" -LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 GIRT 
 
 Received ,190 
 
 "", 
 Accession No. ....... 835.6 A. Cla * s No - 
 

THE VINICULTURE 
 
 CLARET 
 
 A TREATISE ON THE MAKING, MATURING, AND 
 KEEPING OF CLARET WINES 
 
 VISCOUNT VILL^ MAIOR 
 
 Translated by REV. JOHN I. BLEASDALE, D. D 
 Organic Analyst ^^ CFynlno-ist &c 
 
 SAN FRANCISCO, CAL 
 
 PAYOT, URHAM & CO., PUBLISHERS 
 I 884 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1884, 
 
 BY J. I BLEASDALE, 
 In the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C. 
 
 Printed by Geo Spauldimj & Co. 
 li Clay Street. 
 
SAN FRANCISCO, Gal., 23d June, 1884. 
 
 ARPAD HARASZTHY, ESQUIRE, President of the 
 Viniculture^ Society and California State 
 Board of Viticultural Commissioners : 
 
 Dear Sir I have much pleasure in dedi- 
 cating to you the translation of this, treatise 
 by Viscount Villa Maior, of Portugal, because 
 at the present time, more than ever before, 
 accurate and minute information concerning 
 absolutely all the details of the making, treat- 
 ing and keeping of CLARET is required, if our 
 vintners are to compete successfully with the 
 higher grade of French red wines, which will 
 alone in future be sent into American markets; 
 and because of your untiring life-labors to 
 place the wines (especially the Clarets) of Cal- 
 ifornia in the high position they are capable 
 of holding among the wines of the world; and 
 lastly, because a seven years' residence in 
 Portugal, and a five years' residence here, 
 enable me to speak with confidence of their 
 similarity in both climate and soil, and the 
 adaptability of the practical directions of this 
 small treatise to meet present requirements. 
 
 Faithfully yours, 
 
 JOHN I. BLEASDALE, 
 
 Organic Chemist and CEnologist. 
 
 83561 
 
TO THE READER, 
 
 This treatise, in twelve short chapters, is 
 here offered to those interested in CLiret Wines. 
 It hardly touches on white wine, the object of 
 the author himself one of the most renowned 
 practical wine men of the world being to 
 teach his ignorant countrymen how to make 
 a wine capable of competing successfully in 
 the English markets, not more than 26 British 
 proof, so that it might enter English marts 
 under the same tariff as French red wine. 
 
 J. I. BLEASDALE. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 The makers of wine are numerous enough, 
 but few make it well. Yet to make wine well, 
 is not a matter so difficult as to exceed the com- 
 prehension of ordinary understandings. 
 
 Beyond all doubt, there exist in Portugal all 
 the requisite conditions for the producing of 
 numerous distinct, and very various kinds of 
 wines, the major part of which are capable of 
 acquiring excellent qualities, and of constituting 
 a most important branch of commerce, and a 
 great increase of public wealth. But it is also 
 certain that beyond the generous wines of the 
 Douro and Madeira, those of the Bairrada and 
 some of the Estremadura, the rest have but a 
 very poor show for exportation; while yet they 
 might and ought to hold a preponderance in 
 foreign markets, seeing that the principal wine- 
 using countries demand at the present day, 
 principally genuine wines, moderately alcoholic, 
 nourishing, and fit for ordinary drinking. 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 Our export business in this branch has not 
 yet begun; yet it is just from it that we ought 
 to derive our greatest wealth; because it is just 
 this class of wines which we can produce on 
 the greatest scale, and ;>t least cost, thus being 
 in a position to supply them cheap, circumstan- 
 ces conducible to the extension of the wine in- 
 dustry and the increase of profit. 
 
 In regard to this kind of wines, we have hith- 
 erto contented ourselves, for the most part, 
 with supplying our domestic requirements from 
 year to year, to the extent that at the arrival of 
 next year's vintage hardly any remains from 
 the preceding year, and that itself so badly 
 made that but little of it reaches the end of the 
 summer without having commenced to show 
 signs of decay. On this account, probably, it 
 has not found its way into commerce for expor- 
 tation. 
 
 It certainly is not due to tliw natural condi- 
 tions of our viticultural regions; nor, general!} 
 speaking, to the bad quality of the grapes em- 
 ployed in making our wines of consumption, lo 
 which we can attribute the imperfections we 
 find in them; but to original defects in the mak- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 ing, and the little or no care bestowed on their 
 keeping. 
 
 With the view of rendering some assistance 
 towards the improvement of our pure nutritious 
 wines, whether for home consumption or export, 
 I am writing this compendium of the principal 
 rules, precepts, and principles governing the 
 management, etc., of wines; as being specially 
 adapted to the conditions of our different wine 
 regions. 
 
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS. 
 
 Although there may be innumerable varieties 
 of wines, between the commonest and the high- 
 est class, still a ivell made ivine is always a good 
 wine, within the limits of its category. 
 
 The qualities which any given wine should 
 have, to entitle it to be considered good, in its 
 class, stand always in relation to the nature of 
 that wine. Thus the qualities of a good green 
 (vinho verde) wine, no matter from what quarter 
 of Minho, ought not to be compared with the 
 qualities of good ripe wines of other parts of 
 the country; and for the same reason, in order 
 that we should consider good a wine of ordi- 
 nary consumption, we should not compare it 
 with generous wines of a superior class. Ab- 
 solute equality between things, as well as be- 
 tween men, is a chimera. 
 
 For each species of wine there ought to be a 
 perfect type to which all of that class should be 
 referred. This typical wine ought to be the 
 product of the very best quality of grapes grown 
 in the district, and which have attained the 
 most perfect maturity; made with all care; free 
 from the impurities which might endanger its 
 
12 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 keeping qualities, and finally nursed up to the 
 highest point of perfection of which it is suscep- 
 tible. 
 
 All good wines, in the order to which they be- 
 long, are pleasant to the palate, on account of 
 their peculiar relish and perfume ; to the sense 
 of smell by their bouquet, and to the sight by 
 their color and brilliancy which attest their pu- 
 rity. All should be easily digested, in order to 
 be healthy, neither prejudicing the health nor 
 the reason, when used in moderation, relatively 
 to their nature. 
 
 Many are the kinds and varieties of wines 
 which we can make. It would be in the high- 
 est degree advantageous, if we had a perfect 
 and definite classification and differentiation of 
 them all; but since all the elements indispensa- 
 ble for it are not at present in existence, we 
 can, at least provisionally, content ourselves 
 with distributing in the following groups, viz : 
 
 1. Ordinary and fine table wines, both for 
 home consumption and for export. 
 
 2. Generous and alcoholic wines of great en- 
 durance. 
 
 3. Liqueur and special wines. 
 
 4. Wines fit only for distillation. 
 
 Every one knows that the recognized species 
 and varieties of wines depend for their nature 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 13 
 
 and qualities on the grapes they are made from, 
 and the methods followed in the making. 
 
 The vineyardist who undertakes to direct the 
 making of his own wine, before all, should have 
 a clear idea of the exact result he seeks to ob- 
 tain; that is to say, of the character of wine he 
 hopes to obtain, so as to employ the material 
 and method best calculated to secure the object 
 he is aiming at. To make wine or anything else 
 at haphazard and empyrically, is to act irration- 
 ally. And so likewise lie should always have 
 before his mind the type best suited to the na- 
 ture of his produce, and to know thoroughly 
 the process by which the typical wine was made. 
 
 In a country like ours, where the conditions 
 for making wine are so grand and so various, it 
 is almost impossible to lay down fixed and in- 
 variable rules for making all the different kinds 
 of wine, which may be rigorously applied in the 
 several districts. It is out of the question, in 
 a small work like the present, that I should de- 
 scend to all particulars which are interesting to 
 the different wine districts. I shall confine 
 myself to a description of general methods, ap- 
 plicable to the great majority of cases; and 
 chiefly to the manufacture of generous and nu- 
 tritious wines, which are comprised in the first 
 group as stated above ; and are the kinds which 
 can have and ought to have increased consump- 
 
14 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 tion, and produce a more extensive and lucra- 
 tive export. 
 
 In the making of all kinds of wines, there are 
 certain general rules which it is well to have at 
 one's finger-ends, applicable to all cases; and 
 which, once fully comprehended, can be readily 
 modified and applied in especial cases, which 
 are determined by the condition of particular 
 localities. I will endeavor to expound these 
 rules, and show their raison d'etre, indicating, 
 as far as possible, the variations and exceptions 
 necessary to be attended to in the more remark- 
 able of particular cases. 
 
THE VINTAGE. 
 
 Wine-making is the ultimate aim and object of 
 viticulture, the multifarious operations of which 
 ought to be directed to the producing of good 
 grapes, such as alone yield good wine. I have 
 no intention at present of entering upon vine- 
 yard cultivation, a subject large enough for an 
 entire treatise; and so I will leave it at the point 
 when the grapes arrive at a state of ripeness fit- 
 ting them to make wine, for here a true indus- 
 try commences in which the primary material is 
 the grape, and the product wine. Upon the 
 vintage, which comprises the gathering and 
 preparation of the grapes, as the primary ma- 
 terial of wine, depends in a great degree the 
 result of the wine making, which is the essen- 
 tial operation of this industry. 
 
 The prudent vineyardist, before commencing 
 to gather his grapes, should bear in mind the 
 various conditions essential to the final h-ippy 
 result of his operations. The first bears rela- 
 tion to the actual state of his grapes; the sec- 
 ond, to the state of the weather; and the third, 
 to the state of his whole plant, crushers, press- 
 es, fermenting vats, barrels, and all other uten- 
 
16 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 sils requisite for a wine cellar. Any careless- 
 ness about any of these indispensable requisites 
 may give rise to disturbances and inconveni- 
 ences better to be avoided. 
 
 As to the state of ripeness in which the grapes 
 ought to be in order to yield good wine, it is 
 agreed on all hands that this occurs just when 
 the grapes have attained natural that is to say, 
 perfect ripeness. But no uniform indication 
 of it can be given, and many considerations 
 have to be taken into account to render it prac- 
 tically useful. 
 
 Bechamp distinguishes two kinds of ripeness 
 in grapes physiological ripeness, and conven- 
 tional ripeness. 
 
 1. Physiological ripeness is complete when 
 the seed of the grape is ripe enough to repro- 
 duce its kind. This ripeness may be insuffi- 
 cient for the production of certain wines, and 
 even to give to all the highest degree of perfec- 
 tion of which they are capable. 
 
 2. Conventional ripeness, is relative to the 
 kinds of, and the quality of, wine sought to be 
 made from them; and in this way we can draw 
 a line between grapes properly ripe and grapes 
 excessively and overripe. The grape is well 
 ripe for making good wine when the principles 
 contained in the berry, and have to furnish the 
 must, are in a state of equilibrium that is, 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 17 
 
 when the sugar has attained the maximum of 
 which the kind under consideration is suscepti- 
 ble, without the berry having lost its plump- 
 ness and freshness. 
 
 The grape is overripe, or excessively ripe, 
 when it begins to show that it is passing on to 
 become a raisin, the berries losing a part of 
 their natural water. From this loss of normal 
 water there results an increase of sugar in the 
 must, and a modification of the taste of the 
 fruit. 
 
 For the making of nearly all wines, but most 
 especially for good table wines and food wines 
 (viiihos de pasto), the first consideration is that 
 the grapes be naturally ripe, neither over nor 
 underripe. But how are we to know that the 
 grape has attained to this state ? Simply look- 
 ing at grapes, whether white or black, is not 
 enough; the taste for those who have competent 
 knowledge of the kinds, and long practice, is 
 certainly a more secure criterion, but of no use 
 to those who need our advice. To such we can 
 only offer the advice, touching this characteris- 
 tic that the}' should study and compare the 
 flavor and peculiar sweetness of each kind at 
 the different periods of their ripening, because 
 in nearly all of them there are appreciable dif- 
 ferences. As for the rest, in the well ripe grape, 
 the foot stalk and all the woody parts of the 
 
18 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 bunch begin to shrivel, and to assume a darker 
 color, and the berry becomes easily detached 
 from the peduncle, leaving attached to it a part 
 of the cord which had served to nourish the 
 fruit. The skin of the grape becomes thinner 
 and more delicate; the berry on the under side 
 becomes nearly translucent, and appears some- 
 what soft; sweetness becomes the prevailing 
 taste, and the juice is thicker, and feels sticky 
 to the ringers, like sugar syrup. Analysis forms 
 the most reliable ground for judging when grapes 
 are in the condition to form the best wine ; nev- 
 ertheless, though there is little difficulty about 
 it, still but few are able to avail themselves of 
 its advantages. The principal ingredients whose 
 quantity it is most desirable to determine in the 
 must, are the sugar and acids, because from their 
 mutual relations we may deduce with much prob- 
 ability what the quality of the wine will be. A 
 high degree of saccharine implies a low degree 
 of acids, and musts in this condition will yield 
 fine spirituous wanes. In this case the musts 
 which contain more than 25 per cent, of sac- 
 charine and less than 0.5 per cent, of acid are 
 represented by monhydrated sulphuric acid 
 S O 3 , H O. When the amount of acid comes 
 near 1 per cent., the quantity of sugar is almost 
 always below 15 per cent., and the wines re- 
 sulting are generally weak, cool, and but little 
 spirituous. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 19 
 
 To the different kinds of grapes grown in the 
 same locality, there correspond, when in a state 
 of perfect maturity, different quantities of sugar, 
 of acids, and of other principles which enter 
 into the composition of their juice; quantities 
 which, however, may vary within certain limits, 
 according as the seasons were more or less fa- 
 vorable. But still what is of paramount impor- 
 tance to the vinyardist, is to know when his 
 grapes are ripe enough for the vintage when 
 their sugar has attained the maximum of nat- 
 urally ripe grapes, relatively to each kind, or a 
 general average over all, when the different 
 sorts are not separated. When the sugar ap- 
 pears to be stationary for a day or two. the 
 vintage may be begun. 
 
 The plan of this short treatise does not admit 
 of an exposition of the analytical methods men- 
 tioned above, nor in fact does the greater part 
 of the vineyardists, to whom I dedicate this 
 work, possess the knowledge and appliances 
 requisite for conducting analyses. I will 
 merely mention, incidentally, that in the first 
 part of his " Technologia Rural," J. I. Far- 
 reira Lapa has described the instruments and 
 processes indispensable for conducting such 
 analyses. 
 
 There is at present in common use a special 
 aerometer called r//m-o///< /'/, yleuco-cenometer, or 
 
20 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 simply a must iveigher, which may, when more 
 exact methods are not available, serve to indi- 
 cate the approximate saccharine strength of 
 musts. The way to use it is very simple. The 
 grapes whose must we wish to test are pressed; 
 the mass is then to be filtered through a clean 
 linen or cotton cloth, and collected in a tall 
 vessel, so that the instrument can float freely. 
 If the temperature of the air and must exceed 
 61 F., it is necessary to place the vessel in cold 
 water till this temperature is attained; then in- 
 troduce the glucometer into the fluid, which 
 will sink till it becomes stationary. The exact 
 degree indicated is then read off, which (after 
 having subtracted one degree for each twelve 
 marked) gives the quantity of alcohol which the 
 sugar contained in the must will yield. By 
 making this experiment with the same kind of 
 grapes, or with different kinds- mixed in the 
 same proportions, for a few successive days, it 
 will be seen that the quantity of sugar increases 
 as ripeness progresses; but, on arriving at a 
 certain point, the indicated strength will appear 
 stationary on two or more successive occasions, 
 and this indicates that the vintage should be- 
 gin. 
 
 The mere observation of the density by Gay- 
 Lussac's densimeter, which gives the weight of 
 a definite volume of must, furnishes a safe indi- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 21 
 
 cation for determining the richness of a must. 
 The denser the must the more sugar is there in 
 it. The indications of this instrument are very 
 important in fixing the time of the vintage and 
 foreseeing the richness of the wine about to be 
 made. 
 
 In a vineyard planted with one kind only, and 
 in which all the conditions of soil, situation and 
 exposure should be uniform, one would say that 
 the grapes would all arrive at maturity at one 
 and the same time, but this very seldom hap- 
 pens. In most of our vineyards, besides the 
 diversity of natural conditions, the kinds culti- 
 vated are very various, and as each one has its 
 own period of perfect maturity, there is no hope 
 of all of them being ready for gathering at the 
 same time. It is necessary, however, in the 
 greater number of seasons to make the vintage 
 all at once, and to this end we have to select a 
 time when the greatest part of the grapes are 
 quite ripe, hoping that if some part of them be 
 overripe they will be compensated by others 
 not fully ripe, to the extent of their deficiency 
 of sugar. 
 
 In this as in most cases, a middle course is 
 the best. If we gather the grapes before sub- 
 stantially the whole of them are naturally ripe, 
 we incur the risk of having a weak, acid, or a 
 green, rough wine. If, on the other hand, we 
 
22 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 wait till the whole have gone beyond natural ma- 
 turity, we may reckon upon having a thick must 
 difficult to ferment, and one which, with much 
 care even, can hardly ever be properly made, 
 being all the time liable to a succession of 
 changes which may ruin it. Only certain special 
 kinds of white wine require the grapes to be ex- 
 cessively ripe, but the processes of making them 
 are quite different from those employed in the 
 making of genuine, alimentary (aliment icios) 
 wines, such as ought chiefly to occupy our at- 
 tention. In the case of making dry wine, it is 
 far better to gather the grapes a little before 
 full natural ripeness than allow them to pass 
 beyond it. The reader will now see that I am 
 not treating of the making of those generous 
 wines which are made after the pattern of those 
 of the Douro, in which, through the addition of 
 alcohol, the changes liable to arise out of the 
 excess of sugar in the presence of matters lia- 
 ble to cause fermentation, are effectually pre- 
 vented. 
 
 Meteorological conditions of the atmosphere 
 exercise much influence upon wine-making, and 
 deserve attention in this place while I am treat- 
 ing of the vintage. Clear, dry, and moderately 
 dry weather is best for the vintage. Warmth 
 favors and stimulates fermentation; cold op- 
 poses or retards it; consequently the tempera- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 23 
 
 ture in which the grapes arrive in the cellar has 
 a powerful influence on the rise and progress of 
 fermentation. Damp, moist air has a not less 
 remarkable influence. In vineyards where the 
 kinds of grapes do not form much sugar, or 
 when they are prevented from attaining to per- 
 fect ripeness, dew, damp fogs and rain, through 
 damping or wetting the grapes, tend strongly to 
 dilute the must and to leave the wine watery 
 and flat. On this account all gathering should 
 cease as long as the dew or fog or rain is upon 
 them. In vineyards, however, where maturity 
 is excessive rather than deficient, the moisture 
 of a fog does no harm. In gathering grapes for 
 white wine, it is even advantageous to gather in 
 foggy weather, since experience has proved that 
 in this state they yield wines which clear them- 
 selves more easily and more perfectly. Rainy 
 weather is always prejudicial during the vintage. 
 The judicious and experienced vineyardist, 
 bearing in mind all these circumstances, can 
 lay out the plan of his vintage, and will almost 
 ahvays carry it on and finish it in good condi- 
 tion. In view of the state of maturity of his 
 grapes, and of the meteorological circumstances 
 of the atmosphere, he can direct his work and 
 foresee the results of his crop. When grapes, 
 as often happens, ripen very irregularly, some 
 being quite ripe and others far from it, it be- 
 
24 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 comes desirable to make partial gatherings, se- 
 lecting only the ripest first, to make a wine of 
 the first quality, and taking the rest as they 
 ripen and making a second-class wine. These 
 partial vintages often become very advantage- 
 ous, especially to those who have knowledge 
 and experience in making fine wines. 
 
 It may, and it nearly always does, happen, 
 owing to accidental circumstances, that among 
 the grapes of the same vineyard, we meet with 
 more or less which are unfit for making good 
 wine, either through being green and imper- 
 fectly formed, or dry and shriveled, or rotten 
 and moldy, or injured by hail, without men- 
 tioning those affected by oidium. Now, it is 
 simply indispensable that every grape found af- 
 fected in any of the above ways should be pick- 
 ed out. Not one of them must ever be allowed 
 to enter the crushing room or the fermenting 
 vat, where the object is to make good wine, 
 under pain of introducing into it causes of cer- 
 tain destruction, which will show themselves 
 sooner or later. Green and dry grapes impart 
 to wine roughness and a detestable taste. The 
 rotten and mildewed, and all such as have un- 
 dergone any change, over and above the bad 
 taste they impart to the wine, bring along with 
 them into it the germs of ulterior fermentation, 
 which eventually ruin it. The only good to be 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 25 
 
 got out of them is by pressing them apart and 
 fermenting their must separately and without 
 the skins, and so obtaining an inferior wine. 
 Thus the mildew, etc., will be arrested in the 
 pomace. 
 
