. 
The number of pipes of Madeira annually made is about 
30,000. The grapes, when gathered, are put into wooden 
vessels, and the juice is extracted by persons treading 
upon them. 
The Canary Islands gave name to a rich white wine, 
which was formerly in great esteem under the name of 
Canary sack, and is now usually called Malmsey Ma- 
deira. The genuine Malmsey wine, which is of sweet 
and luscious flavour, and rich golden yellow colour, is 
the produce of Malvesia, one of the Greek islands, and 
thence had originally its name, the French merchants 
denominating it Vin de Malvesia : but so little is now- 
made that few persons can possess it. Teneriffe wine, 
when two or three years old, has much the flavour of 
Madeira, but, after this age, it becomes so sweet and 
mellow, as somewhat to resemble Malaga. 
(g) CAPE WINES. There are produced, at the Cape 
of Good Hope, two kinds of peculiarly rich, sweet, and 
delicate wine, called red and white Conslantia. The 
