1 Mar., 1898.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 193 
Cleanliness of the cellar is of the first importance; nothing should be 
placed init that could by any possibility give a taint to the wine, whether 
substances emitting offensive odours or fruit or vegetables. A case came 
under the writer’s observation of a cellar full of excellent wine being ruined 
by a quantity of onions being stored behind and under the casks ; the wine had 
acquired a strong flavour of the vegetables. Scrupulous cleanliness should 
likewise be observed in sweeping up and removing all litter that could harbour 
germs. 
In building a cellar, the dimensions must depend upon the size of the 
vineyard, the amount of stock required to be put away for maturing, and, to a 
certain extent, upon the nature of the ground intended to be built on ; lastly, 
and not least, on the expense the vigneron is prepared to incur. It would, 
therefore, be out of place to suggest in this article any particular dimensions ; 
suffice to say that if the vineyard is a small one of, say, 15 to 20 acres, it 
should be wide enough to contain a double row of casks from 250 to 500 
gallons capacity, with a width of 6 feet between the two rows for working 
space and 2 feet between the casks and the walls of the cellar, or in all say 
22 feet ; the length must be determined by the amount of stock you wish to 
put away for maturing. 
Three years’ stock of a 15-acre vineyard, taking 2 tons to the acre as an 
average crop, will be nearly 11,000 gallons, which, if lodged in two rows of 500- 
gallon casks, will require 66 feet of cellarage in length and 22 feet in width; a 
fourth year’s stock can be stored in pipes above and between the 500-gallon 
casks ; and, on the supposition that one quarter of the yearly erop is made into 
fortified sweet and dry wines, another year’s stock can be lodged on the upper 
floor; so that in a cellar 66 feet in length five years’ crop of a 15-acre vineyard, 
or about 18,000 gallons, can easily be housed. Should more than 25 per cent. 
of fortified wines be made, there will be a corresponding increase of room 
below. ‘To the 66 feet of cellarage must be added about 20 feet for the 
fermenting-room, making a total length of 86 feet to 88 feet of cellar for a 
15-acre vineyard. Should the length be regarded as excessive, by widening 
the cellar to admit of a triple line of casks, the dimensions would be altered 
to 50 feet by 34 feet; but it must be remembered that, under certain conditions, 
the wider cellar will be less cool than the longer. 
Four years’ stock has been taken as the base to calculate upon, because the 
majority of Australian wines are quite ripe for bottling at that age. It 18 
exceptional to find wines that require maturing in cask longer. No account 
has been taken of the space necessary for a bottling department in the above 
measurement ; this must be added on (if the bottling is done in the same 
building) to the end opposite the fermenting-room, and divided from the main 
cellar by a wooden partition with a sliding door; but many vignerons prefer 
to have that done ina separate building communicating with the cellar. A 
15-acre vineyard has been chosen to calculate the measurements by, as a 
vineyard about that size is fairly common in Queensland. For larger or 
smaller vineyards the dimensions will vary in proportion. Again, the 
500-gallon cask has been chosen as typical, but for large vineyards and wineries 
that size would take up too much room and an admixture of larger casks would 
be necessary ; the width of the cellar would also have to be increased to allow 
of four rows of casks being lodged in it. 
THE SITE. 
Having decided on the dimensions of the cellar, the next thing is to see if 
advantage can be taken of any elevation or rise in the ground within easy 
distance of the vineyard, as that would materially benefit the cellar in assisting 
to maintain a cool and even temperature all the year round, care being taken 
that the site is away from causes of vibration, as railroads, heavy traffic, or 
machinery. Supposing such a rise to exist, proceed to excavate a slice out of 
it 12 feet in depth and of the proposed length of the cellar. Should the 
