1 Sepr., 1899.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, 285 
No. 5—THE TINTA CAO. 
Vigorous grower. 
Leaf.—Large, smooth, trilobed, not deeply indented; colour bright-green, 
occasionally with reddish spots, slight down below; teeth irregular and sharp. 
Bunch.—Medium size, irregular in shape, and loose. 
Berry.—Medium size, round, blue-black in colour, skin tough; juice sweet 
and astringent. 
REMARKS. : 
The above are two of several varieties of Portuguese crapes used for the 
production of port wines, which have been. collected by the Department, and 
will prove a valuable addition to the grapes of this colony if they take kindly to 
the soil and climate. ‘They have been grown, amongst others, in California very 
successfully. In a report.to the College of Agriculture upon viticultural work, 
it is stated regarding the Mourisco Preto:—‘“‘It is one of the most promising 
port varieties so far tested in California. It bears well, and produces a good 
port . . . . it attains a good amount of sugar, and is marked by low acid 
and low tannin. It is quite unsuited for dry wines, but the composition of the 
must and the general character of the grape render it eminently fitted for 
port.” Regarding the Tinta Cio, the same report says :—“ It is a very healthy, 
strong-growing vine, and gives an excellent blending port.” 
As no single variety of Portuguese grapes will give all the requisite 
characteristics of port wine, it is usual to plant several varieties to give a 
satisfactory blend. Vignerons must bear this in mind when planting, and also 
remember, to avoid disappointment, that, although Portuguese grapes may be 
planted in Queensland, they will not produce a wine equal to the fine productions 
of Portugal. 
Many applications have already been made to this Department for cuttings 
of the vines which are described in the Journal. As a limited number of 
cuttings of cach variety were collected, some of which perished during their long 
journeys, it will take quite two years to sufficiently propagate them for distribution. 
Applications received will be registered, and dealt with in order of priority. 
SOME CONSIDERATIONS ON THE WINES EXHIBITED AT THE 
BRISBANE EXHIBITION FOR 1899. 
By KE. H. RAINFORD, 
Viticultural Expert. 
As one or two of the exhibitors of wines at the recent Exhibition have 
indicated a wish to know the points which decided the judge’s decision in favour 
of any particular wine in its class, and also to hear his criticisms on the wines 
in general, the writer, who had the honour to be entrusted this year with the 
task of judging the wines, takes this opportunity of acceding to their views in 
the shape of a short article in the Agricultural Journal. 
The wines exhibited were divided into eight classes—Light, medium, and 
heavy reds; light, medium, and heavy whites; sweet reds and sweet whites. 
No mention was made in the classification as to whether the first six classes were 
to be dry or not, but, as the last two classes specially mention sweet red and 
sweet white, the judge took it for granted that the thts should be dry, and by 
that it is understood that only a very faint sweetness at most would be tolerated. 
One very meritorious wine was thus thrown out in the heavy red class, asit was 
too sweet for the “drys,” and not sweet enough for the “sweet reds.” Unless, 
therefore, « fresh classification is made, exhibitors should in the future avoid 
sending in wines which are betwixt and between. 
Coming now to the wines themselves and some friendly criticisms. The 
li¢ht whites had a tendeney to too much colour, in some cases so much go ay to 
resemble wines of the medium class. Chablis should be made as light in colour 
as possible, and this can be attained by vintaging the grapes before full ripeness, 