 From the period when oidium attacked our 
 vineyards, and when we had to employ sulphur 
 to arrest its ravages, it has happened not un- 
 frequently that a notable portion of the sulphur 
 found its way into the press-room, which, dur- 
 ing fermentation, gave rise to sulphydric gas, 
 and which remained in the wine, communicating 
 to it an offensive taste and the smell of rotten 
 eggs. In some cases this trouble may be avoid- 
 ed when the grapes are well formed and very 
 saccharine, by subjecting them to careful wash- 
 ing. I advice, when such a washing is needed, 
 to proceed as follows: In a huge tub full of 
 water, which is to be frequently renewed, I 
 cause the wicker baskets in which the grapes 
 are brought from the vineyard, to be immersed 
 and carefully shaken about for a few minutes. 
 The sulphur adhering to the bunches soon washes 
 off and falls to the bottom of the tub through 
 the interstices of the baskets. Afterwards they 
 are allowed to drain for awhile and lie exposed 
 to the air, and are then ready for the press- 
 room. Wine so made never gives any indica- 
 tion of sulphydric acid gas. 
 
 2 
 
26 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 One of the requisites of a good vintage is, 
 that it should be carried on in such a manner 
 as that each fermenting vat should be full at 
 the close of a day's work, so that fermentation, 
 etc., might go on with uninterrupted regularity. 
 Vineyardists who neglect this condition com- 
 mit a grave error, giving cause for an irregular 
 fermentation, which always injures the quality 
 of the wine. As a matter of course, the num- 
 ber of hands employed ought to be calculated 
 for this end, and the work directed from this 
 point of view. In the gathering and selection 
 of the grapes, all possible care and vigilance 
 are necessary. The employment of proper 
 scissors is a thousand times preferable to the 
 vile knives in common use among our vigner- 
 ons. With, the scissors the bunch is cut off 
 without injury and without shaking the vine, 
 which is not the case when ordinary knives are 
 used. 
 
THE PLANT REQUIRED FOR MAKING 
 WINE. 
 
 Before treating of the different operations of 
 wine making, it may be useful to pass in review 
 the utensils and appliances required in the 
 work. 
 
 In the wine industry, as in most others, the 
 appliances used have much to do with the after 
 products. In wine making, the process adopted 
 is as important as are the vessels, the apparatus, 
 instruments and utensils which must of necess- 
 ity be employed. 
 
 The simplicity of the plant is a very praise- 
 worthy matter, so long as it is sufficient for the 
 prompt and effective execution of the labor. 
 
 In the greater part of the chambers in which 
 our wines are made, which are our wine-work- 
 shops, the simplicity is excessive and almost 
 primitive, so much so that the same word serves 
 to designate the house or office, and the stone 
 tank in which the grapes are trodden, and 
 which forms their principal part. 
 
 A quadrangular stone tank, roughly built, 
 raised somewhat above the floor of a house, 
 nearly always without a roof; another tank of 
 
28 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 much smaller dimensions contiguous to and 
 somewhat below it, which we call lagarica or 
 pio, a beam fixed at one end against the Avail of 
 the tank, and having at the other end a 
 hole into which is secured a smaller beam load- 
 ed with one or more huge stones, the whole 
 forming the wine-press, constitute the wine- 
 making appliances of the greater portion of our 
 wineries in the provinces of the north. The 
 keeping-cellar is usually in no better condition. 
 
 In the great vineyards of the Douro, and in 
 others formed after their pattern, the system is 
 the same, with the essential difference of the 
 size, number and better disposition of the parts. 
 There the press-houses and cellars are vast, 
 regularly built and contiguous to each other; 
 the first being erected 011 a floor higher than 
 the second, so as to admit the wine to run from 
 the press-rooms to the great vessels through 
 covered channels. 
 
 The tanks, the wells (pios) and the presses 
 are placed methodically and symmetrically in 
 the press rooms, as are the great keeping-ves- 
 sels (tone-is) in the cellar. 
 
 To each tank there is a corresponding window 
 through which the grapes are poured in as they 
 are brought from the vineyard. To each two 
 tanks there is a well which receives alternately 
 the wine made in them, and from which it runs 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 29 
 
 through the covered channels into the tuns 
 (toneis.) 
 
 All these arrangements would be highly wor- 
 thy of imitation if they could without incon- 
 venience be adopted in the making of all wines. 
 The wines of high and rapid fermentation, 
 made with grapes very rich in sugar, and at 
 the expense of a prolonged and violent tread- 
 ing by men, and whose density (expessura) is 
 corrected afterwards by the addition of brandy, 
 can be made only in (lagares) stone tanks, such 
 as those of the Douro. 
 
 On the other hand, the more natural, pure, 
 genuine wines, which do not require to be 
 either excessively trodden or derated, and 
 above all, ordinary wines from grapes of moder- 
 ate or very limited saccharine strength, cannot 
 be conveniently made in these shallow stone of 
 little depth and broad surface. 
 
 There are many reasons why these tanks (la- 
 f fares) should be given up; they are difficult to 
 wash perfectly clean, on account of the rough- 
 ness of the stones, whilst absolute cleanliness 
 of all vessels in which the wine is made, is an 
 indispensable condition of the healthy after for- 
 mation of the product, because they cool the 
 must and waste the heat required for fermenta- 
 tion; because their great opening and shallow- 
 ness prevent the must and pomace from being 
 
30 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 protected from the air, which might prove very 
 injurious, as we shall soon see, to wines of less 
 uctive fermentation, and therefore proportion- 
 ately more prolonged; because on account of 
 the very nature and form of their construction 
 they occupy much space, because the angular 
 spaces or corners interfere with the uniformity 
 of the fermentation, withdrawing a portion of 
 the must from the general movement to the 
 prejudice of the regular formation of the wine, 
 and lastly, because, when out of any motive we 
 may wish to alter their dimensions or change 
 the system, we are put to much more expense 
 than would be the case if we had to alter wood- 
 en vessels and appliances, or dispose of them, 
 as they always possess an appreciable value. 
 
 In those countries where the best food wines 
 (vinlios de pasto) are made, stone tanks for work- 
 ing the grapes are wholly unknown; and none 
 are used but such as are made of oak hooped 
 with iron; and these realized all the requisites 
 for good vinincation. This kind is not wholly 
 imknown in Portugal, but is by no means com- 
 mon; and those that we use are not always of 
 the most convenient construction. 
 
 Wine making in stone tanks, were it not for 
 the drawbacks already pointed out, would real- 
 ize the inestimable advantage of extreme sim- 
 plicity, for the entire work could be done in 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 31 
 
 them; the stripping, if desired, treading, fer- 
 menting and pressing the pomace. The great 
 vats ( baheirns) on the other hand, serve only for 
 fermenting. The grapes, when put in must be 
 completely crushed, and as soon as fermenta- 
 tion is over, the pomace must be taken out to 
 be pressed. But notwithstanding this apparent 
 round-about way, they are in every sense to be 
 preferred in the making of pure, genuine ali- 
 mentary wines, principally the red kinds; for 
 white wines, not intended to be blended with 
 red, may be made differently, as we shall see 
 hereafter. 
 
 [N. B. Here occur three paragraphs touch- 
 ing the construction of cellars and presses, but 
 they contain no hints which are not already 
 generally reduced to practice in California.] 
 
 It is of the very utmost consequence that the 
 crushing and pressing room should be well ven- 
 tilated, and kept perfectly clean; the floor laid 
 with brick or cement, the walls whitewashed 
 with lime, the roof lined, and the windows glaz- 
 ed. Every sort of vessel, instrument or utensil 
 must be, at any rate during the vintage, fault- 
 lessly clean. It is hardly necessary to say that 
 the same applies to the cellar and every vessel 
 in it. 
 
PREPARATION OF THE GRAPES. 
 
 When the grapes have been delivered at the 
 crushing room, selected and freed from all de- 
 fected ones, they should be reduced to must as 
 soon as possible, but under varying circumstan- 
 ces, and in different localities, they are submit- 
 ted to a previous preparation, which, though 
 not always an advantage, is sometimes useful. 
 This is known as stripping, the separation of the 
 berries from all woody matters, which is com- 
 monly called pomace. 
 
 In some countries renowned for their fine 
 wines, stripping is had recourse to as a general 
 rule; in others not less famous, it is absolutely 
 condemned, and employed only on very excep- 
 tional occasions; in others a middle course is 
 adopted, the stripping being either partial, to- 
 tal or not at all, according to circumstances. 
 Results obtained in different countries seem to 
 justify these different methods; so there is noth- 
 ing absolute in the theory of stripping. The 
 discussion of the theory of stripping does not 
 enter into my plan. I aim only at pointing out 
 certain indications which may prove practically 
 useful. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 33 
 
 Stripping may prove either useful or inju- 
 rious to the fermentation, either chemically or 
 mechanically; chemically on account of the na- 
 ture of the matters supplied to the must; me- 
 chanically by reason of the division and volume 
 which it makes in the fermenting vessel. 
 
 In France, Germany, and Hungary, white 
 wines are fermented, as a general rule, after 
 complete separation of the berries from the 
 stalks. In making such, the presence of pom- 
 ace during the fermentation is neither necessary 
 nor useful, but on the contrary prejudicial; but 
 in this instance there is no need of stripping, 
 since the grapes are put through the press just 
 as they come from the vineyard. The presence 
 or absence of the stalks is a question affecting 
 red wines only. 
 
 The stalks, on account of the substances 
 which they contain, may be liable to supply a 
 considerable amount of support to the fermen- 
 tation; and from this point of view their utility 
 cannot be doubted in the case when grapes of 
 high saccharine strength are deficient in nitro- 
 genous matters, acids and salts, as often occurs 
 in our warmest and best situations. 
 
 On the other hand it might impart a certain 
 amount of acerbity and astringency to wines 
 made from thin, watery musts, which would im- 
 prove their bouquet and aroma. Still, this 
 
 2A 
 
34 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 greenness and astringency may easily become 
 excessive, and leave the wine rough and harsh, 
 unless care be taken not to have it very long in 
 contact with the must, or if the fermentation be 
 unusually prolonged, or when we desire to ob- 
 tain all the body and color possible. 
 
 The stalks may also be useful in the fermen- 
 tation of musts very thick and rich in sugar; 
 because they leave the fermenting mass more 
 porous and more accessible to air, and so pro- 
 mote its progress. 
 
 Experience has proved that in most cases, 
 wines made with the stalks are less liable to go 
 wrong and are of greater durability; and that 
 the roughness which they show at first, grad- 
 ually passes off, and eventually disappears alto- 
 gether. 
 
 Some writers on wines attribute this power 
 of endurance to the presence of tannin in the 
 stalks; others deny the existence of tannin in 
 the woody matter of the bunch of grapes; and 
 convinced of its absence, consider the presence 
 of the stalks useless. The chemical nature of 
 the stalks has never yet been properly studied; 
 still the experiments which I have made up- 
 on it, satisfy me that tannin, properly so call- 
 ed, does not exist in the stalks of the bunch, 
 like it does in the husks and seeds of the grapes. 
 In the meantime, though the astringent princi- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 35 
 
 pie of this part of the bunch does not strike the 
 per-salts of iron black, as does that of the seed, 
 it by no means follows that it may not exercise 
 a preservative power in the wine, analagous to 
 that which true tannin does, undoubtedly. 
 
 From all the above, we may conclude that 
 there is no need of laying it down as a rule, 
 that stripping should always be adopted in mak- 
 ing pure, genuine red wine; but rather that we 
 should pay attention to the condition and na- 
 ture of the grapes, and to the quality of the 
 wine we desire to make, and guide our opera- 
 tions accordingly. 
 
 If the grapes of their own nature, and on ac- 
 count of the conditions of the season, are very 
 ripe and sugary, so as to yield a very dense 
 must, stripping will be out of place. 
 
 If they are watery, deficient of sweetness, 
 flat-tasted and insipid, even in this case the 
 stalks will help to give bouquet and aroma. 
 
 If they taste harsh and notably acid, it is de- 
 sirable to make a partial stripping, and occa- 
 sionally a total. 
 
 If owing to exceptional circumstances, it 
 should be evident before the vintage, that a 
 large portion of the berries would have to be 
 rejected, in this instance it becomes desirable 
 to make a partial stripping. 
 
 Of course in practice many circumstances 
 
36 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 may occur to necessitate a modification of these 
 precepts. It may, for example, happen that 
 the vintage may be so very abundant as to ex- 
 ceed the capacity of our fermenting vats, in 
 which case stripping would be useful by reduc- 
 ing considerably the volume of material to be 
 dealt with. The construction of the fermenting 
 vats calls for attention also. If they be covered 
 the stalks do no harm in most instances; on the 
 other hand, when the fermentation is made in 
 uncovered ones, the stalks are useful in form- 
 ing "the cap," which rises to the surface of 
 the must. 
 
 When our aim is to obtain a soft, velvety 
 wine, or one somewhat sweet, stripping wholly 
 or partially is desirable; if, on the contrary, we 
 desire a rough, harsh wine that will lay hold of 
 the tongue and throat, then not only no strip- 
 ping, but prolonged fermentation on the skins 
 and stalks, Rapid fermentation, and brief con- 
 tact of the stalks with the must impart to it no 
 excessive roughness or astringency. 
 
 In view of what has been said, stripping 
 should be had recourse to or not, wholly or 
 partially, according as we note the various con- 
 ditions of the state and nature of the grapes, 
 and the quality of the wine we desire to make. 
 
 Stripping may be done in many ways. The 
 most simple is to use a wooden rake upon an 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 37 
 
 inclined plane over the crusher, which will eas- 
 ily detach the berries. This plan has the ad- 
 vantage of taking off only the ripe berries, leav- 
 ing the green ones adhering to the stalks. 
 There are many forms of pieves which can be 
 made to answer the purpose w^ell. As the 
 bunches are worked backwards or forwards over 
 the wires, the berries drop through the inter- 
 stices and are then crushed. On the Douro 
 they employ huge frames with wire bottoms 
 which they call escangcdhadeiras (breakers up), 
 because they separate the refuse or stalks. In 
 Burgundy, where stripping is rarely practiced, 
 even partially, they employ a sort of wicker 
 sieve placed over a small barrel, into which the 
 berries fall. It matters little what method is 
 adopted; the most simple, convenient and the 
 cheapest, is the best. 
 
 Another preparatory operation, and indispen- 
 sable in making red wine, of whatever nature it 
 may be, is the crushing of the grapes so as to 
 get out of the berries whatever matters they 
 contain, wh- ther liquid or solid. The method 
 followed by us, of having the grapes trodden 
 by men with bare feet, offers great advantage 
 in nearly every instance, when the work is done 
 with necessary cleanliness, which is indispensa- 
 ble to keep the wine from deteriorating in its 
 after stages. The pressure exerted by men's 
 
38 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 feet is enough to crush the berries, without 
 smashing the seeds or the stalks; while the 
 commotion produced in the mass by the alter- 
 nate action of the feet, during the operation, 
 forces into it plenty of air to start and continue 
 the fermentation. 
 
 In most cases when we start in to make gen- 
 uine natural wines, it is quite sufficient that the 
 berries be thoroughly crushed, in order that the 
 must may be set free, and that contact may be 
 maintained during fermentation, between the 
 liquid and solid portions. When, however, we 
 seek to make the generous, strong wine of the 
 Douro, long and violent treading, is both useful 
 and necessary, to enrich the must, to aerate it, 
 and to ensure a more active fermentation; but 
 this process does not hold good for making gen- 
 uine wines for regular consumption. 
 
 In making white or liqueur wines, there is no 
 need of treading the fruit; it is enough to crush 
 them with the press and collect the must in the 
 fermenting vessels. In this way alone can 
 bright pale white wines be obtained, like those 
 of Germany and France. In any other way, 
 how limited soever be the contact of the must 
 with the stalks and skins, the wines acquire a 
 yellow color, more or less intense, due in part to 
 the coloring matter of the skins, and partly to 
 the oxidation of certain matters yielded by the 
 stalks. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 39 
 
 [N. B. Machinery now used as a substitute 
 for treading seem to have failed hitherto to ef- 
 fect the requisite aeration of the must, without 
 recourse to more or less efficient means, none of 
 which seem nearly equal to working with the 
 feet. J. I. B.I 
 
 To resume : stripping or no stripping, what is 
 indispensable, is to effect by treacling, crushing, 
 or by any other method, a perfectly fluid and 
 homogeneous must, and to promote contact 
 among all its parts, whether fluid or solid, so 
 that fermentation may go on uniformly, and the 
 reactions, necessary to a perfect wine, may be 
 established. 
 
 In this, as well as in all other operations in 
 wine-making, the utmost neatness and cleanli- 
 ness must be observed, both in casks and uten- 
 sils; and must be most rigorously enforced on 
 the men employed in treading the fruit. The 
 slightest neglect in these particulars, may be the 
 means of having germs of disease introduced 
 into the wine, which will eventually develop 
 and greatly injure or destroy it. 
 
FERMENTATION. 
 
 The operations which I have described liith- 
 to are only preparatory to the wine making, or 
 the transforming of must into wine. Wine, ac- 
 cording to the common acceptation of the word, 
 is the liquid resulting from what we call vin- 
 ous, spirituous or alcoholic fermentation of the 
 juice of grapes. 
 
 Seeing that vinous fermentation is an indis- 
 pensable condition in making wine, it is .impor- 
 tant that we should have clear ideas of the cir- 
 cumstances which favor or prejudice the forma- 
 tion of it, in order to properly appreciate the 
 value and importance of the practical rules 
 which are to guide us in making wine. 
 
 It is not my intention to go extensively into 
 the doctrine or theory of fermentation, as ac- 
 cepted by modern science. I shall limit myself 
 to pointing out only such fundamental facts as 
 are necessary to understand the rules and prac- 
 tical processes. 
 
 Alcoholic fermentation is a transforming 
 movement, produced in liquid containing sugar, 
 either natural or artificial, in presence of one 
 particular ferment. 
 
T.AHE 
 
 I ' IX 1C UL TUB E 
 
 The ferment itself is an organized and living 
 being, which for its nourishment and develop- 
 ment consumes a part of the sugar, transform- 
 ing the rest into carbonic acid, which passes in- 
 to the air in the state of gas, and into alcohol 
 and other principles, which remain in solution 
 and constitute the spirituous liquid . 
 
 Alcoholic fermentation is not the only phe- 
 nomenon of the kind with which we are ac- 
 quainted. There are indeed several different 
 species of fermentations, all of which appear, 
 like this, to be corresponding actions of a vital 
 force. In all of them, one or more living be- 
 ings, vegetable or animal, excite in the liquids, 
 or mediums in which they exist, through the 
 exercise of their vital powers, chemical reac- 
 tions and modifications, in which are formed, 
 at the cost of the existing products, other pro- 
 ducts of a quite different composition. Setting 
 aside, however, these diverse fermentations, 
 we will direct attention for a while to that one 
 which most concerns us in wine making; be- 
 cause it is essential and indispensable thereun- 
 to. AVe call it the alcoholic fermentation, in 
 which, as just said, the sugar is transformed 
 by the ferment into alcohol, and a few other 
 products. 
 
 The conditions essential to produce those ef- 
 fects are the following: 
 
42 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 1st. A watery liquid containing a certain 
 quantity of sugar in solution. 
 
 2nd. The presence of air. 
 
 3rd. Ferment already formed, or nitroge- 
 nous matter of the nature of what chemists call 
 albuminoid, on account of the analogy of its 
 composition to that of the white of an egg, and 
 which is capable of affording nourishment to 
 the ferment. 
 
 4th. A moderate temperature, 15 to 20 centi- 
 grade. 
 
 If we make a not very strong solution of su- 
 gar in water, and add a little ferment to it, 
 whether beer-yeast, or wine lees, or in their 
 stead the albuminoid matter mentioned above, 
 it will after a while enter into fermentation, 
 which will show itself by becoming turbid, by 
 effervescence caused by the evolution of car- 
 bonic acid gas, and by a perceptible rise of 
 temperature. During this fermentation, the 
 sugar disappears, and we shall then find in the 
 liquid alcohol, or spirit of wine, a little fluid 
 substance, called glycerine, and a crystallizable 
 acid the succinic. If the nitrogenous matter 
 or ferment had been supplied in sufficient 
 quantity, there would be found, when fermenta- 
 tion had ceased, a precipitate containing the 
 organic being formed during fermentation. 
 When it becomes still, the liquid gradually 
 clears itself. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 43 
 
 Now, if the quantity of ferment or nitroge- 
 nous matters, at the expense of which the trans- 
 formation is carried on, were sufficient, the 
 whole of the sugar would have disappeared: if, 
 on the other hand, the ferment was not suffi- 
 cient, and the liquid deficient in nitrogenous 
 matters, a portion of the sugar would remain 
 undecornposed. If the nitrogenous matters 
 were in excess, the surplus would be found in 
 the lees. 
 
