46 QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. [1 Jan., 1899. 
A longer vatting gives a darker, harsher, and longer maturing wine. 
When all the colour has been extracted from the skins (which can easily 
be ascertained by drawing a sample from the middle of the vat, either by 
spigot or syphon, at intervals of a few hours, and noting if the wine is darker), 
it should be racked off to finish its fermentation in the cask. Many vignerons 
continue the vatting until the saccharometer marks zero, but why they do so 
is a mystery. Once the wine has extracted all the colour from the husks, or 
all that is required, what is gained by continuing the vatting? If it is with 
the idea that the wine will not finish its fermentation without the husks, in 
that case there would be no dry white wines. Yet we see that must, run 
straight from the mill into the casks without vatting, ferments out allits sugar 
without difficulty. It is simply a custom, and a mistaken custom. Nothing is 
gained by it ; in fact, there is loss of alcohol and increase of volatile acids in the 
wine. 
PRESSING THE MARC, 
As soon as the wine has acquired sufficient colour it should be run off 
into casks from the tap-hole of the vat, and the mare put in the press 
without delay, as acetification is very quick to commence. The wine running 
from the press is very dark, and is frequently put to ferment by itself in a 
cask instead of being mixed with the other. The reason for doing so is—that 
_ should the “cap”’ have been at ail sour or infected with germs of disease, the 
whole of the wine will not be contaminated if it is kept separate. When the 
fermentation has quite ceased and the wine is clear, it will be seen if the press 
wine is sound, and if so it can then be mixed with the vat wine to give it more 
colour. 
VATTING WITH THE STALKS. 
Tf the husks of the vintaged grapes contain a sufficiency of tannin for the 
requirements of the future wine, it is better to avoid fermenting the stalks 
with the must; first, because it may communicate a stalky taste or too much 
astringency to the wine, and, secondly, because the greater the bulk of the 
“cap” the higher will be the temperature of the fermenting mass. Where no 
machinery is available, the stalks -should be picked out by hand after the 
bunches are run through the crusher; but a simple and cheap appliance for 
removing stalks can be made at home. It consists of a wooden frame, 3 feet 
square, or larger if required, and 8 inches deep. All round one side are fixed 
large-headed nails, 1 inch or 14 inches long, and linch apart. A netting is 
now made of stout string or wire by weaving it across and across round the 
nails, which are then driven home to keep all tight. This frame is placed over 
a tub or convenient receptacle, and the grapes thrown on it and the bunches 
rubbed over the netting, and in a few seconds the grapes will all fall through 
leaving the stalks behind. 
WHITE WINE. 
As most white wine is made without fermenting on the husks, the 
procedure is simpler, and the danger of accidents less, than is the case for red 
wine. Should the must be fermented with the husks, it must remain in 
contact with them but a short time, just sufficient for the cap to rise; 
otherwise the wine, although light-coloured at first, will, with age, acquire a 
brownness requiring a considerable amount of fining to get rid of. If the juice 
is run straight into the cask, it is advisable to run the grapes unstalked through 
the crusher to impart to the must some of the tannin the stalks are rich in, as 
many white grapes are deficient in this substance ; and a white’ wine, weak in 
tannic acid, clears with difficulty, and is liable to subsequent troubles. 
