1 Jay., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 43 
The acid should invariably be added to the must before fermentation and 
not after, as in the latter case it only communicates a harsh sourness to the 
wine without benefiting it in any way. The best method is to sprinkle it on 
the grapes as they are crushed, a little at a time. 
CRUSHING. 
Before crushing, pick off all unsound grapes, if possible; and when they 
have been picked over twenty-four hours and have travelled some distance, the 
bunches should be washed with a stream of water from tap or hose. The 
object in both cases is to remove the bacteria which are swarming in the 
unsound and broken berries. When crushing with a mill it is not advisable to 
place the crusher directly over the vat, unless the latter is very large, as by doing 
so the must will not get sufficient aerification from too low a fall. It is better 
to have the crusher at a certain elevation, and allow the must to run down a 
wooden shoot into the vat, which will allow sufficient oxygen to be absorbed to 
assist in the fermentation. Where this is not practicable, the must should be 
racked from the bottom to the top of the vat for a short time with tap and 
bucket. Must from grapes which have been trodden requires no artificial 
aerification, as by this process the must is thoroughly aerated naturally. 
FERMENTATION. 
STARTING A HEALTHY FERMENTATION. 
The must in the fermenting vat or cask will, if these are “ cold,” or have 
not contained fermenting must lately, require twelve hours to enter into 
fermentation, and more if the weather is cold. This gives a chance for some 
of the noxious bacteria to develop contemporaneously with the Saccharomyces, 
which should be avoided if possible. An excellent way of doing so, and start- 
ing a quick healthy fermentation, is to prepare, twenty-four hours previously, 
a yeast from the soundest and hest quality grapes in the vineyard, pressed by 
hand into a very clean pan or tub covered with a clean linen cloth. A. gallon 
or two of this, mixed a little at a time with the grapes as they are crushed, 
will at once start a fermentation free of bacterial contamination. The writer 
has constantly adopted this expedient with favourable results. 
TEMPERATURE DURING FERMENTATION. 
The most important point to attend to during this critical period is the 
temperature of the fermenting must. Too low or too high a temperature will 
affect the regular course of the fermentation with dangerous and even 
disastrous results to the wine. The danger of too low a temperature is one 
that is highly unlikely to occur in this colony, and may be dismissed, but the 
second is a danger that should be carefully provided against. The 
Saccharomyces or vinous ferment germs do their work of transforming the 
sugar into alcoho! and other substances most perfectly at a temperature of 80 
degrees to 90 degrees. At 95 degrees the germs will still complete their work, 
but not with such energy as at the lower figures. As the temperature rises 
above 95 degrees, the activity of the germs gets more and more feeble, until, at 
about 110 degrees, their action ceases—they are dead or paralysed. 
Let us examine for a moment how a high temperature affects the 
fermenting must. When grapes are crushed, the must is sown with the spores 
not only of the Saccharomyces ellipsoideus adhering to the skins, but also with 
the spores of the Aficoderma (or mildew), and the bacteria of lactic, acetic, and 
other fermentations. These latter may be adherent to the fermenting vats and 
other plant in use, or may be conveyed by the atmosphere. So, long as the 
must is kept at a temperature favourable for the development and reproduction 
of the Saccharomyces, the inimical germs are, so to say, crowded out-and their 
functions impeded. The sugar is transformed into alcohol and the other 
products of vinous fermentation, and a good sound wine is the result. But as 