 What happens in an artificial solution of su- 
 gar, gives us an idea of what takes place in 
 liquids containing natural sugar, such as the 
 must of ripe grapes, when placed under similar 
 conditions. The must of ripe grapes contains 
 water, sugar, and both acid and neutral vegeta- 
 ble matters, and mineral and vegetable salts. 
 Koughly estimated, we may say the water of 
 the must will amount to 80 per 100; the sugar 
 may vary from 15 to 30 per cent., and rarely 
 more; and the rest of the matters rise not un- 
 frequently to as much as 30 per cent, of the to- 
 tal weight of the must. 
 
 Among the neutral matters, there is always 
 present a portion of nitrogenized matter neces- 
 sary for the life and propagation of the inferior 
 organism which sets the alcoholic fermentation 
 in motion; and among the salts, bi-tartarate of 
 potassa, which is met with afterwards as a de- 
 posit from the wine. 
 
44 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 In order to cause fermentation in a solution 
 of sugar in water, it is necessary to add ferment, 
 or yeast, to it, or nitrogenous, and to place it 
 in contact with air, at the temperature mention- 
 ed above; but in order that the must of grapes 
 should enter into fermentation, all that is re- 
 quired is to leave it at the temperature referred 
 to in contact with air for some time. It looks 
 as if in this case the fermentation took place 
 spontaneously. In the theory generally receiv- 
 ed at the present time, of the vinous or alco- 
 holic fermentation of the juice of ripe grapes, it 
 is admitted that the germs of the organism, 
 which develop in the liquid, as long as fermen- 
 tation goes on, are carried in the air, like 
 other germs, for instance of mould, of oidium, 
 and a thousand other vegetable and animal or- 
 ganisms, which we see developing every day in 
 circumstances favorable to their growth. 
 
 These germs, rinding the sugar and nitrogen- 
 ized or albuminoid matters ready dissolved in 
 the water of the must, and under favorable con- 
 ditions of temperature, develop, as if in a fertile 
 field, and thrive and propagate in the liquid at 
 the cost of the sugar and nitrogenous matter. 
 The sugar, by yielding part of its elements to 
 the ferment, is transformed into carbonic acid 
 gas, which escapes in the well known bubbles, 
 into alcohol, into glycerine and succinic acid, 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 45 
 
 which remain dissolved in the liquid along with 
 other principles, neutral, acid, saline and aro- 
 matic, which constitute the wine. The nitro- 
 genous matter serves as plastic nourishment to 
 the organism, which at the end of the fermen- 
 tation, and when all the sugar has been broken 
 up, settles down with the solid matters, which 
 were held in suspension in the must, or rises as 
 scum to the surface. 
 
 Rigorous experiments, and which any scien- 
 tific chemist can readily verify, convinced Pas- 
 teur that 100 parts of pure grape sugar yield 
 by fermentation the following : 
 
 Carbonic Acid 46.67 
 
 Alcohol , 48.46 
 
 Glycerine 3.25 
 
 Succinic Acid 0.61 
 
 Matter yielded to the ferment 1.03 
 
 100.00 
 
 The sugar of the grape is the essential part 
 of the must which goes to form the fermenta- 
 tion of the wine; and as the amount of it is 
 greater or less, so will be the alcoholic strength 
 of the wine. Nevertheless all other substances 
 contained in the tissues of the grapes, in the 
 skins, in the pulp, in the seeds, and even in the 
 stalks, contribute to modify the quality of the 
 liquid resulting after fermentation. Thus we 
 
46 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 learn that wine is not a simple, but a very com- 
 plex liquor, the qualities of which depend on 
 the nature and richness of the grapes of which 
 it is made, and on the circumstances under which 
 it is made; for these may be such as to insure 
 its keeping and improvement, or accelerate its 
 ruin. 
 
 The above brief exposition of the theoretical 
 principles, seems to me sufficient for the under- 
 standing of what occurs during the transforma- 
 tion of must into wine; and to awaken the at- 
 tention of the vintner to all the circumstaiices 
 and conditions surrounding the operation. 
 
 We note two different methods of wine mak- 
 ing. It is done either by separating the must 
 from both stalks, and skins, and seeds, and this 
 is the simple way in which French and German 
 wines are made ; or the fermentation is conduct- 
 ed in the must, together with the whole or a 
 portion of the solid parts of the grapes, as is 
 universally the case in making red wine. 
 
 In the first instance vinification is very sim- 
 ple. The grapes, picked and clean, re crushed 
 right away and the must collected; the pressing 
 made and the juice added to the must, and put 
 at once into the vessels in which it has to fer- 
 ment: the bung-hole being left open for the es- 
 cape of the carbonic acid gas, and scum which 
 brings over the part of the ferment which rises. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 47 
 
 The must contains in itself all that is requisite 
 for making those wines. During the crushing 
 and pressing, the air deposits in it the germs of 
 alcoholic fermentation, and by being brought 
 into intimate contact with it, prepares it for 
 the subsequent reactions about to take place. 
 Thenceforth, under suitable temperature, fer- 
 mentation is established, and continues of it- 
 self, and gives no further trouble, since the car- 
 bonic acid gas, which is evolved, protects it 
 from contact with the air by forming as it were, 
 a gaseous atmosphere over it. 
 
 In the second case, in which, for the produc- 
 tion of red wines, it is indispensable that the 
 must be fermented in contact with the skins, 
 chiefly that the alcohol, as it forms, may dis- 
 solve out the coloring matters which have been 
 formed on their inner surfaces, the operation 
 becomes complicated, and to be successfully 
 conducted demands many and serious precau- 
 tions. 
 
WINE MAKING IN PORTUGAL. 
 
 First of all, let us take a view of the method, 
 in common use in Portugal, of making wine in 
 stone tanks (lagares de pedra). 
 
 Generally the grapes are not stripped, but 
 are put into the tank (lagar) , spread out and 
 bedded, till it is a little more than two-thirds 
 full, in order to leave sufficient space for the 
 cap when it rises, so that it may not run over. 
 As soon as all the grapes are in the lagar, the 
 men with bare feet and legs, well washed, go 
 in and begin to crush and tread the berries, 
 treading first with one foot and then the other. 
 This work continues for a sufficient number of 
 hours, and, if the temperature be favorable, 
 fermentation sets in, and may be observed in 
 the appearance of bubbles of gas that form on 
 the surface, \)j the increase of temperature and 
 by the wine-smell, which begins to bo percepti- 
 ble. At the same time the empty skins and the 
 stalks keep rising to the surface, lifted by the 
 gas caused by the fermentation, and. if treading 
 be interrupted for a time, the surface of the must 
 will be covered by a thick cap of stalks and 
 skins. Fermentation goes on more rapidly in 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 49 
 
 the upper part near the cap, than in the lower, 
 where there is simply must. The more active 
 of chemical reactions, and of vital functions, 
 which are correlative to chemical action, are 
 always, and under all circumstances, accompa- 
 nied by elevation of temperature. Through the 
 labor of treading, the solid and liquid portions 
 of the grapes become intimately mixed, and by 
 the continuous movement of the whole mass in 
 contact with air, the air penetrates every parti- 
 cle of it, depositing in it the germs of ferment 
 floating in it, at the same time supplying the 
 oxygen which appears to be indispensable to 
 the development of the ferment, as well as to 
 the oxidation of the coloring matters, and prob- 
 ably other reactions but little known. When 
 treading is finished, and the cap has formed 
 over the surface of the liquid, the air acts only 
 on the porous surface of the cap, more particu- 
 larly if the tank be very full, and an atmosphere 
 of carbonic acid gas cannot form, and remain 
 tranquil over it, to protect it. This contact of 
 air with the cap, if continued for a considera- 
 ble length of time, may cause, as we shall soon 
 see, very ruinous reactions. 
 
 When the fermentation has been regular, and 
 made under favorable conditions, after some 
 hours of tumultuous action, it slackens; the 
 "cap" begins to dry and cool; to crack and sep- 
 
 3 
 
50 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 arate from the covers, and to show signs of 
 sinking. At this point the wine is generally 
 considered made; its smell has become vinous, 
 its taste somewhat astringent, the sugar has 
 disappeared, its density much below that of the 
 must, and nearly that of water. The time has 
 now arrived for drawing off the wine, complete- 
 ly free from any part of the cap, into clean vats 
 ready to receive it. As soon as the tank is 
 empty the cap is pressed, and the pressings 
 added to the rest of the wine. 
 
 The above is the regular order of operating. 
 We will now examine the drawbacks and ad- 
 vantages which it presents iu the case of ordi- 
 nary wines of consumption, or more properly, 
 genuine wines for daily use. 
 
 Considered apart from surrounding circum- 
 stances, the whole operation is quite simple. 
 Into one and the same tank, the grapes are 
 emptied as they arrive from the vineyard; here 
 they are trodden; here they are worked and 
 aerated; here they are fermented; and here 
 the pressing of the pomace is done. If this 
 work has been well done, with all cleanli- 
 ness; if the weather was all that could be desir- 
 ed; if the fermentation went on quickly and 
 regularly without interruptions, and finished in 
 a short time, not taking more than two or three 
 days, we may conclude that the wine made will 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 51 
 
 prove as good as we have any right to expect, 
 regard being had to the grapes and the year. 
 
 But supposing the fruit to have been gather- 
 ed in cold damp weather, the chilliness of the 
 stones of the tank will be added to the chill of 
 the air; and still more, the large open surface 
 of the tank will retard alcoholic fermentation; 
 and then there may be seen in spots that glu- 
 tinous, sticky product of bad fermentation, so 
 injurious to the wine. 
 
 Supposing the alcoholic fermentation to have 
 been established; if, for the above or other 
 causes, it be much prolonged, it slackens, 
 stops, and becomes interrupted, contact with 
 the air sets up other ferments in the "cap," 
 chiefly the acdic, which converts the alcohol 
 already formed, into vinegar; or may be, the 
 putrid fermentation, in which vibriones and 
 other inferior animalcules are generated. In 
 whichever case, whether the cap be pressed 
 down through the liquid to increase fermenta- 
 tion, or to obtain more color and body, or 
 whether we simply add the pressings of the 
 pomace to the rest of the wine, we cannot help 
 introducing destructive germs, which sooner or 
 later will show their effects to the great injury 
 of quality and keeping power. 
 
 Again, supposing the fermentation good and 
 regular; since the surface of the cap is large, 
 
52 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 which is exposed to the air, and the tempera- 
 ture high, not unfrequently as high as 85 to 90 
 Fahrenheit, a portion of the alcohol and aro- 
 matic principles is lost by evaporation in preju- 
 dice of the richness of the wine. Injuries of 
 this kind are always to be regretted, but more 
 especially in the instance of weak wines. Of 
 course, when the wine intended for brandy, any 
 loss of alcohol is a dead loss. 
 
 The tastes of consumers and the exigencies 
 of commerce, require very frequently full bod- 
 ied, highly colored wines. To satisfy these re- 
 quirements, it is necessary to keep the must 
 mixed with the pomace a long time. Now, for 
 reasons already assigned, tanks (lagares) are 
 wholly unsuitable. 
 
 Grapes extremely ripe, very rich in sugar, 
 and yielding very thick, dense must, such as 
 are met with in the best localities of the Douro, 
 make good wine in those stone tanks, for they 
 require excessive treading and agitating in or- 
 der to render the mixture of solid and fluid 
 portions perfect; also that the air may pene- 
 trate it, and facilitate the reactions, and to 
 cause the fermentation to proceed with ease and 
 energy. But wine so made is too rich and too 
 full-bodied, and only becomes perfect after a 
 length of time, on which account it is necessary 
 to dose it with brandy, to protect it against in- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 53 
 
 jurious fermentations. This dose of brandy is 
 put into it when it is vatted, or in the month of 
 March, before the temperature of the air is suf- 
 ficiently warm to set up fresh fermentation. 
 No such process can be used in making natural 
 wines for use as food, which should not be 
 highly charged with flavoring matters, but light 
 and dry, and which should be fit for use in 
 shorter time. 
 
METHODS OF THE MEDOC AND BUR- 
 GUNDY RECOMMENDED. 
 
 A method of wine-making, approaching as 
 nearly as possible to that in use on the Medoc, 
 by which the excellent wines of Bordeaux are 
 made; or the Burgundy method, which also 
 produces wines of great merit, seems to me to 
 be perfectly well suited to the larger portion of 
 our viticultural centres, where table wines of a 
 superior order are possible to be made. 
 
 In both the above named viticultural centres 
 of France, great wooden vats, holding from 900 
 to 4000 gallons, in the shape of truncated 
 cones, are in use. These vessels have their 
 bottoms considerably broader than the tops. 
 The grapes, whether stripped or not, in whole 
 or in part only, are first crushed and trodden, 
 either by crushing machines, or by men's feet. 
 The must and skins, etc., are then put into 
 these vats till they are conveniently full, leav- 
 ing 12 or 15 inches, to avoid any overflow dur- 
 ing fermentation. This filling of the vats 
 should be done with the least possible delay, 
 and never allowed to exceed one day, in order 
 to prevent the fermentation, when it has once 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 55 
 
 begun, from being interrupted, for it always 
 injures the wine. 
 
 As fermentation commences the pomace rises, 
 the same as in the case of the tanks, and 
 forms a layer on the top which they call the 
 "cap." Carbonic acid gas is thrown out in 
 torrents; and the motion of the liquid, due to 
 the reactions taking place in it, becomes at first 
 tumultuous, then after a while subsides, and 
 after the lapse of a longer or shorter space of 
 time, ceases entirely; and the pomace which 
 formed the cap, cools, contracts, and begins to 
 fall. The wine is now made. 
 
 During the period of tumultuous fermenta- 
 tion, the wine makers of Burgundy, especially 
 those who employ open vats, submerge the 
 pomace in the must once or twice a day, to 
 equalize the fermentation, but more particular- 
 ly in order to obtain a maximum of coloring 
 matter in the wine. 
 
 The above is the simple and regular order of 
 operating, but it is always liable to the same 
 dangers, as I noted in the case of tanks, so far 
 as concerns contact with the air. 
 
 If all the circumstances are favorable, the 
 grapes perfectly ripe, the weather uniformly 
 warm, dry and clear, fermentation sets in im- 
 mediately, runs its course rapidly, and at the 
 end of three or four days, is finished and the 
 
56 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 wine made. Under such conditions, the mix- 
 ing of the cap through the must, in order to 
 equalize the fermentation and obtain more col- 
 oring matter for the wine, can in no way be in- 
 jurious to the wine. But when the state of the 
 weather is less favorable, when fermentation is 
 retarded, and evil fermentation shows itself on 
 the cap, as the acetic, or putrescent fermenta- 
 tion, then become apparent the drawbacks to 
 this method. 
 
 To obviate these dangers, some wine makers 
 have, since a long time, adopted plans of cover- 
 ing the vats to protect them from contact with 
 the air during fermentation. Many plans have 
 been recommended and put in practice, to con- 
 duct fermentation in closed vats; and in this, 
 as in other cases, there appears a good deal of 
 exaggeration. Absolute covering, hermetically 
 sealing the vats, is impracticable and absurd, 
 for there must be an escape for the carbonic 
 acid gas, or else it would burst the vat. A per- 
 fect covering, with a safety valve, and with a 
 tube for the escape of gas, dipping into a vessel 
 of water, if on one hand it overcomes the con- 
 tact of air, without risk of bursting the vat, it 
 on the other hand exerts a pressure on the fer- 
 menting fluid, and checks its regular progress, 
 not without risk of injuring the quality of the 
 wine, and also at the same time increasing the 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 57 
 
 cost of production. An ordinary wooden cov- 
 ering provided with boles for the escape of gas, 
 and just laid over the fermenting vat, or even 
 loose boards, covered with matting in a similar 
 way, as soon as fermentation has fairly set in, 
 presents no inconvenience, and completely sat- 
 isfies all requirements. 
 
 On a supposition that the rapid dispersion of 
 carbonic acid gas, assisted by the elevated tem- 
 perature of the fermenting must, would cause a 
 pure loss of alcohol and aromatic elements, dif- 
 ferent plans have been suggested for condens- 
 ing and retaining these elements. Such were 
 the old apparatus of Gervais and the modern 
 one of Minard. The first one proved to be 
 practically useless, and was abandoned. As to 
 the other, but few comparative experiments 
 have been made, and while some consider it 
 highly advantageous, others of not less authori- 
 ty declare that its advantages are not an equiv- 
 alent for the trouble it causes. For myself, I 
 neither advise nor condemn its use. 
 
 In view of what has been explained, I con- 
 sider the best course for our people to adopt in 
 making natural, genuine, nutritious, table 
 wines, is to ferment in moderate sized vats 
 (balseiros), simply covered. 
 
 To recapitulate the grapes clean, and free 
 fiorn imperfect berries, stripped from the stalks 
 SA 
 
58 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 wholly, partially or not at all, conformably to 
 the doctrine above laid down, should be thor- 
 oughly trodden in the tank, or on a suitable 
 platform or bench, placed at the side of or over 
 the vat, so that the crushed mass may run in, 
 until it is within 12 or 15 inches of being full. 
 This work ought to be done in the shortest 
 time possible, so that no vat should be left to 
 the following day unfilled and unfinished. The 
 next thing to do is to stir up and thoroughly mix 
 the whole mass, with rakes of wood, or other 
 suitable wooden implements, to render it uni- 
 form and give it all the airing possible; and as 
 soon as general fermentation has become estab- 
 lished, to cover the vat and leave the fermenta- 
 tion to run its natural course. As soon as fer- 
 mentation has ceased, and the wine appears to 
 be what was desired that is, when the sweet- 
 ness has disappeared, and its place has been 
 taken by the taste of wine, and moderate astrin- 
 gency and peculiar roughness of tannin, which 
 is necessary for its keeping, and when its color 
 is satisfactory, it is time to draw it off into 
 keeping vats. A densimeter or saccharometer 
 will also afford information if the wine is made ; 
 for if it is, the instrument should stand nearly 
 at the point of water. When the wines are in- 
 tended to be quite dry and hard, the instrument 
 should indicate zero, 0. Such as are meant 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 59 
 
 somewhat soft, may be drawn off when the in- 
 strument marks 2, 3 or 4 degrees above zero, 
 so as to admit of slow fermentation in the cask. 
 
 Before drawing the wine out of the ferment- 
 ing vats, it is a custom in wine countries, which 
 employ the method just described, to stir the 
 cap through the wine and mix it well, so as not 
 to lose what has been soaking the skins and 
 matters forming the cap, always richer in body 
 and alcohol, with the rest of the liquid in which 
 the fermentation had been slower. There is 
 nothing wrong about this practice; it is rather 
 advantageous, w r hen the condition of the cap is 
 satisfactory; that is, when no injurious fermen- 
 tation has taken place in it; and when the smell 
 and taste of it are plainly those of wine. 
 
 On account of the fact that the most perfect 
 and profitable way of making red wines is to 
 ferment on the skins, many writers upon wine 
 making have recommended special plans for 
 keeping them submerged in the must during 
 fermentation. This is effected by a grate, or a 
 second covering bored full of holes, which can 
 be fixed in the fermenting vat at some conven- 
 ient depth. This, of course, will arrest the 
 skins, etc., as they rise, and allow free passage 
 for the liquid, and for the escape of gas. Some 
 simple mechanical contrivance to secure it in 
 its place against being lifted up by the pomace 
 
60 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 will be needed, but can be easily provided. 
 The permanent depression of the pomace below 
 the surface, yields excellent results, and saves 
 labor, as to the quality of the wine. This idea 
 has been amplified by a proposition to use sev 
 eral such perforated lids or grates so as to dis- 
 tribute the pomace as equally as possible 
 through the fermenting must. Though not yet 
 in common use, this idea is being carried into 
 practice at the present time. 
 
 In places where the grapes ripen well, and 
 where the climate is favorable for a prompt and 
 complete fermentation in a short space of time, 
 open fermenting vats, or only slightly covered, 
 with the pomace kept below the surface, may 
 be safely used. But when we cannot reckon 
 upon the completion of fermentation within 
 the short interval of three or four days, it is 
 safer and better to use the covered vats describ 
 ed above, those that protect the cap from the 
 air, and allow the escape of the formed gas 
 and check the cooling of the fermenting mass. 
 
 In the making of fine, soft, delicate red wines 
 for the table, the vinification in (balseiros) mod- 
 erate sized vats is the safest; but when we treat 
 of ordinary wines of consumption, the process 
 admits of much modification, for then we may 
 use the huge vessels with wide top openings to 
 receive the must and pomace. In this instance 
 

 VINICULTURE OF CL 
 
 the grapes are pressed in the (lagar) tank, or 
 on a suitable bench or platform, and the must 
 and pomace run into the vessel till it is more 
 than two-thirds full, leaving plenty of space for 
 the cap not to reach the outer edge of the open- 
 ing. Under these conditions, the fermentation 
 will be slower; but since the accumulation of 
 carbonic acid gas in the upper part of the ves- 
 sel impedes the contact with atmospheric air, 
 those injurious fermentations cannot occur, and 
 the fermentation may go on for a longer time 
 without any other drawback besides the in- 
 crease of the body and hardness of the wine, 
 matters which might be reduced by a previous 
 partial stripping of the grapes. 
 
 It very often happens that the conditions of 
 the weather are such as to so interfere with the 
 alcoholic fermentation as to prevent its ready 
 development. In most instances it will have 
 to be assisted with artificial warmth. The 
 readiest way is the cautious warming of a por- 
 tion of the must, taking particular care lest it 
 should get a bad taste. This heated must, 
 never beyond 175 Fahrenheit, is intimately 
 mixed with that in the vat. It is possible to 
 devise other methods of warming the musts, 
 but all appear more or less risky. When there 
 is at hand a heap of pomace quite sweet and 
 fresh from a recent pressing, and not as yet alter- 
 
62 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 ed by the action of the air, we may with advan- 
 tage mix it with the must, and being warm, it 
 will directly set up fermentation. Undoubt- 
 edly this is one of the best means of pro- 
 moting fermentation. But suppose we have 
 no pomace, in the condition just stated, 
 we can supply its place in the following 
 manner: place a small cask in a place in the 
 house where the temperature is over 62 F., and 
 start fermentation in a quantity of selected and 
 well crushed grapes, which should be in some 
 relation to the size of the vat which we have to 
 warm; for example, for a vat of 1100 gallons, it 
 will suffice to warm the must to the above men- 
 tioned heat of from 50 to 100 gallons of must. 
 Then when the fermentation has become very 
 active in this warmed must it should be added to 
 the large body, and the fermentation will go on 
 with regularity. Since alcoholic fermentation 
 needs a moderate temperature, higher than 62 
 F., and knowing that any circumstance which 
 checks and reduces it must be injurious, it be- 
 comes a matter of necessity that the fermenting 
 cellars should be kept in good repair, and pro- 
 tected against changes easily caused by cur- 
 rents of cold air. It is, however, only proper 
 to observe that this arrangement is inseparable 
 from one great inconvenience, viz: injury to the 
 health of the workmen, who have to labor in 
 cellars where vinous fermentation is going on. 
 
VINICULTURE -OF CLARET. 63 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, evolved so abundantly 
 during fermentation, is a deadly, irrespirable 
 gas, which is followed by asphyxia and death 
 when breathed pure, and frequently proves fa- 
 tal when mixed with 20 per cent, of ordinary 
 air. Accidents from this cause are by no means 
 uncommon in large wineries. In our wine cel- 
 lars (Portugal), where there is often only too 
 much ventilation, where people are continually 
 coming in and out, such accidents are hardly 
 ever met with. Still, under any circumstances, 
 it is no difficult matter to dispose of any cause 
 for serious danger. 
 
 Carbonic acid gas, which, through being 
 colorless, we do not notice in the air, is much 
 heavier than ordinary air, and on this account 
 when not mixed through the air will occupy the 
 lowest stratum, forming a sort of bed of great- 
 er or lesser thickness. This circumstance ac- 
 counts for how it has sometimes happened that 
 men who have gone into those huge fermenting 
 vessels have felt no inconvenience so long as 
 their heads were above the top, but when they 
 stooped they fell asphyxiated, and would have 
 died if assistance had not been on hand. The 
 same might happen outside of the fermenting 
 vats, and on the floor of the room, when first 
 going in, in the morning, when the fermentation 
 had been very brisk during the night, with the 
 
64 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 doors and windows all closed. More danger- 
 ous still would be the case if the fermenting 
 room were a cellar, or a room below the level 
 of the surface. These underground fermenting 
 rooms should be absolutely condemned; for, 
 although it may be possible to get rid of car- 
 bonic acid gas by me ms of lime-water, yet it 
 causes trouble and is very liable to be neglect- 
 ed. When the flow is on a dead level with or 
 raised above the ground, there is no difficulty in 
 getting rid of the carbonic acid gas, for then it 
 can be easily swept out, or it may fall by its 
 own weight. When men have to go into those 
 great vessels and have to work in them after 
 fermentation, it is always desirable to be very 
 careful. There is no difficulty about knowing 
 whether or not it is safe for men to go into 
 those large vats, because if a lighted taper will 
 not burn the air is unfit for human breathing. 
 In this case some means are needed to get air 
 in and carbonic acid out. 
 
 The success in making good wine depends as 
 much on the good kinds of grapes and their per- 
 fect ripeness as upon a good and regular fer- 
 mentation. With the best of grapes and a bad- 
 ly managed fermentation it more frequently 
 happens that the wine will prove very indiffer- 
 ent than with only middling grapes well ferment- 
 ed. By carefully observing all the precautions 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 65 
 
 
 
 which I have pointed out. watching assiduously 
 the progress of fermentation, and vatting at the 
 time and with the care which I have indicated, 
 we may calculate with all but certainty on hav- 
 ing as good and as sound a wine as we have any 
 right to expect from the quality of the grapes, 
 and the character of the season, and the state 
 of weather during the vintage. 
 
 The vintage made with dispatch, regularity 
 and neatness that is, so as to fill one ferment- 
 ing vat each day; with separation or mixing of 
 the kinds of grapes in conformity with the kind 
 of wine intended to be made; with the most 
 scrupulous exclusion of every faulty berry, 
 whether rotten, shriveled or green; with must 
 perfectly prepared by crushing and aerating; 
 with previous and absolute cleanliness of every 
 vessel or implement which is to come in contact 
 with the must; with a temperature in the fer- 
 menting room uniformly somewhat above 60 
 F. ; protection of the must from contact with 
 the air as soon as tumultuous fermentation has 
 set in; care in keeping the fermentation regu- 
 lar, with the pomace (skins, etc.) below the 
 surface which is to be preferred to forcing it 
 down daily; and finally, vigilant attention to 
 the progress of the fermentation with the view 
 to drawing of the wine when the tumultuous 
 fermentation has ceased, and by this means 
 
6fi VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 
 
 avoiding the inconveniences of a prolonged in- 
 fusion such, generally speaking, are the means 
 to be adopted when we endeavor to make good 
 wine. 
 
 It is not always an easy matter to determine 
 exactly the best moment for drawing off the 
 wine into casks. The hydrometer, or any oth- 
 er instrument that we use, can give no more 
 than approximate indications. Taste, smell and 
 general appearance form the best criterion for 
 men accustomed to judge of a particular variety 
 of wine. In the majority of cases, but not in 
 all, the disappearance of the sugar, the smell 
 and taste of wine, a certain astringency and 
 roughness, the color which the wine ought to 
 have, and the formation of small bubbles on 
 the sides of a white porcelain or silver cup, 
 when shaken briskly in it, are almost certain 
 signs that the wine is made. By this, however, 
 I do not mean that it is completely finished, 
 nor that the sugar has all been broken up; it is 
 not desirable that it should be, because the slow 
 after fermentation in the cask has its own ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 Since the new wine is always turbid, it is use- 
 ful to filter some through filter-paper and view 
 it in a gla^s, the better to observe its color and 
 some others of its qualities. 
 
 The above indications of the tumultuous fer- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 67 
 
 mentation having ceased, are accompanied by 
 another, which by many is considered alone 
 sufficient the sinking of the cap. During tu- 
 multuous fermentation it was raised above the 
 original level, but as soon as this movement 
 ceases and the evolution of gas slackens, and 
 the temperature, raised by chemical reactions, 
 falls, it begins to contract and sink towards its 
 original level. 
 
 In alcoholic fermentation there are two dis- 
 tinct periods to be noticed: the tumultuous, 
 which, as the word suggests, is accompanied 
 with violent movement; and the sloiu, which 
 goes on as all the materials requisite for it are 
 present that is, until all the sugar shall have 
 disappeared, or until the external temperature 
 has become insufficient to sustain its activity. 
 The first, for red wine, has to be carried on in 
 presence of the solid parts of the grapes, which 
 supply it with nourishment, and yield the col- 
 oring matter, tannin and salts, necessary for 
 making it. But when these effects have once 
 been obtained, it always does harm to leave the 
 wine in contact with the pomace, above all if 
 the air can act upon it. Hence it is clear that 
 it should be drawn off as soon as ever the tu- 
 multuous fermentation is over. No particular 
 length of time can be assigned for this ferment- 
 ation, but in general it does not exceed from 
 four to six days. 
 
68 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 i 
 
 When we have decided to draw off the wine, 
 it is usual, where open fermenting vessels are 
 used, to submerge the cap and stir it through 
 the wine to strengthen it, or rather to equalize 
 it, for it is known that what is lying in the mid- 
 dle is fuller in body, and possesses more color 
 and spirit than the rest. After a few hours, 
 when the pomace has again begun to separate 
 from the wine, the drawing out is proceeded 
 with. But before the mixing takes place we 
 should be perfectly certain that no bad fer- 
 mentation has taken place that no mould has 
 formed upon it. Should any such appear it 
 should be removed with scrupulous care. 
 
 The wine is usually drawn from the tank or 
 fermenting vessel through a tap fixed near the 
 bottom; but as it is liable to be choked by 
 skins, and there should be placed securely 
 at the back a strainer of some kind, such as a 
 wicker basket, before the vessel was rilled, as 
 it hardly can be fixed afterwards. 
 
 In the inst nee of covered fermenting tuns, 
 and with perforated lids to keep the pomace 
 under the wine, the lid and covering should be 
 removed some time previous to opening the tap, 
 taking care that the man who does the work 
 shall not be put in danger of his life by car- 
 bonic acid gas. 
 
 If the arrangement of the establishment is 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 69 
 
 such as I have described in the preceding chap- 
 ter, nothing can be easier than to send the wine 
 through pipes or tubing into the casks prepared 
 to receive it; but in any case it will prove han- 
 dy to run the wine first into a sufficiently deep, 
 but not very large vat, to allow any gross impu- 
 rity which may have come through, to be de- 
 posited. When the fermenting vessels stand 
 on the same level as the cellar, the above meth- 
 od cannot be employed, and recourse must be 
 had to carrying the wine in buckets, or using a 
 suitable pump. An apparatus has been invent- 
 ed by M. C. Laburthe, of Mont-de-Marsan, very 
 convenient for this operation, the principle of it 
 being pressure of air. In some countries huge 
 syphons are used for drawing off, but this meth- 
 od is far inferior to the tap. 
 
 Pressing of the pomace takes place directly 
 the fermenting vat is empty, to obtain, be- 
 fore injury can take place, the remainder of 
 the wine contained in it. In going about this 
 work, the first thing to be attended to is getting 
 rid of the body of carbonic acid gas contained 
 in the vessel, because it might injure or kill the 
 workmen. This is done by agitating a green 
 bough, or clothes, sacks, etc., in the interior of 
 the vessel, so as to let ordinary air in and 
 expel the carbonic acid gas. When that has 
 been done, the workmen empties out the pom- 
 ace, which is then carried to the press. 
 
70 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 When the wine making is done in large tuns 
 with man holes, the drawing off is done in the 
 same manner; and then it is even easier to ex- 
 tract the pomace, for it can be done with a rake 
 through the man-hole; and afterwards, when a 
 man has to go in and wash out the residue, care 
 should be taken that the gas is all out, and the 
 tun full of ordinary air. or he may die from as- 
 phyxia. 
 
PRESSING AND VATTING. 
 
 Red wine being necessarily always fermented 
 on the skins, there will always be two qualities, 
 which the French call vin de youtte (that which 
 is drawn off through the tap) , and vin-de-presse 
 (that which is forced out of the pomace by 
 pressing it). 
 
 For this purpose there are many different 
 kinds of presses in use in different wine coun- 
 tries. In Portugal the kind in almost universal 
 use is what is called vara e parofuso beam and 
 screw a very primitive sort of a machine, oc- 
 cupying much room, very heavy, and not very 
 effective, and affords no advantage beyond the 
 simplicity of construction, and facility of re- 
 pair. I would advise all who need a new press 
 to obtain one of the modern make, of which 
 plenty of models or plans may be seen, while 
 their price is not high. Whatever be the press 
 used, as all the wine contained in the pomace 
 is not squeezed out by one pressing, and as it 
 is always necessary to cut and mix the pomace 
 three or four times, the wine which ru> s out 
 on each of those pressings is kept separate, and 
 marked as first, second, and third, for there is 
 
72 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 difference in their composition, which contains 
 different quantities of the materials yielded by 
 the solid portions of the grapes. The first press- 
 ing generally contains the most alcohol, tannin 
 and coloring matters in solution; the others 
 more extractive matters. 
 
 Some viniculturists are opposed to the mixing 
 of any pressings with the wine, as they consider 
 them to interfere with its fineness, softness and 
 sweetness. Others again contend that the 
 pressing, especially the first, improve and give 
 endurance, color and consistency to the bulk of 
 the wine, whilst without the addition it would 
 remain too soft and not keep well. This view 
 is favored by the best authorities, and has the 
 recommendation of being in general use in the 
 best wine districts. 
 
 It is true that without them the wine ripens 
 sooner, and becomes fit for use; but then there 
 is the risk of its not keeping, and its early de- 
 cay. On the other hand, the result of mixing 
 the wine with one-fifth or one-sixth of the 
 pressings is that at first it is rougher and hard- 
 er, but it always keeps better, and with time 
 loses this harshness, which is disagreeable only 
 while it is young. The good properties of wine 
 treated in this manner are ascribed to the larger 
 amount of tannin in solution, principally that 
 derived from the seeds, because it possesses 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 73 
 
 the property of precipitating the ferment, which 
 may still be in the wine, and may become the 
 cause of its deterioration. Under these circum- 
 stances it is beyond all doubt advantageous to 
 add a portion of the pressings to the wine. 
 
 In order that the mixing may be properly 
 done, it is necessary that it be uniform. If all 
 the wine of one fermenting be put into one vat, 
 it should be of such capacity as to hold both 
 the wine and the pressings, especially the first 
 pressings; not forgetting that it is always use- 
 ful to set aside a certain quantity of the same 
 wine in a small cask, to be used for filling up, 
 an operation which it is not proper to perform 
 with wine of a different quality. When the 
 mixing has to be done in a number of casks 
 great care must be taken to preserve the same 
 proportions in each, so that the bulk may prove 
 uniform. In this case the casks are filled three 
 parts full, reserving one third for pressings. 
 
 In Burgundy and in the Medoc the wines are 
 matured in barrels of 280 litres capacity (60 
 Imperial gallons nearly), and the wine is dis- 
 tributed so evenly through them that each one 
 receives an equal quantity of wine from the 
 top, middle and bottom of the vat. Of the first 
 wine which runs out of the tap and which cor- 
 responds to the lowest part of the vat, they 
 put equal measures into each hogshead, one 
 
74 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 after another, and so of all the rest of the con- 
 tents of the vat; and lastly the same with the 
 pressings till they are all full. 
 
 Obviously the same result can be obtained, 
 and even with greater certainty that it will be 
 uniform, by making the mixture in a sufficiently 
 capacious vat, stirring the materials thoroughly, 
 and after a few hours of rest to allow the gross- 
 er parts to fall to the bottom, draw it at once 
 into the casks in which it is to remain till the 
 time for racking. 
 
 What I have just said about mixing the 
 pressings with the wine, applies in a general 
 way to the making of all table red wines, or 
 pure wines of food; still, as this question is 
 surrounded with many conditions, such as the 
 nature of the kind of grapes used, their ripe- 
 ness, the state of the stalks, etc. (enga$o), and 
 the character of the wine we wish to obtain, it 
 is plain that the viniculturist should attend to 
 all these points, and seek in experience for the 
 best plan of conducting his operations. 
 
 Throughout this exposition of the processes 
 of wine making, I have again and again insisted 
 on the necessity of absolute cleanliness and 
 neatness of all vessels, utensils, things and per- 
 sons coming in contact with the wine. The 
 majority of our wine makers unwisely underval- 
 ue the precautions necessary for making wine 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 75 
 
 that will keep and mature well; and I cannot 
 help insisting on this point again even at the 
 risk of wearying the reader. 
 
 The general precept is very simple whether 
 in bringing in the grapes, the making of the 
 wine, or in its after manipulations and care, 
 never allow to be used any utensils, instruments 
 or vessels which have not been w^ashed scrupu- 
 lously clean. The baskets of the pickers, the 
 boxes in which the fruit is carried, the tubs 
 and carts in which they are conveyed to the 
 press room, the tanks or benches where the 
 crushing takes place, the presses, buckets, and 
 other vessels used in carrying the wine, the 
 tubing used for passing the must into the vats, 
 the hoppers and funnels, all the machinery, the 
 tuns, pipes, and all the apparatus of what kind 
 soever are comprised under the general recom- 
 mendation they all need washing before being 
 used; and as soon as the wine making is over, 
 again that they may be clean and sweet for the 
 next vintage.- The greatest of all care and vig- 
 ilance are required about the fermenting vats 
 and vessels, because through being in contact 
 with the wine, they may so easily communicate 
 to it any dangerous matter with which they are 
 foul, from which may arise, not alone a bad 
 taste, but the ruin of the wine in the future. 
 
 New wooden vessels of all kinds ought to be 
 
76 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 well scalded with boiling water, and afterwards 
 washed in cold water, before being used. 
 Utensils which have been in use require to be 
 thoroughly examined on the inside if they have 
 any bad smell, and if they impart a bad taste 
 to the water when washed; if the staves show 
 stains in the wood, because they may be the 
 earliest indications of rotting, or any other de- 
 fect, in which case they should be coopered 
 and planed, and afterward washed with water 
 containing 1-10 of sulphuric acid, and rolled 
 about so as to bring it in contact with every bit 
 of the inside; and afterward washed with cold 
 water and a brush until the last trace of the 
 acid is removed. Some employ with much ad- 
 vantage freshly prepared milk of lime, always 
 however finishing with a wash of cold water, 
 and best of all for a final purifying, a rinse with 
 alcohol. After being well washed, the vessel 
 should be dried with a clean cloth, and if it be 
 not to be used right there, a match should be 
 burned in it and the bung driven home. This 
 burning of a sulphur match in the empty casks 
 should be repeated every six months, for noth- 
 ing is more efficacious in preserving casks from 
 mildew. 
 
 The employment of good spirit to wash the 
 casks in which fine wines are to be kept is very 
 useful. In some countries, for instance in Bur- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 77 
 
 gundy, they use wine of good quality, and this 
 is sensible, because it cannot communicate any 
 foreign taste or smell. 
 
 Writers on the treatment of wines have given 
 a host of receipts for cleansing wine casks for 
 maturing wine, but I see no need of reproduc- 
 ing them in this place, convinced as I am that 
 what I have said already is ample for this part 
 of my work, if it only be faithfully performed. 
 
 Having now arrived at the point of putting 
 the wine into casks, let us see what care is 
 needful for the complete organization of the 
 wine, and to insure its ability to keep. 
 
CARE NEEDED BY THE WINE AFTER 
 IT HAS BEEN PUT IN CASK. 
 
 Whether it be in casks of great capacity, or 
 of medium size, or in pipes or barrels that the 
 new wine is put for keeping, it is absolutely 
 necessary to leave the bung-hole open to admit 
 of the escape of gas generated by fermentation, 
 and which for some time continues in the 
 liquid. 
 
 When drawn off from the lees, the wine al- 
 ways contains a certain portion of sugar and 
 ferment, and what comes from the press has 
 still more. The aeration which the wine un- 
 dergoes in the process of vatting and in the 
 press, furnishes a sufficient amount of oxygen to 
 impart new life to the ferment, which soon be- 
 comes apparent by its greater or less activity, 
 but which gradually diminishes till the bubbles 
 of gas are scarcely perceptible. As long as 
 this secondary fermentation continues, it is only 
 necessary to cover the bung-hole with paper, 
 or, better still, two thicknesses of muslin, to 
 keep dust and flies out. The body of carbonic 
 acid gas floating on the surface is enough to 
 preserve it from contact with the oxygen of the 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 79 
 
 air. In some parts, for sake of greater secu- 
 rity, a simple tin tube, which acts as a hydrau- 
 lic valve, in the form of an inverted letter CQ , is 
 adapted to the bung-hole, with some water in 
 the curvature, or cotton wool. 
 
 When there is no longer any sign of fermen- 
 tation, whether because all the sugar has been 
 broken up, or on account of the temperature 
 having become too low for fermentation to con- 
 tinue, the bung ought to be driven home to ex- 
 clude all contact with air. This usually hap- 
 pens during November. Just about that time, 
 the wine, heretofore more or less turbid, begins 
 to clear itself and become transparent. They 
 then say " the wane is made;" yet from this 
 point onward the need of care to preserve it and 
 perfect its organization is not less urgent. 
 
 The first condition to be attended to, is the 
 complete exclusion of air, in order to prevent 
 the formation on the surface of those vegetable 
 growths or flowers which precede or accompany 
 the acetic fermentation, and other changes 
 wjiich injuriously affect it. In order to effect 
 this exclusion of air, it is indispensable to keep 
 the vessels completely full to the bung. The 
 vigilance should know no bounds on this point, 
 most of all during the first period of its life, for 
 either indifference or carelessness may occasion 
 serious injury which later on will show itself, 
 and when too late to be remedied. 
 
80 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 In all kinds of wooden vessels, two causes 
 concur in diminishing the volume of wine con- 
 tained in them, and by consequence a vacant 
 space which the air soon tills. The first is con- 
 traction of the liquid by cold, and the second 
 evaporation of the liquid through the pores of 
 the wood, and the interstices of the bung. 
 This last cause goes on all the time, and hence 
 the need of filling up at very short intervals. 
 During the first months it is necessary to fill up 
 at least once a week; later once in a fortnight, 
 and lastly once a month, but never less. After 
 every filling, the bung should be wrapped in a 
 clean cloth dipped in the wine, or in good 
 brandy. The wine used to fill up the casks 
 should be identically the same as that which 
 they contain, scrupulously preserved from any 
 alteration, in fact, beyond all suspicion. For 
 this purpose a sufficient quantity of the same 
 wine should be stored in small vessels of some 
 convenient kind and size; but, for the same 
 reason that compels us to keep the big vessels 
 full, we have to take care that that used for 
 filling up is not allowed to lie in contact with 
 air. So the vintner needs to make his calcu- 
 lations how best to comply with these general 
 instructions. 
 
 In proportion to the number and capacity of 
 the keeping casks, quantities should be pro- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 81 
 
 vided, each just sufficient for one filling up. 
 AVhere the quantity is small it is best to have 
 the wine in bottles to avoid loss and prevent 
 injury. This is the practice in countries where 
 fine wine is made and matured, as in Burgundy 
 and the Medoc, where it is kept in barrels of 
 only 228 litres. 
 
 A very simple and effective method of keep- 
 ing the casks full is to drop in perfectly clean 
 quartz pebbles. 
 
 It is easy to understand the reason for all 
 these precautions; since if the wine used for 
 filling up were not of the same quality, or con- 
 tained any principle of alteration, it is clear 
 the disease would be communicated to the 
 whole. 
 
 Later on when the wine has been put into 
 pipes or smaller casks, and when it is conven- 
 ient to pile them one upon another, and it be- 
 comes difficult to keep them full, the proper 
 course is to place them with the bung on one 
 side, so that it may be kept moist and exclude 
 air. As to the evaporation, which will still go 
 on through the pores of the wood, whatever 
 space is formed will be filled by vapors of the 
 wine, which will keep out air. 
 
 The aim and object of the above precautions 
 is to preserve the mature genuine first-class 
 red wines; for those are the most liable to de- 
 
 4A 
 
82 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 teriorate. The action of air, aided by a suffi- 
 ciently high temperature, may originate second- 
 ary fermentations, and internal disturbances at 
 any time, until the wine is perfectly formed and 
 freed from all foreign and prejudicial matters. 
 For the keeping of such wines until they are 
 ripe for bottling, it is most desirable that the 
 temperature of the keeping cellars should not 
 exceed 10 centigrade, or 50 Fahrenheit. 
 
RACKING AND CLARIFYING. 
 
 Backings and clarifying, with albuminous or 
 other materials in place of it, are operations 
 called for in order to remove the Jees and solid 
 matters which might interfere with its keeping 
 qualities. Both of those operations belong to 
 the class of attentions which wine demands 
 during its earliest periods, after being placed 
 in cask, and they contribute much towards its 
 completion. 
 
 When the wine is drawn into casks it is al- 
 ways muddy, and continues so as long as fer- 
 mentation continues. But when it has quite 
 ceased, about the beginning of the winter colds, 
 it becomes limpid and transparent, and deposits 
 whatever solid matter it had held in solution. 
 This is what we call lees. These lees contain, 
 among other things, the residue of the ferment, 
 now inactive; minute fibres from the pulp of 
 the berries; bi-tartarate of potassa, which be- 
 comes insoluble as the alcohol is formed in the 
 liquid. In the lees may also be found the germs 
 of organic life, which under favoiable conditions 
 may give rise to those several kinds of ferment- 
 ations which cause the diseases of wine. 
 
84 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 As long as the temperature remains low the 
 germs lie dormant, and the presence of the lees 
 does the wine no harm, but as soon as it rises 
 to a degree of warmth favorable to fermentation 
 they rise in the wine, which again becomes tur- 
 bid, " kicks up," and is often hopelessly lost. 
 Common sense points straight to the removal 
 of all danger from the above source, as soon as 
 ever the conditions are favorable. Racking 
 alone can effect it. 
 
 Sometimes the wine does not clear early, and 
 now and then it remains turbid, holding in sus- 
 pension permanently solid foreign matters. In 
 these cases it is necessary to force such matters 
 to deposit. The means usually had i ecourse to 
 for this purpose and found to be the safest and 
 most efficient, is clarifying with isinglass, or 
 gelatine, or white of eggs, or other substance 
 having similar properties, which, upon being 
 introduced into the wine and uniformly distrib- 
 uted through it, becomes more or less solidified 
 by the action of the alcohol and .tannin, form- 
 ing as it were a net, which, as it sinks toward 
 the bottom, drags the suspended matters with 
 it, leaving the liquid clear and bright. In the- 
 ory this is "clarification by albuminous mat- 
 ters." Let us now see how and when each of 
 the above substances will be found best to use, 
 when we have to employ them. In most cases, 
 
VINIGUL TURE -OF CLA RET. 85 
 
 and principally in the instance of red wines, 
 which is the chief matter of which I am at 
 present treating, racking is indispensable, and 
 should be done as soon as the wine has depos- 
 ited its lees. As this occurs during the cold 
 weather of winter, and as with warm weather 
 of spring will start fermentation, the racking 
 ought to be all over before it sets in. March 
 is the month when it most usually is done, for 
 then the weather is cold, clear and serene. 
 
 Necessary as it is to rack, a moment's consid- 
 eration will suffice to show that neither the ex- 
 act time when it should take place, nor how 
 often it should be repeated. The nature of the 
 wine, the conditions under which it was made, 
 and the state of the weather all may modify 
 the periods for racking. 
 
 Wines loaded with much ferment and foreign 
 matters, if the weather be fine in early winter 
 November or December should then have 
 a first racking. This racking, however, has not 
 to prevent a second before the opening of 
 spring, because this is indispensable in the 
 case of all wines in order to protect them against 
 the first warm weather of spring, as also at the 
 time when the vine breaks bud, for at that time 
 they almost always show signs of internal com- 
 motion. 
 
 The same disturbance appears to be renewed 
 
86 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 when the vine is in bloom, and again when the 
 grapes begin to change color in August. In 
 very hot years, and in exceptional cases, it may 
 be desirable to rack in the latter end of June, 
 chiefly if the work was badly done in March, or 
 not at all. 
 
 Backing becomes all the more indispensable 
 when the wines are poor and defectively made. 
 All the ordinary ones, especially in bad years, 
 demand at least two rackings, the first one be- 
 ing preceded by a fining with isinglass or other 
 matter, which will be treated of later on. 
 
 Fine alcoholic wines made with very ripe 
 grapes, with much sugar and little ferment, 
 and which consequently deposit little lees, may 
 need only one racking, at the end of winter. 
 
 The operation of which we are treating, in 
 order to be beneficial and safe, requires a cer- 
 tain number of precautions and cares to be at- 
 tended to with all vigilance. 
 
 In the first place, it is proper that the wine 
 should be clear and that lees should have com- 
 pletely settled to the bottom. When 'this has 
 not taken place by the time when we judge the 
 racking ought to take place, then we must re- 
 cur to previous clarification. 
 
 For racking we ought to choose a time when 
 the weather is clear, dry and cold, with a north 
 wind, if possible; because then the whole body 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 87 
 
 of the wine is tranquil, the air pure, and there 
 is little chance of hurtful germs being introduc- 
 ed into the wine. On the other hand, rainy, 
 blustery, stormy weather, and the winds from 
 the south (in the northern parts of Portugal) 
 are not favorable to a good racking. Experts 
 affirm that the best time for it is early in the 
 morning. 
 
 It is quite essential that as far as possible no 
 air should be allowed to come in contact with 
 the wine during racking, particularly in the 
 case of delicate wines, and of no great body. 
 The method commonly in use in Portugal has 
 been to insert a tap in the cask a little higher 
 than where it is supposed the lees have settled ; 
 draw the wine into buckets and pass it into 
 another cask previously sulphured. As soon as 
 ever the wine comes over turbid, stop; and put 
 the thick wine and lees into a vessel apart. 
 Part of the turbid wine may be clarified after- 
 wards, and the lees used for distillation. 
 
 In doing the work this way, it is impossible 
 to prevent contact with the air, and the loss of 
 some portion of the brandy and aromatic ele- 
 ments' and on this account many fear to rack 
 wines which are naturally weak, or which are 
 unusually delicate. The danger, however, will 
 be greater from leaving them on the lees, than 
 from exposing them to the loss of some alcohol 
 
88 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 and perfume; which, however, need not be lost 
 if the method I am going to describe be adopt- 
 ed one which is in general use in the most 
 celebrated wine districts of France. The cask 
 which has to receive the clean wine, is placed 
 close to the one from which we are about to 
 rack. In a hole made in this latter, we fix a 
 straight tap, to which is fastened a flexible tube 
 of leather or rubber. To the other end of it, 
 another straight tap is secured, which is fixed 
 in a corre'sponding hole of the empty cask. 
 When a vent-hole has been made in each, to al- 
 low the passage of air, and both of the taps have 
 been opened, the wine will run into the empty 
 cask till it reaches the level in each. In order 
 to force the rest of the wine into the clean cask, 
 and out of the other, they fix securely in the 
 bung-hole a special kind of bellows. The air, 
 compressed in the cask, acting on the surface 
 of the liquid, forces it to enter the other cask. 
 When they hear a sort of whistling noise in the 
 tube, indicating that air is entering, both of 
 the taps are closed, and withdrawn. The rest 
 of the wine and lees are drawn off into a buck- 
 et. By this process, which in practice is sim- 
 pler then it appears in the description, espec- 
 ially as to the tubes and bellows, the racking is 
 done without difficulty, without allowing the 
 air to exert any notable influence on the liquor: 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 89 
 
 and effectually preventing the loss of spirit and 
 perfume. 
 
 Racking can also be done with a syphon or a 
 pump, but with less advantage and more risk 
 than by the method I have explained, especial- 
 ly when the casks are small or middle sized. 
 When racking has to be done from one great 
 vessel to another of equal size, the bellows can- 
 not be used, but an appliance devised by M. 
 Laburthe can. It is, of course, an easy matter 
 to rack off wine from a great vat or tun, into 
 casks. We have to take notice however, that 
 wines of high quality gain much by being kept 
 in the casks into which they were first drawn. 
 To this end, as soon as the cask is emptied, 
 carefully washed and sulphured, the wine 
 should be returned to it, the same precautions 
 and appliances being used as in the racking. 
 In Burgundy and in the Medoc, wines of high 
 price and estimation are always drawn from the 
 fermenting vats into new barrels of 228 litres, 
 so that when the racking and clarifying have 
 been done, they may be returned into them. 
 In them they are sold, and the price of the cask 
 is added to that of the wine. 
 
ON CLARIFYING. 
 
 When wine by simple racking becomes lim- 
 pid, transparent and ' ' candle-bright, ' ' there is 
 no need of clarifying; but this rarely happens, 
 and the wines, even after being well racked and 
 at a proper season, fall still short of being quite 
 clear and bright, on account of minute matters 
 still held in suspension, and which must be got 
 out, because sooner or later they may injure 
 the wine. 
 
 It is just as impossible to state any fixed times 
 when wine should be clarified as when it should 
 be racked. Common sense must be used about 
 the condition and age of the wine, the state of 
 the weather and other circumstances. At any 
 time after the racking, if the wine be not bright, 
 it may be clarified if the weather is cool and 
 clear, and, under any circumstances, when the 
 wine has to be either exported or bottled, it 
 ought to be clarified. During their first year 
 all wines require at least one clarifying, and 
 those made from bad grapes or in a bad season, 
 that have an excess of ferment and clear with 
 difficulty, demand clarification absolutely. But, 
 above all others, wines which have a natural 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 91 
 
 tendency to "kick about," as we commonly 
 say, require rigorous clarification after their 
 first racking. 
 
 Artificial clarifying accomplishes, as far as 
 possible, the same effect as would be if the 
 wine were filtered through paper. But as this 
 cannot be done without ruin to the wine, we 
 prepare a substance of some kind which will 
 quietly fall through the wine and accomplish 
 the same purpose. Many different substances 
 may be employed for this purpose. .The more 
 generally used, however, are whites of eggs, 
 consisting mainly of albuminous matters; isin- 
 glass or albumen, of which there are several 
 varieties; the blood of bullocks or sheep, which 
 contain matters that coagulate, such as albu- 
 men and fibrin; fresh milk, which contains the 
 curd also coagulable: and many artificially pre- 
 pared substances, prepared expressly for clari- 
 fying wine all of which have more or less the 
 properties just mentioned. 
 
 It is by no means a matter of indifference 
 which of these substances is to be employed, 
 for the one selected may either clarify well or 
 not at all, or yet, what is still worse, leave be- 
 hind it injurious matters. 
 
 I have always found it advantageous, just be- 
 fore racking in March, to determine the alco- 
 holic strength, and again after it; so that if 
 
92 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 there have been any loss, it may be restored by 
 the addition of some good brandy, or enough 
 to leave it very slightly in excess. 
 
 What I have already said about the advan- 
 tage and even necessity of separating the clean 
 wine from the lees is always applicable to pure, 
 genuine wines for the table. This refers main- 
 ly to red wines, but there are special cases where 
 a wine may be benefited by being for a time 
 left to lie on the lees, at least as long as the 
 processes of its formation are progressing. 
 This has special application in the instance of 
 white wines, for they are not fermented on the 
 stalks and skins ; and we have found in many of 
 our provinces that rolling the casks repeatedly, 
 and mixing lees and wine thoroughly, is good 
 practice. It is the weak, thin white wines, and 
 even the more spirituous, which, from different 
 reasons, are benefited by this mixing through 
 them of the lees during their first year. I have 
 alluded to the advantage, and, in most cases, 
 the necessity of artificial clarification of new 
 wines; let us now inquire into the conditions of 
 how and when it should be done. 
 
 For clarifying red wines, nothing appears to 
 surpass the whites of new-laid eggs; for white 
 wines, pure white gelatine, or isinglass is pre- 
 ferred. 
 
 Albumen, which forms an essential part of the 
 
VINICULTURE OF 
 
 whites of eggs, and which we find in bullock's 
 blood, is a substance which without alteration 
 of its composition, can exist under two forms. 
 It may be either soluble or insoluble. In fresh 
 eggs it is in the soluble form (can be mixed 
 perfectly with water). When heated to 75 C., or 
 about 180 F., it becomes fixed, and can no 
 longer be dissolved in water. But it is not 
 alone heat which coagulates albumen; alcohol, 
 tannin, strong free acids, and other chemical 
 substances coagulate albumen, whether pure or 
 dissolved out in water. 
 
 Gelatine, which forms the different sorts of 
 the glue of commerce, is not very soluble in cold 
 water. It softens and swells up, but it dissolves 
 readily in warm water, and forms a jelly. The 
 solution is coagulated by alcohol, which throws 
 it down. Tannin forms an insoluble compound 
 with it, and therefore precipitates it from its 
 solutions. 
 
 In view of these properties of albumen and 
 gelatine, it is not difficult to understand how 
 they act in the process of clarifying wine. It 
 holds in solution alcohol and tannin. Where 
 solutions of albumen or gelatine are mixed in 
 matters like wine, containing alcohol and tan- 
 nin, they form a kind of membraneous net, 
 which, little by little, contracts and gathers up 
 whatever matters they find in suspension, and 
 
94 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 by their united weight, drag them to the bottom 
 of the vessel, and of course, after a while, leav- 
 ing the liquid clean and bright. 
 
 As already said, the white of eggs is the most 
 convenient for clarifying red wines generally. 
 It is the only substance which should be used 
 in clarifying red wines of high character, for 
 about its purity there can be no question, 
 neither does it introduce any dangerous foreign 
 substance. Ordinarily the whites of two or 
 three eggs suffice for one hecolitre of wine 
 (about 26 gallons). The whites of the eggs 
 should be quite free from any yolk; then in a 
 suitable dish or other vessel, beaten up with 
 some water and clean salt, into a froth. Then 
 after drawing off some quarts of the wine to be 
 clarified, into a bucket, the eggs are first added 
 to it, and the whole thoroughly incorporated 
 with a piece of clean wood, flattened at the end, 
 and a cross piece attached to the end, so as to 
 make the mixture as uniform as possible. This 
 mixture is then poured into the cask of wine to 
 be clarified, stirred well in it with a suitable 
 wooden implement, and left at rest for a num- 
 ber of days, more or less, in accordance with 
 the size of the cask. If the clarifying has been 
 done in a "pipe," at the end of eight or ten 
 days, the sediment will have fallen to the bot- 
 tom, and the time has come for the second 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 95 
 
 racking. The salt employed lias the advantage 
 of favoring the solubility, and as a consequence 
 the division and distribution of the albumen 
 through the body of the liquid, and produces a 
 more gentle and effective coagulation of the 
 suspended impurities: for itself is insoluble in 
 wine, while on the other hand it acts as a pre- 
 ventive against alteration, corruption, or fer- 
 mentation of the deposited lees. 
 
 From what has been said concerning the 
 manner in which the clarification is effected, 
 one might conclude that all that is necessary 
 would be to mix the whites of the eggs, pre- 
 pared as above, with the wine at the top of the 
 cask or tun; and this would appear to be an 
 advantage in the c :se of very large vessels. 
 
 [X. B. This is theory, and needs practical 
 confirmation, especially as to the shape of the 
 casks or tuns to be clarified. Translator.] 
 
 Clarification with gelatine, or other analagous 
 substances met with in commerce, is certainly 
 very effective; but before speaking of the meth- 
 ods of using it, it seems desirable to say a few 
 words concerning considerations which should 
 guide us in their employment. 
 
 The essential condition of a good fermenta- 
 tion is the formation of that kind of a membra- 
 neous net, which contracting itself in the liquid, 
 
96 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 can lay hold on and carry down the impurities 
 and germs of fermentation suspended in it. 
 Now all sorts of gelatine are not equally effica- 
 cious in producing these effects, and nnt a few 
 of them, on account of being badly made, dirty, 
 or not fresh, may impart dangerous matters to 
 the wine. 
 
 The gelatine obtained by prolonged boiling 
 of animal skins, and other animal tissues, which 
 furnish the white gelatine of the painters, does 
 not satisfy the requirements just mentioned, 
 and is useless for clarifying wine. Still this 
 same, when once perfectly dried, constitutes the 
 strong gelatine, when free from bad taste and 
 smell, may be used, and is frequently used with 
 advantage in clarifying wines containing an ex- 
 cess of tannin. Since it precipitates tannin, it 
 softens the wine, as well as clarifies it. 
 
 The quantity commonly employed is 20 
 grams (about 8 ounces) of the dry gelatine to 
 about 26 gallons of wine; but of course this is 
 a matter to be left to the judgment of the oper- 
 ator, since the wine may be very muddy, or 
 nearly bright. There are varieties of gelatine 
 so white and fine, that as much as 35 grams per 
 hectolitre might safely be used; and with such 
 gelatine even fine wines may be clarified. The 
 process employed differs little from that em- 
 ployed in the use of albumen. The gelatine 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 97 
 
 broken into small bits, is put to soak in a little 
 water; after a time a slow heat is applied; then 
 it is thoroughly mixed with a small but suffi- 
 cient quantity of wine, drawn from the cask, and 
 then this mixture is put into the wine to be 
 cleaned, when the cask is to be closed and left 
 to rest. 
 
 The variety known in commerce as the fish 
 gelatine (isinglass), obtained from the air blad- 
 ders of certain kinds of fish, notably the stur- 
 geon, is far preferable to the gelatines, however 
 pure they may be, but above all in clarifying 
 delicate white wines containing but little tannin. 
 
 This substance does the clarifying independ- 
 ently of any action on tannin, keeping its mem- 
 braneous form, even when very much diluted, 
 and acting mechanically; being contracted by 
 the alcohol, and falling through the wine with- 
 out robbing it of anything which constitutes its 
 body. It is however used cautiously, not more 
 than 20 grams to a pipe, or about 4 grams 
 to the hectolitre. It must be finely cut, soaked 
 with a little water for a few hours, then well 
 broken up with the hands, or in a collander, 
 diluted with some wine in a bottle or flask, and 
 and then used for clarifying in the ordinary 
 way. 
 
 Clarifying with the blood of bullocks or 
 sheep, does its work with energy, but it is nev- 
 5 
 
98 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 er employed except to clarify very ordinary 
 wines, because they nearly always leave behind 
 them a sickly taste, and throw down a heavy 
 deposit. When it is used at all, it should be 
 sparingly, and always with quite fresh blood. 
 
 The powders and artificial preparations for 
 clarifying wines, whose composition is held a 
 secret, offered in commerce, have as their prin- 
 cipal component or base, dried albumen obtain- 
 from the serum of animal blood. They offer 
 no advantage over the means already spoken 
 about which could counterbalance the risk of 
 deception. 
 
 Over and above the animal materials, there 
 has been a mineral substance pointed out, which 
 can be easily obtained, and in sufficient purity 
 for clarifying wines without risk of any kind. 
 This is alumina in the gelatinous state, which 
 is prepared by decomposing a solution of com- 
 mon alum by an alkali (soda, potassa or ammo- 
 nia), and thoroughly washing with pure water 
 the gelatinous precipitate formed. This gela- 
 tinous alumina is insoluble both in water and 
 wine, but it can be easily mixed through the 
 body of liquid by agitation, when it will fall to 
 the bottom and draw the impurities along with 
 it. It has, however, the property of absorbing 
 coloring matters, with which it forms lakes; so 
 its employment in red wine, at least, will al- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 99 
 
 ways be attended with loss of color. Since it 
 also forms an insoluble compound with tannin, 
 it will necessarily diminish the roughness of the 
 wine. As yet it has not been adopted in gen- 
 eral practice, and the most I can say for it at 
 present is that it should be used only in an ex- 
 perimental way and with much precaution. 
 
 We observe sometimes how wine will not 
 clarify even when the best means have been 
 employed. Now, the cause might be a move- 
 ment of fermentation going on in the liquid, or 
 a deficiency of those substances which are in- 
 dispensable for precipitating the albumen or 
 gelatine that is, a want of alcohol and of tan- 
 nin. In either case we must not go on adding 
 more albumen or gelatine. Since clarification 
 requires the liquid to be perfectly tranquil, it 
 is clear that if any fermentation is going on the 
 clarifying materials have no chance. In such a 
 case it is best to rack the wine into a well sul- 
 phured cask, and wait till all signs of ferment- 
 ing have disappeared, selecting for the purpose 
 cool, clear weather. This supposes the ferment- 
 ation to be alcoholic, for if not that, then the 
 wine is diseased, and other means have to be 
 availed of, concerning which I intend to trea,t 
 later on. 
 
 If the clarifying matter is ineffective on ac- 
 count of the weakness of the wine, the best thing 
 
100 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 to be done is to rack it as before said, and when 
 clarifying is again undertaken, at the very time 
 of doing it, to give the wine a fair dose of bran- 
 dy and tannin, proportionate to the amount of 
 clarifying matter used, and for this purpose it 
 would be well to make an experiment or two in 
 a graduated glass or tube. The best solution 
 of tannin, or at any rate the most easily pre- 
 pared for this purpose, is got by soaking grape 
 seeds in good brandy, a quantity of which should 
 be always at hand in the cellar, for it comes in 
 useful in other cases to be treated of later. 
 
 To resume. Clarifying having for its object 
 to remove out of wine impurities which might 
 injure it, especially the germs of fermentation, 
 which might alter its constitution, is a very nec- 
 essary operation, and above all indispensable 
 for the preservation of fine delicate wines. 
 There is nothing either difficult or expensive 
 about it. Whites of eggs, gelatine and isin- 
 glass are the substances ordinarily employed, 
 with the best results. The two first are used to 
 clarify red wines, the last for delicate white 
 wines. The clarifying should be done in bright 
 serene weather, and, when possible, in cold 
 weather after racking. Immediately the wine 
 is clarified, and the matters well settled in the 
 bottom of the cask, it is proper to rack it again. 
 During all the time, while clarifying is in 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 101 
 
 progress, the wine should remain perfectly still 
 and undisturbed, not alone as to the liquid in 
 the cask, but any blows or shocks on the out- 
 side. 
 
 With suitable rackings, with opportune and 
 rigorous clarifying, and with carefully attend- 
 ing to filling up, the wine will be in good con- 
 dition, will keep on improving, and acquiring 
 the best qualities that its nature is capable of 
 developing as time passes. 
 
SULPHURING. 
 
 Already on several previous occasions I have 
 pointed out the necessity of purifying casks, 
 etc., by burning a sulphur match in them be- 
 fore filling wine into them, with special refer- 
 ence to the occasions of racking. Sulphuring 
 is a powerful help in maintaining the health 
 and keeping properties of wines, and on that 
 account it may be desirable here to enter some- 
 what into details. 
 
 Sulphuring by burning a match dipped in 
 sulphur, or sulphur alone, it matters not which, 
 may be useful under two points of view, either 
 for sweetening the casks, since it will absorb 
 oxygen and kill fungoid germs, or to arrest al- 
 coholic fermentation for a longer or shorter 
 time, or suspend fermentation of the sugar. 
 The first case is the most general, for it is ap- 
 plicable to all wines whatsoever; the second 
 finds its use in making certain kinds of white 
 wine, in which the aim is to preserve an excess 
 of sweetness, by its protecting the sugar against 
 the ferment. 
 
 The theory of its operations is of its own nat- 
 ure very simple. When sulphur is burned, in 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 103 
 
 presence of oxygen the two combine and form 
 a colorless gas, which cannot be breathed, and 
 which has a suffocating smell. We call it sul- 
 phurous acid. This gas is readily soluble in 
 water and in wine, and after being formed it 
 possesses the power in the presence of water or 
 moisture to absorb still more oxygen, becoming 
 converted into sulphuric acid, commonly called 
 "oil of vitriol." Hence we see that when sul- 
 phur is burned in a cask or any closed vessel or 
 place, it first lays hold upon the oxygen of the 
 air , leaving sulphurous acid in its place . In air so 
 deprived of oxygen, and in presence of sulphur- 
 ous acid, it is impossible for those lower forms 
 of organisms to live, such as the mycoderms 
 and cryptogamic vegetations, which are vulgarly 
 called mildew, mould, and ferments, properly so 
 called. Even in solution sulphurous gas kills 
 them and stops all fermentation. If, by absorb- 
 ing more oxygen, it becomes sulphuric acid, 
 this exerts a corrosive action on those minute 
 bodies. When a cask has been emptied and 
 not washed for a few days, its inside will be 
 found covered with mildew, imparting to it a 
 bad smell, starting in the direction of rotting 
 the wood itself, and rendering it unfit to hold 
 wine, for it would certainly be ruined. The 
 way to prevent this is to sulphur as soon as 
 the cask is emptied of lees, and has been well 
 washed. 
 
104 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 For sulphuring we prepare matches, which 
 are strips of linen, cotton or paper, 25 centime- 
 tres long, and 5 centimetres broad, more or less, 
 which we dip in melted sulphur, and hang up 
 to drain. When we use them we attach a length 
 of wire, light the match and lower it into about 
 the middle of the cask. While it continues to 
 burn the bung hole should be closed, and the 
 wire secured on the outside. A bung with wire 
 already attached is a convenience. In with- 
 drawing it, care should be taken not to drop 
 the ashes, as they might possibly affect the taste 
 of the wine. A portion of a match, of 10 or 12 
 superficial square centimetres, is enough to 
 sulphur a pipe. In the case of sulphuring 
 large vats, tuns, etc., burn the sulphur in an 
 iron, or porcelain capsule, properly secured to 
 a wire, which may be once or twice raised up 
 and down. 
 
 When we go to rack, 110 time should be lost 
 when the sulphuring is finished, in pouring the 
 wine in while all the fumes are there; otherwise 
 the benefit is not only lost, but it might prove 
 injurious; because the sulphurous acid, coming 
 in contact with the damp sides of the cask, 
 would be converted into sulphuric acid, and 
 impart a bad taste to the wine afterwards. 
 
 When however we sulphur empty casks to 
 keep them sweet, we drive the bung tight while 
 all the fumes are in them, and leave it so till 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 105 
 
 needed for use; and then before using them, 
 they should lirst be well washed, to remove any 
 taste that might have been caused by the old 
 sulphuring. 
 
 We observe occasionally that the match will 
 not burn inside a cask which has been used for 
 some time. This is caused by the bad condi- 
 tion of the staves on the inside; because some 
 or all are in a state of decay, or covered with 
 mildew, or other form of change, which had 
 absorbed the oxygen, for in air without oxygen 
 sulphur will not burn. It is in such case nec- 
 essary first to fill the cask with air by using 
 bellows, or by any other method, the best of 
 which would be to make the cooper take out 
 the head and examine it. 
 
 Sulphuring becomes of very much use, when- 
 ever we have to keep a cask not quite full. In 
 all such instances the oxygen of the air tends di- 
 rectly to cause change; mycoderms develop, or 
 the flour of wine and of vinegar ; generally it turns 
 sour and is lost. Up to a certain point, this 
 may be obviated by burning a match in the 
 empty space, and then turning the cask so that 
 the bung shall be covered by the wine. 
 
 When we wish to stop fermentation in wine 
 or must by sulphuring, it is necessary to actual- 
 ly saturate the liquid with sulphurous acid gas, 
 which cannot be done by burning only a match 
 
 SA 
 
106 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 in the cask. First we burn a match, and while 
 the cask is full of the fumes, pour in a portion 
 of wine, close up the bung, and roll it about 
 till the liquor has absorbed them. Then re- 
 move the bung, admit the air, burn more 
 match, Hnd add another portion of wine, and 
 so on till the cask is full. Thus the whole of 
 the wine or must will be saturated with sulphur- 
 ous gas, all fermenting put a stop to, and the 
 sweetness preserved, but at first giving the dis- 
 agreeable taste of sulphurous gas, which after 
 a while passes off. 
 
 To recapitulate, sulphuring is eminently use- 
 ful for preserving both wines and casks. When 
 they have to remain empty, it protects them 
 against mould, and other hurtful influences, 
 while wine in presence of it loses its power of 
 fermenting and remains unchanged. 
 
 Since during the burning of sulphur the oxy- 
 gen is abstracted from the air, and sulphurous 
 gas produced, and since the presence of oxygen 
 is indispensable to the wine during certain per- 
 iods of its formation, evidently it cannot be 
 made use of before the wine is made, or when 
 we desire to stop fermentation, to preserve a 
 part of their sugar. Sulphurous gas has a very 
 energetic action on coloring matters, bleaching 
 them, and causing them to disappear. On this 
 account sulphuring is used in white wine, when 
 it is sought to have them pale. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 107 
 
 There are but few cases in which sulphuring 
 is not useful, and they may be reduced to almost 
 the following : 
 
 1. When we wish to preserve for certain 
 kinds of wine that slight effervescence, which is 
 a characteristic of wines of Bucellas, and which 
 is due to very feeble fermentation. 
 
 2. When the wines are too alcoholic, and 
 which ferment only slowly, as occurs when rais- 
 ins are used. 
 
 3. Lastly when the wine has been attacked 
 by some particular disease, which will be treat- 
 ed of hereafter; when it assumes the appear- 
 ance of oiliness, or fatness, in the treatment of 
 which oxygen is needed, and therefore sulphur- 
 ing would be out of place. 
 
 When speaking of sulphuring casks, I ought 
 to make a remark or two, which perhaps the 
 educated and practical wine treater will kindly 
 excuse. The remark refers to a disaster which 
 has occurred oftener than once. Sulphuring 
 must never be done without first making sure 
 that there is no brandy in the cask, nor even 
 the vapor of it arising from previous washing, 
 since the mixture of the vapors of alcohol and 
 explosive air in presence of the burning match, 
 will assuredly produce a violent explosion, 
 which ma}' cause great damage, not to say burn 
 the buildings. 
 
THE USE OF BRANDY. 
 
 The employment of brandy to keep and im- 
 prove wines is so general in Portugal, and con- 
 sidered so indispensable, that they have adopt- 
 ed into general vogue the words "beneficiar os 
 vinhos" (benefit the wines). In making Port 
 wines, and some others which are made in imi- 
 tation of them, and also in making liqueur 
 wines, it is indispensable, they say, to use it 
 very freely. It is not my present intention to 
 enter upon any discussion of the generous wines 
 of the Douro, and others like them, because, as 
 I have already repeatedly said my especial ob- 
 ject in this little work, is to treat principally 
 of genuine, pure, nourishing table wines, like 
 French Clarets. 
 
 The question arises, is the use of spirit an 
 advantage in making wine, and is it indispensa- 
 ble in the making of natural food wines ? 
 
 This question deserves to be treated at con- 
 siderable length, for there is a generally pre- 
 vailing opinion that our wines do not keep well, 
 nor endure voyages well without additional 
 brandy. But on the other hand, wines loaded 
 with alcohol have become objectionable to the 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 109 
 
 public taste in England itself, which has been 
 the chief consumer of our excessively generous 
 wines of the Douro. So, while there, the con- 
 sumption of French wines is rapidly increasing, 
 with an alcoholic strength far beneath that 
 which we have been sending to that market ha- 
 bitually, our importations, if they have not fal- 
 len off considerably, remain stationary, and 
 bear no relation to the increasing consumption 
 of wine in England. 
 
 Without denying the utility and advantage of 
 brandy in very moderate quantity in ordinary 
 wines of consumption, table wines, I am con- 
 vinced by individual experience, that it is by no 
 means indispensable for the keeping of such 
 wines, when they have been made and kept with 
 all the precautions and cares which I have point- 
 ed out, unless in exceptional and purely acci- 
 dental cases. 
 
 The southern provinces, where the grapes 
 arrive at a maximum of maturity, and 
 where they are the richest in sugar, and on this 
 account would naturally produce the most spir- 
 ituous wines, are exactly those in which the 
 employment of brandy is most common, for ex- 
 perience has demonstrated that their wines, on 
 account of the way they are made, will not ma- 
 ture and keep without a lar^e addition of spirit. 
 In the manufacture of the Port wines of the 
 
110 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 Douro, the need of using brandy largely is per- 
 fectly understood. When they set about mak- 
 ing full-bodied wines of deep color, they begin 
 by a hard and prolonged and even violent work- 
 ing of the grapes, so as to reduce the berry and 
 pulp and stalks to a high state of attenuation, 
 charging the must in this way with all the ma- 
 terials needful for a perfect fermentation, not 
 only the alcoholic, but those which may come 
 afterwards and corrupt the wine. It therefore 
 becomes indispensable to render inoperative 
 those dangerous materials, and the readiest way 
 to do is by an excessive dose of brandy, which 
 in time proves of benefit in developing the best 
 characters of this kind of wine, which are 
 brought out by the action of acids, obtained not 
 alone from the berry, but from the stalks also 
 upon it, which results in the formation of the 
 ethers and aroma of the wine. But while wine 
 made by this method, with very ripe grapes 
 acquire essentially estimable properties, and an 
 immense power of resisting alteration, on the 
 other hand, they lose the property of being 
 food wines (alimenticious), and are, as a matter 
 of course, too exciting and generous. 
 
 In the south of France and in Catalonia, full- 
 bodied and very deep-colored wines are fabri- 
 cated, to be mixed with the poor, thin wines of 
 other countries, and for such purpose their ex- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. HI 
 
 cess of alcohol is an advantage, upon which the 
 cellar men rely for their keeping. Still, those 
 Roussillon and Catalonia wines are hardly drink- 
 able until blended with weak ones. Their raison 
 d etre has a ground to stand on, but very differ- 
 ent from what I am advocating. 
 
 The class of wines which our country (Portu- 
 gal) for the most part is best suited to produce 
 are natural wines the pure juice of the grape 
 which is capable of being made good nay, 
 excellent for every-day use at home, and fit 
 for exportation to any country without risk of 
 loss. That this can be done in good condition 
 without the addition of spirit I am satisfied, for 
 the same reasons that it is done in countries 
 where the nature of the grapes, the soil and 
 climate are as nearly as possible identical with 
 those of Portugal. Still, the addition of bran- 
 dy in just and moderate proportion, far from 
 doing harm, may very frequently improve the 
 wine, and aid in its keeping properties. Hence 
 we should not condemn it, but keep the use of 
 it within strict limits. 
 
 In a work published in 1864, Baron Thenard 
 treats extensively on adding brandy to wine, in 
 reference to France; but since, for the most 
 part, his arguments might be applied with equal 
 force in Portugal, I ask leave of this nobleman, 
 whose friendship I have the honor to enjoy, to 
 
112 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 transcribe a few paragraphs from his interest- 
 ing report, because they enable me to explain 
 clearly the advantages of using brandy within 
 reasonable limits. 
 
 " Fins da aguardentasam'" ends and objects 
 aimed at by the use of brandy. Let us now see 
 what end we propose to accomplish by the use 
 of brandy in wine. Many think the only use 
 of brandy is to increase the alcoholic strength 
 thereby; but the end is much more complex 
 it is one of the most important points of this 
 essay . (Exposigao . ) 
 
 ' ' In fact, beyond its direct and easily under- 
 stood action, spirit exerts others more latent, 
 but more useful, reacting beneficially on the 
 constituents of wines, such as the acids, the 
 salts, the color and the ferments; it arranges 
 and equalizes in a certain way their different 
 elements, whether by eliminating some in part, 
 at least, when they are too abundant, or dimin- 
 ishing their effects; or, on the other hand, by 
 facilitating the development of those which are 
 deficient. 
 
 " On the importance of adding brandy to 
 sweeten very acid wines. We must take leave 
 on this subject to go into particulars. Every 
 one knows that sour wine is disagreeable to the 
 taste and hurtful to the stomach. Now, with- 
 out meaning to say that a wine of low spirit 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 113 
 
 strength is always acid, we may truly say that 
 an acid wine always contains little spirit, and 
 that brandy diminishes this grave defect in 
 proportion to the quantity added. This our 
 palates can tell us, but a simple experiment 
 demonstrates it better. 
 
 "The wine, in point of fact, owes its acidity 
 on one hand to a series of free acids always 
 present in relatively small proportions, and on 
 the other hand to the presence of a salt called 
 cream of tartar, which has a peculiar acid taste, 
 and which is often so abundant that it forms a 
 considerable deposit on the inside of the casks. 
 
 ' t If we saturate water with cream of tartar 
 and then add a little brandy, the water directly 
 becomes turbid and deposits a white powder, 
 which is the cream of tartar. If, after giving 
 it this small quantity, we put in more brandy 
 the deposit will be increased in such degree 
 that when the alcohol attains a certain limit all 
 the cream of tartar will have been deposited, 
 and the water will be found to have lost all 
 acidity. 
 
 " Kepeat the above experiment with clear but 
 very sour wine, instead of the aqueous sohition 
 of cream of tartar. The result will be identi- 
 cal. Over and above this, direct experience 
 proves that in a wine, either naturally rich in 
 spirit, or aided with brandy up to 10 per cent., 
 
114 VINICULTURE OF OLA RET. 
 
 there will never appear an excess of acid. So, 
 just as we have said, brandying corrects the 
 acidity by precipitating the excess of cream of 
 tartar, to which the acidity was due. 
 
 11 Upon the action of alcohol on the free acids. 
 With regard to free acids, alcohol, and as a 
 consequence, brandying, reacts upon them, but 
 in a more remarkable manner, for its effect is 
 two-fold, since it converts a substance essen- 
 tially hurtful into substances most precioiis 
 and agreeable. 
 
 "Chemistry teaches that acids possess power 
 of combining with the essential principles of 
 brandy, and w r ith them forming ethers. Now 
 those ethers, and particularly those formed by 
 the action of acids on wine alcohol in presence 
 of the other constituents of the wine, possess a 
 balsamic odor, and often a very energetic but 
 also delicate taste. 
 
 " Meanwhile, in order that the ethers may be 
 formed, even with length of time, at the ordi- 
 nary temperature in a very weak acid wine, it is 
 necessary that it should contain a fair percent- 
 age of alcohol, and 10 per cent, is by no means 
 too much, when we wish to find some result at 
 the end of a few months, as should be the case 
 when we treat of moderate quality, which, to 
 save the expense of cellarage, should be drank 
 young. 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. H5 
 
 ' ' In order that the acids may become neu- 
 tralized and ethers formed in a weak sour wine, 
 it is absolutely necessary to fortify in the vat, 
 so as to utilize a force, called by chemists 
 ' the nascent, state,' and the high temperature 
 developed during the process of fermentation, 
 for warmth greatly favors this kind of reaction. 
 
 ' ' Now we see in this instance the brandying 
 has not primarily for its object to combat any 
 injurious element, but to transform it into a 
 precious product, which imparts to wine its 
 most delightful relish. Facts known and borne 
 out by ancient practice are in strict accordance 
 with theory, though recent, but based upon 
 syntheses the most complete, and analyses the 
 most precise. The name of their eminent au- 
 thor, Berthelot, is no mean authority for their 
 value. 
 
 " On the influence of brandying on the color 
 of red tvines. Red wines owe their color to a 
 coloring principle, which, with the exception of 
 the ' tinta ' grapes, of which but few are culti- 
 vated, exists only in the skins. This coloring 
 principle of dark red inclining towards blue is 
 soluble in the alcohol, but insoluble in the other 
 constituents of wine; consequently, limiting 
 ourselves to this fact, the wines would be so 
 much richer in color, in the relative abundance 
 of spirit, in proportion to the coloring matter 
 
116 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 contained in the skins. Meanwhile, we know 
 that there are wines of low alcoholic strength 
 which possess a very beautiful color, but when 
 we consider them we find them to be very acid, 
 generally speaking. 
 
 ' ' From this it seems to follow that acidity 
 has a good deal to do in the coloring of wines, 
 and such is the fact. 
 
 41 In point of fact the red coloring principle is 
 very easily oxidized under the united action of 
 air and acid liquids, but in this instance the 
 dark passes to a bright red, tending toward an 
 orange tint, and from being insoluble in acid 
 liquids it becomes soluble in them, while at the 
 same time it ceases to be soluble in alcoho}. 
 Consequently with these new data, we can un- 
 derstand how, if the acid grapes be properly 
 crushed before being put in the fermenting ves- 
 sel, if they were again and again mixed up just 
 previous to the setting in of fermentation, and 
 above all, if they have a good long time on the 
 skins, that is to say, exposed to the action of 
 the air by every means possible, the wine will 
 have a very deep color. Certainly there will be 
 developed in it abundance of red coloring mat- 
 ter, which will be dissolved in the acid body of 
 the wine, and the red coloring got in this way, 
 being added to the purple extracted by the 
 alcohol, will form a liquid with a color deeper, 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 117 
 
 in proportion to the coloring matter in the 
 skins. Such is the theory, and such the prac- 
 tice. ''This wine ivants color: it never had suf- 
 ficient cutting," say the vintners, and the vint- 
 ners are right. 
 
 'From all this we may conclude a priori, that 
 the addition of brandy, except brandying in the 
 fermenting vat, would be useless, so far as 
 coloring is concerned, unless for wines of low 
 alcoholic strength and not much acid. Unhap- 
 pily such is not the case, and under the con- 
 sideration of the coloring, as of many others, 
 they have much need of it. 
 
 " It is not in fact without risk, that we bring 
 musts still warm from fermentation having set 
 in, in contact with much air. Do what we will, 
 and people are often heedless about it, the wine 
 becomes more or less sour; it becomes in part 
 vinegar; and in exchange for the beautiful color 
 given to it artificially by coloring matters, it 
 becomes the most disagreeable to the palate, 
 and the most indigestible conceivable. 
 
 " Consequently for all light red wines, wheth- 
 er acid or not, brandying in the fermenting vat 
 produces the happiest results upon their color- 
 ing matter. As concerns fortifying in the cask 
 it is clear that as there are no skins for it to act 
 upon, it can do nothing to assist the coloring; 
 but if it does no good, it does no harm. 
 
118 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 "We have said already that brandying pre- 
 cipitated the cream of tartar, and neutralized the 
 acids by forming ethers in combination with 
 them. Now, if we add brandy to wines, after 
 being put in cask, which owe their color in 
 great part to their acids, necessarily the red 
 coloring matter, which is not soluble except in 
 presence of the acid salts, will disappear and 
 fall down with the lees; and this is just what 
 happens. If any one doubts, let him ask the 
 vineyardists of the South (of France). Truly, 
 as it happens, this is a matter of minor consid- 
 eration with them, as their wines are overload- 
 ed with color, and become rather an advantage 
 as it helps them to clear and brighten; but it is 
 a different matter in the case of deep-colored 
 acid red wines. 
 
 " Consequently, as far as color is concerned, 
 brandying, except brandying while in the fer- 
 menting vat, is useful for wines of low alcoholic 
 strength, whether acid or not and the addition 
 of brandy to wines of the South (of France) 
 which are but slightly acid, while it would be 
 beneficial rather than otherwise to them, would 
 be highly injurious to acid wines of other dis- 
 tricts; and consequently if some day free use of 
 brandy be allowed to all France, care will have 
 to be taken about this important difference. 
 
 " On the different kinds of fermentation, the 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. H9 
 
 addition of brandy exerts even a greater influ- 
 ence on the keeping of wines, but this influence 
 may prove either salutary or injurious, accord- 
 ing as it is used with due precaution or not. 
 
 ' ' A liquid like the must of the grape, left to 
 itself at the ordinary temperature, if it does not 
 heat much in the act of fermenting, ferments 
 always spontaneously, and the fermentation is 
 alcoholic, and nothing but alcoholic; it is the 
 sugar which is split up part forming alcohol, 
 and the rest disappearing as gas. Should the 
 temperature, however, rise above 30 centi- 
 grade, the sugar may still be broken up, and 
 the result be lactic acid, in which case the wine 
 must suffer severely. Happily, in the case of 
 grapes, this kind of fermentation rarely hap- 
 pens, and so we wont waste time about it. 
 
 "Meanwhile, if at a temperature of 20 or 25 
 C., fche air has free access, there is a tendency 
 to form acetic acid, and to produce more or 
 less vinegar. In this instance the vinegar is 
 formed at the expense of the alcohol. By the 
 heat of the cellar, however, as time goes on, 
 with free access of air, the acetic fermentation 
 may be produced above all if the vinegar 
 germ is already in the wine. This is not un- 
 common when the casks are left to lie long with- 
 out having been filled up completely. 
 
 "As to the putrid fermentation, which is the 
 
120 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 last, this is not caused by the saccharine prin- 
 ciple of the grapes like the others, but from 
 some albumenoid principles, now but little 
 understood, perhaps from the ferment. This 
 disease is most frequently noticed in wines with 
 little acid, alcoholic or not. From all this we 
 conclude that the alcoholic fermentation makes 
 the wine, the other fermentations ruin it. 
 
 " Oti adding brandy to wine in the cask, as 
 affecting its keeping properties. In the meantime 
 what are the reasons why the wines of the South 
 (of France), even the most spirituous, will not 
 keep without additional alcohol? 
 
 " It is necessary, first of all, to distinguish 
 between alcoholic wines and such as have hard- 
 ly 10 per cent, of alcohol, because in the South 
 there are many of this sort, the old-fashioned 
 boiled wines, (vinhosde caldeira.) 
 
 " Confining ourselves for the present to these 
 latter, it may suffice to observe that they are at 
 once, both only slightly acid, moderately alco- 
 holic, and deficient of tannin, that is, they 
 are short of the three elements which make wine 
 keep, and beyond this, being in the warmest 
 climate of France, they do not fulfill any of the 
 requisite conditions of a firm wine; they are not 
 that and they easily change. 
 
 "Now, as to the very spirituous wines, the 
 cause of their want of firmness is somewhat 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 121 
 
 more complex. The grapes with which this 
 class of wines is made are so saccharine that if 
 all their sugar should be converted into alco- 
 hol, as is the case with moderately saccharine 
 grapes, the strength would often exceed 18 per 
 cent, of alcohol. Since fermentation stops at 
 this strength, [or at one a good deal lower 
 Translator] it follows that such wines contain 
 nearly always an excess of sugar unchanged, 
 which, upon the least evaporation of the spirit, 
 the slightest elevation of the temperature, or the 
 smallest diminution of atmospheric pressure in 
 fine, at any moment they stand ready to return 
 to fermenting. Well, among the thousands of 
 these possible occurrences, more or less percep- 
 tible, some one may be expected to happen every 
 day; and so those wines are in a perpetual state 
 of feeble fermentation, which is enough to hold 
 them in a continual bad state, and which ren- 
 ders them more liable to pass into acetic or 
 even putrid fermentation, which happens, how- 
 ever slightly the other preservative elements 
 diminish in quantity or potency. 
 
 " Now, how to obviate these serious acci- 
 dents ? As to the very spirituous wines, it is 
 necessary to add water at the time of the vint- 
 age, to modify their tendency to become too 
 alcoholic, so that their excess of sugar may be 
 broken up during fermentation, or else, when 
 6 
 
122 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 they are being drawn out of the fermenting 
 vats into casks, to add so much alcohol as to 
 raise them above the point at which fermenta- 
 tion is possible, and this is the occasion when 
 their alcoholic strength is raised to 18 per cent. 
 Now, as regards the weak wines of the South, it 
 is necessary to add to them cream of tartar and 
 tannin, or to dose them with brandy, and this 
 is what is done. 
 
 " What we can say of alcohol in wine. Over 
 and above its direct action, the alcohol dimin- 
 ishes the acidity of acid wines, develops in them 
 an agreeable taste and perfume, increases their 
 color, and thereby renders useless the danger- 
 ous practices had recourse to for that purpose. 
 
 " Brandying produces all these felicitous re- 
 sults, and more than all, imparts to wines such 
 a firmness that under its influence they can face 
 the longest voyages under the extremes of tem- 
 perature, and resist the deleterious action of 
 the most unwholesome cellars." 
 
 So far Baron Thenard. 
 
 Reviewing all this exposition, it appears that, 
 in the opinion of Baron Thenard, braiidying is 
 an operation useful and even necessary in many 
 cases for the improvement and keeping of wines, 
 and his views agree with the practice of many 
 countries. Now, it is but due to him to say 
 that he is the proprietor of very extensive vine- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 123 
 
 yards in Burgundy, and that the rare wines of 
 Burgundy are hardly ever under any circum- 
 stances fortified. The same is the case with 
 the wines of the Medoc, and other vinicultural 
 centres, which produce the finest of pure gen- 
 uine wines. Fortifying may be useful and even 
 necessary in many cases, but it is not indispen- 
 sable for all wines, like racking and clarifying. 
 If we read attentively the above extracts from 
 Baron Thenard' s works, we shall easily perceive 
 that it is only in the treatment of wines full of 
 acid, with little alcohol, and such as are flat 
 and deficient in tannin and tartaric acid, al- 
 though they have an excess of sugar and color, 
 that the use of brandy becomes necessaiy. 
 When the component principles of wine are 
 nicely balanced, as is the case in ripe wines, 
 made and kept in good condition, the addition 
 of brandy is, to say the least, useless. Of 
 course, it may operate as a remedial agent in 
 wines by nature defective, such as, for exam- 
 ple, most of the green wines of the Minho 
 (Portugal), or even for mature wines naturally 
 coarse and badly made. 
 
 In effect, alcohol is the most active preserva- 
 tive agent of wine, still when its percentage goes 
 outside of certain limits, the wine loses those 
 properties which are the most valuable as a 
 hygienic and alimentary drink. All wine hold- 
 
124 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 ing more than fifteen per cent, of absolute alco- 
 hol becomes an exciting beverage, needing to 
 be used in moderation, and cannot enter into 
 the list of good food wines. Wines of that 
 strength, and upwards, have their place among 
 liqueurs and fancy wines; and the modern taste 
 relegates them exclusively to the department of 
 liqueurs and luxuries. 
 
 Thus all the brandying that we practice on 
 wines of food and daily consumption, should 
 never go beyond fifteen per cent, of absolute 
 alcohol, or rather 14.5. Binding ourselves by 
 this rule we shall obtain the advantage of being 
 able to introduce our wines into England under 
 the one shilling (25 cts.) per Imperial gallon, 
 just as the most part of the French wines are 
 admitted, and will be so long as the present 
 tariff exists. 
 
 Brandying may be done in various ways, and 
 on different occasions. It may be done in the 
 casks, or in the fermenting vessel before the 
 wine is drawn off. In Portugal the brandy iug 
 is in general done in the casks. Some do it 
 just as the wine is put into cask, before the 
 slow fer mentation has ceased. This is what is 
 usually done in the Douro, in making port wine; 
 which in that particular instance may have 
 a raison d'etre, which does not concern us now, 
 but which finds no place in the making of pure 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 125 
 
 genuine wines, because it would stop the light 
 fermentation so necessary for the proper for- 
 mation of wine. Others, and this is the case 
 generally, add spirit only after racking in 
 March. This brandy can be added only to in- 
 crease the alcoholic strength, make up for any 
 little loss of spirit by racking, or help in the 
 clarifying which then takes place. 
 
 The use of brandy during fermentation 
 proper is not in use in Portugal; still, writers 
 on wine matters recommend it as the most con- 
 venient and efficacious way in cases where it 
 would be either useful or necessary. And be- 
 yond all doubt if the object be to establish 
 equilibrium among the elements of the wine, 
 or to supply the want of sugar which should 
 have supplied the spirit, or to diminish acidity 
 and forward the formation of ethers, or to dis- 
 solve a larger proportion of coloring matters, 
 on no occasion will the effect of it be more 
 useful than at the cessation of the tumultuous 
 fermentation; while yet the liquid is warm and 
 in contact with the skins, etc. The quantity 
 of brandy to be added in this case must be cal- 
 culated upon the relative saccharine richness 
 of the grapes, and always so as never to be ex- 
 cessive. 
 
 The brandy which should be used to fortify 
 wine, under whatever circumstances this opera- 
 
126 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 tion has to be performed, must be good wine 
 brandy distilled from wines of low alcoholic 
 strength. Alcohols obtained from grains, from 
 beets and other roots, cane sugars, etc., recti- 
 fied and afterwards reduced to any convenient 
 strength, how pure so ever they may be, and 
 perhaps on the very account of their purity, 
 never harmonize with wine in the same way 
 as good brandy directly distilled from wine. 
 
 In like manner, with alcohol chemically pure 
 diluted with water, cognac cannot be made, un- 
 less the proper spirit of wine be present, 
 (onanthic ether, etc ,) for all that its chemical 
 composition may be identical. What practice 
 has made clear, is that the purer and more 
 highly rectified the alcohol is, the more reluc- 
 tant is it to amalgamate with the component 
 principles of wine of a delicate constitution. 
 
 The need of brandying afterwards may be 
 anticipated and supplied by the addition of 
 cane sugar while fermentation is in progress. 
 By being fermented, this sugar furnishes the 
 requisite amount of alcohol to fortify the wine. 
 The price of the very finest sugar (the only 
 sugar which can be used without introducing a 
 bad taste into the wine), is the chief reason for 
 not using it for fortifying weak acid wines, but 
 when we speak of weak acid wines, like the 
 ' 'green wines " of the Minho, which have not 
 more than 6 or 7 per cent, of alcohol, the ben- 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 127 
 
 efit in relation to both strength and quality de- 
 rivable from this practice is manifest. 
 
 I cannot here and now refer to any results of 
 direct experiments made in the Minho with the 
 above object, though I have recommended it 
 more than once. However, this plan of im- 
 proving and fortifying weak acid wines, has 
 been in use in other countries for a long time, 
 and it would be well if our viniculturists of the 
 Minho would give it a trial. 
 
 According to the practice adopted in Bur- 
 gundy, the sugar should be put in when fer- 
 mentation is nearly over, the quantity being 
 1,700 grams (3 pounds 8 ounces) for each de- 
 gree of strength which we wish to produce in 
 each hectolitre of wine. 
 
 The sugar must be first dissolved in a suffi- 
 cient quantitity of the same must into which it 
 is going to be put, and when the solution is 
 added to the fermenting liquid, the whole must 
 be thoroughly stirred and incorporated. Upon 
 the addition being made, fermentation sets in 
 anew, and as soon as it ceases, the wine may 
 be drawn off in the usual way. 
 
 Some practical viniculturists have observed 
 that wines so treated, show for a long while an 
 inclination to ferment and to turn, but it does 
 not always happen: but to prevent any danger, 
 the means are at hand. It needs only that we 
 add 2 litres of brandy to each hectolitre of win e 
 
128 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 before drawing it off. Common pomace brandy 
 serves for the purpose; for according to Yis- 
 count Yergette Lamotte, the offensive taste of 
 such brandy is not imparted to the wine when 
 put into the fermenting vat. The cost of this 
 is quite trifling, and that of the sugar not very 
 much. In the instance of wines which have to 
 be sold very cheap, the additional cost will be 
 felt; but it is better for the purchaser to obtain 
 a decent article, and for the proprietor to have 
 a firm wine than a detestable beverage which 
 does not deserve the name of wine. On this 
 account 1 do not hesitate to advise the vigner- 
 ons of the Miuho who may try to improve their 
 green wines, to do so either by adding sugar 
 during fermentation, or by adding brandy be- 
 fore drawing off for that is what they need, 
 and not brandying after being put in cask. 
 
 For the same purpose as sugar, there is com- 
 monly used in Portugal and other countries, 
 fresh must, concentrated to the consistence of 
 syrup, called arrobe. It is then ready to be ad- 
 ded to the fermenting must. Where the musts 
 and wines are very acid, as is the case in the 
 Minho, often containing less than 10 per cent, 
 of alcohol, arrobe would be out of place, be- 
 cause the acids and salts are fixed in it, and 
 would only augment the quantity already too 
 great in the wine. 
 
METHOD DEVISED BY M. LOUIS 
 BARRAL. 
 
 I will now explain a process devised by M. 
 Louis Barral, a scientific chemist and vineyard 
 proprietor in the Herault, which is destined to 
 improve, and cause ordinary wines, whatever 
 be their nature, to keep good. At the Interna- 
 tional Exhibition of 1867, a medal was awarded 
 to it on account of the excellent results obtain- 
 ed by the use of it. The process is very easy, 
 and within reach of any vineyardist, as may be 
 seen in the condensed form, as given by the in- 
 ventor himself. In his condensed form we have 
 an epitome of every operation of wine-making; 
 and so those who think well to adopt his inven- 
 tion, may follow his instructions literally. 
 
 Following is the regular order of procedure : 
 
 1st. Tread, crush, or by any means reduce 
 the grapes to a uniform pulp. 
 
 2d. Leave the must to ferment for only five 
 or six days under ordinary conditions of tem- 
 perature, say 16 to 18 degrees Centigrade. 
 
 3. Draw off all the wine and put it in casks 
 apart. 
 
 6A 
 
130 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 4. Press the pomace. 
 
 5. Take from a portion of this pomace wliile 
 quite fresh, the skins and seeds, and a portion 
 of the stalks. 
 
 6. Introduce this selected portion of pomace 
 into a cask with a large bung; then pour over it 
 as much high proof brandy as will cover it, and 
 leave it to macerate, after hermetically closing 
 the bung hole, and never disturbing it until 
 February following, when it is necessary to 
 rack it off. This is what M. Barral calls "ta- 
 me ivine alcohol. ' ' To get the residue out of the 
 skins, etc., it is necessary to wash them with 
 two or three successive portions of wine, and 
 finally to press them. The wine and pressings 
 must be kept separate from the brandy. When 
 they have become clear they need racking. 
 
 To improve ordinary wine, which was drawn 
 from the fermenting vat into casks, it is neces- 
 sary to employ one litre and a quarter, or a 
 litre and a half of the "tannic wine alcohol" to 
 each hectolitre (about 3 pints to 26 gallons). 
 The wine got by washing the pomace may be 
 used at the same time, and in the same propor- 
 tion. When the wine lias been prepared as 
 directed, it is desirable to clarify it, and after 
 a few weeks, rack it. 
 
 The process just described and employed by 
 M. Barral on ordinary wines of bad years in 
 
VINICULTURE 
 
 the south of France, is equally applicable to 
 wines which are always ordinary in many coun- 
 tries. The foundation of it is the addition of 
 brandy charged with tannin, one of the best 
 preservative principles of wine. The clarifying 
 with isinglass or gelatine (colla), which should 
 always follow the brandying, will soften down 
 any asperity or roughness which possibly may 
 have been communicated by the tannin. By 
 these operations the wine gains in strength, in 
 keeping power and in color. 
 
 ~$ districts where on account of the generally 
 good quality of the wines, the above process 
 becomes needless; nevertheless, it is well to 
 prepare a certain quantity, both with the red 
 and white grape pomace, separately, for it may 
 be required, either to facilitate clarifying when 
 there is a deficiency of tannin, or to treat wines 
 which become diseased for want of it. 
 
ON WHITE AND PALE WINES. 
 
 (VINHOS BRA.NCOS E PALHETES.) 
 
 Desiring as I do to limit this treatise to an 
 exposition of the most convenient methods of 
 preparing pure red wines of general consump- 
 tion, I might have properly omitted all mention 
 of tvhite wines, the manufacture of which among 
 us is very limited, relatively to the red. As to 
 the pale wines (paUietes), the making of them is 
 perhaps a little more extensive than of ordinary 
 white wines. Still they are made for local 
 consumption only, and trade, especially for ex- 
 port, does not purchase them. I consider, how- 
 ever, that I ought to say something about them, 
 because, though the business in, them is small 
 and local, there is no reason why they should 
 not have a position in foreign markets, and 
 sooner or later a good business may be done in 
 them. 
 
 Setting aside especial kinds of white wines, 
 chiefly liqueur wines, such as the Muscatels, 
 the Malvasias, and the wines of Madeira, of 
 which I do not intend to treat in this treatise, 
 one may say in a general way that the white 
 wines of Portugal belong to two distinct classes, 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 133 
 
 viz., dry white wines for ordinary consumption, 
 and alcoholic ones, the chief use of which is to 
 blend with red wines, to give them the sem- 
 blance of age. In all the essentials of wine- 
 making there is no difference between red and 
 white wines. They are made exclusively with 
 white grapes, whilst the reds are made either 
 with red grapes alone, or, as is more usual, 
 with a mixture of white and red, the largest 
 part being red. The pale or pallet wines are 
 made with a preponderance of white over red 
 (Schiller wines); consequently there is a wide 
 difference between our method of making white 
 and Schiller wines and those in vogue in foreign 
 wine countries. 
 
 Full-bodied, spirituous white wine, princi- 
 pally those used in the commerce of Oporto to 
 mix with red wines, are made exclusively with 
 white grapes, and in exactly the same way as 
 the red; and consequently, since they are fer- 
 mented on the skins and stalks, they acquire an 
 exceedingly deep yellow color, partly, no doubt, 
 from the oxidation of the organic matter of the 
 skins. They receive a very considerable pro- 
 portion of brandy immediately after being drawn 
 off the fermenting cask, which preserves a cer- 
 tain amount of sweetness and preventing fur- 
 ther fermentation. Wines of this character, 
 very valuable for the purpose for which they 
 
134 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 are intended, can in no sense be considered as 
 genuine food wines for ordinary consumption; 
 therefore I consider this is not the place to 
 treat of them. 
 
 The making of dry white wines differs from 
 the foregoing only in so far as the slow fer- 
 mentation in the cask is not suspended nor the 
 second fermentation by the use of brandy, but 
 allowed to become as dry as possible, the same 
 as red wines. From the nature of the grapes 
 of which they are made, white wines deposit a 
 much more considerable quantity of lees than 
 the reds, and consequently require more fre- 
 quent racking, and at least one clarifying with 
 isinglass, or where it cannot be had, with the 
 best gelatine, aided by an addition of cream of 
 tartar. 
 
 Musts of white grapes fermented on the skins 
 like those of red grapes, yield wines equally 
 dry, relishing and wholesome, and may take 
 their place among food wines, and are prefer- 
 red by some to red wines, as being lighter; 
 still, the great majority of men prefer red wines 
 for every-day use. It is not meant here to con- 
 trovert what statistics show plainly enough con- 
 cerning the consumption of white wines in En- 
 gland, which is far greater than that of reds; 
 but we should not forget that the greater part 
 of the white wines drank in England are called 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 135 
 
 Sherries, generous alcoholic wines, which, just 
 like the Ports, belong to an entirely different 
 class. If we compare only the genuine red 
 wines (the French Clarets, for example) and the 
 French whites consumed there, and excluding 
 the Champagnes and liqueur wines, we shall 
 perceive that the difference is considerable in 
 favor of reds for daily use. Whatever the 
 cause of this preference may be, the fact is 
 that the actual increase of consumption is alto- 
 gether in favor of pure red wines, without ex- 
 cluding, however, whites of a like nature, still 
 requiring certain qualities to be present in them 
 which cannot be imparted by our present Por- 
 tuguese methods. 
 
 Genuine white wines must be free from all 
 roughness and astringency, must have a slight 
 sweetness and be very light, perfectly clear and 
 bright, as well as nearly colorless. These 
 qualities can be secured solely by fermenting 
 without the skins or stalks; and so the methods 
 in general use, both in France and Germany, 
 with very slight modifications, consists in 
 pressing the grapes and allowing the must to 
 run, and putting it at once to ferment and 
 leaving it to run through its whole course, 
 and giving it afterwards the same care and 
 cleanliness as required in the case of red wine. 
 The statement of the process is simple enough, 
 
136 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 but the cares and precautions required in prac- 
 tice are very minute when the safest and hap- 
 piest results are aimed at. Above and before 
 all, there is indispensable need of the most ex- 
 treme cleanliness of all utensils whatever, that 
 are to be brought into contact with the grapes 
 or with the must, or with the wine when made. 
 If the grapes are to be trodden before being 
 pressed, which is convenient, for as much as it 
 can be rapidly done, allowing the pulp to run 
 out so as not to allow fermentation to set in, 
 the bench and press ought to have been scru- 
 pulously washed even till the water ran out 
 clear, to obviate the introduction of any for- 
 eign matter which by possibility might impart 
 its own taste or smell to the wine. The same 
 cleanliness is demanded for the casks, etc., 
 which should never have been used for any but 
 white wine, and supposing them to be new, any 
 taste of the wood should have been washed out 
 of them. For white wine the grapes should 
 be quite fully ripe, and all dry, imperfect or al- 
 tered berries should be picked off them. 
 
 Generally, the must of white grapes deposits 
 a deal more lees than that of red grapes, and 
 as a consequence it clears with far more diffi- 
 culty and is liable to repeated fermentations. 
 In order to avoid this trouble, and preserve the 
 sweetness which it ought to have, and that fine 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 137 
 
 texture which forms one of its most highly es- 
 teemed qualities, it is desirable to remove as 
 far as may be, the bulk of the sediment, even 
 before fermentation becomes established. Two 
 methods are in use to do this: 1st. Some 
 makers receive the must in comparatively 
 small tubs with taps, and as soon as the must 
 has formed a thick scum on the surface they 
 decant through the tap the wine now separated 
 from the sediment that has fallen, and from the 
 scum which has risen to the surface. This 
 sort of decanting is carried on with other tubs 
 like the first, so long as the must goes on form- 
 ing new sediments and new scums, in fact till 
 it ceases to form thick scum, when it is put 
 into casks, and when the fermentation will form 
 and work through more gently than had the 
 above operations not taken place. The casks 
 should be filled quite full, so that the scum 
 that forms during the more energetic stages of 
 fermentation may escape freely through the 
 bung -hole, and not fall into the body of the 
 wine where they would be ready to renew fer- 
 mentation. When fermentation is quite fin- 
 ished, the casks should be filled up with the 
 same kind of wine, always, and subjected 
 to all the same care and precautions as 
 mentioned already for red wines. 2d. The 
 other method of preserving a part of their 
 sugar in white wines, which is easier in prac- 
 
138 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 tice and equally effective, consists in putting 
 the must, just as it is made, in casks well sul- 
 phured, in order to arrest fermentation for 
 some time. Under these conditions the greater 
 part of the gross sediment becomes deposited 
 before fermentation commences, and as soon 
 as the must looks milky it is racked or trans- 
 ferred to other casks similarly sulphured. 
 This operation may be repeated as soon as fer- 
 mentation begins to appear, and again, if need- 
 ful, until the greater part of the thick sediment 
 has been removed. The fermentation is in 
 this way retarded by the sulphurous gas, and 
 the larger portion of the ferment is eliminated, 
 and so a certain portion of the sugar is preserved 
 in the wine and the taste of the fruit, so pleas- 
 ant to the palate. 
 
 Fine, sweet white wines need to be clarified 
 as completely as possible, to enable them to 
 keep. This is an indispensable condition. 
 Isinglass, in the proportion of 50 grains 
 (1J pounds) per pipe. This isinglass should 
 be first well bruised with a wooden mallet, 
 then cut very fine and put to soak in a small 
 quantity of the wine we are about to clarify, 
 and which is to be repeated until the isinglass 
 will absorb no more; then a little hot water is 
 to be added and the whole rubbed up well and 
 strained through a cloth. To the thick liquid 
 we add a quart or so of wine and beat it well 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 139 
 
 once more, so as to raise a froth, and then use 
 it in the ordinary way. When the wine has 
 been clarified, it is good practice to always add 
 a small quantity of good brandy. 
 
 White wines can be made with red grapes, 
 and good writers on wines consider them the 
 best and finest; still the bulk of the white 
 wines are made with white grapes, unless the 
 champagnes, in which red or white are used 
 indiscriminately. 
 
 The wines (vinhos pcdhetes) which are made 
 expressly with brief fermentation on the skins 
 of the red grapes, are very pleasant, because 
 they are light, soft and delicate They are in- 
 termediate between the reds and the whites. 
 The making of them presents no difficulty. 
 
 After making red wine, if the skins show 
 no sign of alteration, they can be utilized along 
 with the white grapes to make an excellent 
 Schiller wine, of a more or less deep color, in 
 proportion to the length of the fermentation on 
 the red skins. In this way the wine is soon 
 made, being forwarded by the state in which 
 the red skins are when used; but under all cir- 
 cumstances the wine should be got into casks 
 before fermentation entirely ceases, to prevent 
 its acquiring the harsh taste of the pomace. 
 The Schillers ought to be light and soft, and as 
 a consequence, should mature and become 
 ready to be used in a short space of time. 
 
BOTTLING. 
 
 The proprietor usually sells his wine in cask, 
 and merchants for the most part export it in the 
 same manner; nevertheless there is no doubt 
 that if the grower had the means of keeping it 
 till it was fit for consumption, or for bottling, 
 and he could with economy do it in his own 
 cellar, he would have among other considera- 
 tions the satisfaction of knowing that its repu- 
 tation rested on its intrinsic merits. The pro- 
 ducers of fine wines have a great advantage in 
 selling them in bottle and with their distinctive 
 labels. On this account, I think it worth while 
 to say something about bottling, limited as my 
 remarks necessarily must be in a compendium 
 of wine matters, like the present. 
 
 Bottling is an operation needing to be care- 
 fully performed, for in many cases the achieve- 
 ment of the highest qualities of the wine de- 
 pends on it. Generally speaking, fine, delicate 
 wines do not arrive at their maximum of perfec- 
 tion till they have been for some time in bottle. 
 
 Many are the conditions needful to be attend- 
 ed to, in order to do this last work in a proper 
 manner, such as the state of the wine, and of 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 141 
 
 the weather, the materials employed, and the 
 method of working. 
 
 As to the state of the wine, it must have 
 attained such a condition of ripeness as that it 
 can get no more good by being left longer in 
 cask, a point which varies not only between one 
 wine and another, but between the same wines; 
 that is to say, between wines grown on the same 
 vines, and on the same soil, but of different vin- 
 tages, and even between casks of identical 
 wines, for it is well known that not only do the 
 wines of some years mature sooner than those 
 of others, but those of the same year, of the 
 same vintage, and of identical make, will vary, 
 due only to their having been put in separate 
 casks, and subjected to slight differences of 
 temperature. There is no better means to judge 
 of this than the palate of a cellar man accustom- 
 ed to treat them. Wine must never be bottled 
 unless it be perfectly still, clean and transpar- 
 ent. The smallest want of any of these condi. 
 tions might easily ruin it, consequently it be- 
 comes indispensable to clarify before bottling. 
 
 From what has just been said, it is clear that 
 no particular age can be assigned for bottling 
 wines. In all cases, it ought neither to be so 
 old as to have begun to decline, nor so young 
 as not to have shown its predominant qualities. 
 Of the two extremes, the better would be to 
 
142 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 bottle while it is too young. Inside the bottle, 
 where no air can get to it, it exists under differ- 
 ent conditions from what it had when in the 
 cask, where its vapors could escape and air 
 could enter. Nevertheless, reactions continue 
 to go on among ' its constituent principles, the 
 results being new products, as yet but little 
 studied, which improve its quality and develop 
 its bouquet consequently it ought to have 
 abundant vitality when bottled. 
 
 The best time for bottling is perfectly calm 
 and still weather, during autumn and winter, as 
 far as the end of March, when the atmosphere 
 is serene and cold and dry, with no south wind 
 nor threat of thunder, is a good time to bottle 
 wines. The reason is the same as that for 
 racking under similar circumstances. 
 
 Attention must be paid to the quality of the 
 bottles and the corks. Eecent observations 
 have proved that the quality of the glass of 
 which bottles are made is not a matter of indif- 
 ference, as concerns the preservation of the 
 wine. The glass of which ordinary bottles are 
 made is a multiple silicate of alkaline bases, 
 both earthy and metallic; all the more easily 
 fused and wrought in proportion as the alkaline 
 bases used are more abundant. Now the softer 
 the glass is, the more readily it is attacked by 
 the water and acids contained in wine; for the 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 143 
 
 excess of alkali may become dissolved in the 
 water, or more likely be combined with the 
 acids, to the injury of the composition of the 
 wine. In such bottles, green wines holding 
 much acid, cannot be kept long; and even the 
 others, rich as they may be, run the risk of in- 
 jury. Consequently much care is necessary, 
 and as few can verify for themselves, whether 
 the glass is good or not, the safest course is to 
 ask an expert in such matters. 
 
 When satisfied that the quality of the bot- 
 tles is what it should be, the next indispensable 
 step is to have them washed both inside and 
 out, perfectly clean, till not a speck remains, 
 nor any foreign body, or any smell whatever. 
 Never, on any pretext use shot. There is al- 
 ways great danger of some corns remaining 
 fast between the bottom and sides of a bottle, 
 and escaping notice, which will afterwards be- 
 come dissolved in the wine and impart poison- 
 ous properties to it, and not alone from the 
 lead, but also from the arsenic which usually 
 is to be found in shot. Metallic chains made 
 of small rings on purpose, are certainly prefer- 
 able for loosening impurities in old bottles. 
 
 When the bottles have been washed as de- 
 scribed, they must be left to drain till they are 
 perfectly dry; and for this purpose must be 
 placed sufficiently long with the neck down in 
 some kind of frame or rack. 
 
144 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 For closing bottles, hardly anything but 
 corks are used, and it is very essential that the 
 cork be of good quality, fine, solid and elastic, 
 and the new corks well cut and free from de- 
 fects. Bottling presents no difficulties, but 
 needs discernment, cleanliness and practical 
 experience. For the rest, the barrel about to 
 bottled should have been placed at some suffi- 
 cient height to allow the wine to be convenient- 
 ly drawn off, and as it is customary to remove the 
 bung it is always well to fix over the hole some 
 cotton wool or lint, to filter the air and pie- 
 vent any germs from entering that might injure 
 the wine. The same precaution should always 
 be taken Avhen wine is used from the cask, and 
 even still more carefully, on account of its lon- 
 ger exposure to the air. In place of the sim- 
 ple cotton filter it is safer to fix in the bung- 
 hole of the cask out of which wine is drawn for 
 daily use, a tin tube in shape of the letter 8 in 
 the curved part of which the cotton wool is to 
 be put (or water) through which the air has to 
 pass; and while doing so, free itself from germs 
 and dust, which it brought along with it. 
 
 The bottles ought to be filled completely, and 
 when possible should be corked with a corking 
 machine, and needle to admit the escape of air. 
 When however that cannot be done, the next 
 effort should be directed to leaving the least 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 145 
 
 possible air-space between the bottom of the 
 cork and the top of the liquor. The corks 
 should be well soaked either in the wine to be 
 bottled or in good brandy. These bottling ma- 
 chines are quite common now-a-days, cost little, 
 are very handy, and save time and labor when 
 considerable work has to be done, and prevent 
 breakage as far as possible. 
 
 There is a vast advantage in the cork's touch- 
 ing the top of the wine, to the entire exclusion 
 of air. This is obtained by the use of what is 
 called the "needle." It is a small steel instru- 
 ment with a slot, which when placed against 
 the neck of the bottle, forms a channel to ad- 
 mit the escape of all air. If the bottle be full, 
 the pressure of the cork upon the fluid will force 
 as much out as is required. When the cork is 
 driven home, the needle is drawn out, and* the 
 space it occupied becomes filled completely by 
 the cork. 
 
 Supposing the bottles to have been well cork- 
 ed with good carefully made corks, the bottles 
 may remain for a long time without need of 
 either capsules or sealing, as is usually done 
 when they pass off into commerce, provided the 
 cellar is dry and airy. Unfortunately, the 
 greater part of the corks met with in trade are 
 far from being good, so much so as to render it 
 impossible to brand them with hot iron, as is 
 7 
 
146 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 customary in the best wine countries; and in 
 this case it is indispensable to cover the top of 
 the bottle and cork with a composition of rosin, 
 Burgundy pitch, a little yellow wax and some 
 coloring matter, such as red lead. 
 
 After bottling, and while the wine is under- 
 going its changes, it ought to lie at rest for a 
 good long time, if not a whole year. During 
 this period it is proper that the bottles should 
 lie in a clean store, and always on their sides to 
 keep the corks moist. Light table wines of low 
 alcoholic strength are very liable to take 
 ' 'flour' ' if the above precautions of excluding 
 air at the corking be not attended to. If the 
 wine after bottling forms a deposit, as often 
 happens, it will fall to the low side, and in 
 handling the bottle, drawing the cork, and de- 
 canting the wine, nice care should be used. 
 
 From the moment the wine has been bottled 
 with all the precautions above indicated, we 
 might suppose it to be out of the reach of the 
 air's action, and any effect it could produce; still 
 changes go on in it, which for the most part 
 improve it, slow though they may be. These 
 changes are liable to be affected by temperature 
 of the cellar, by light, and by being shaken; so 
 the cellar itself requires to be considered. Tem- 
 perature and light are essential conditions. 
 Wines that are not very alcoholic gain by being 
 
VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 147 
 
 kept in a temperature at about 10' Centigrade, or 
 50 Fahrenheit, and where the light is diffused 
 and not very bright. Direct sun-light is always 
 injurious to such wines, not alone by unequal 
 heating, but by its action on the coloring mat- 
 ter. Full-bodied wines of much alcoholic 
 strength improve best in stores whose temper- 
 ature is much higher than that for table wines. 
 In a future chapter concerning the improvement 
 of wines, I shall have occasion to treat at some 
 length on the action of heat on wines. 
 
 Having now followed the process of wine 
 making, as far as pure, genuine, alimentary 
 wines are concerned, from the vintage to the 
 bottling, when they undergo their last and final 
 stage of perfectioning, I now consider the first 
 part of this work finished, not without the con- 
 viction of having said all that is necessary to 
 induce and animate our vineyardists to manu- 
 facture those kinds of wine best suited to in- 
 crease a demand for our produce, and throw 
 life into our commerce. I have by no means 
 exhausted the subject. It needs still large de- 
 velopment and special teachings, which may at 
 a future day form the object of a more exten- 
 sive treatise; but in writing this book, my su- 
 preme and only intention is to place in the hands 
 of out: viticulturiste compendious instructions, 
 to enable them to follow along the way which, 
 
148 
 
 VINICULTURE OF CLARET. 
 
 in my conscience, I judge conducible to the 
 revival (regeneration) of our viticulture, and 
 more chiefly still to that of the commerce in our 
 wines. 
 
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