The Wine Press and the Cellar: A Manual for the Wine-Maker and the Cellar-Man

by Emmet H. Rixford

CELLARS.

What has been said in the preceding chapter naturally leads us to the subject of the proper place for storing wine after it has completed its active fermentation. Cellars proper are constructed entirely under ground, and should have vaulted roofs of masonry. If the cellar is under a building, the arch can safely come within two or three feet of the level of the ground, but if no building is over it to protect it from the heat of the sun, it should be four or five feet under ground. Many storehouses for wine are constructed partly above and partly below ground, and others again, entirely above. Undoubtedly those below ground are the best adapted for keeping wines which have arrived at maturity, and for those of little alcoholic strength, but when it is desired to rapidly develop and age an immature wine, it can be sooner accomplished in a place of a higher temperature, and there also can a strong wine be safely kept.

Temperature.—Whatever the degree of temperature, all agree that it should be as nearly uniform as possible; and to insure this, the cellar should face the north or east when practicable. The outer door should not open directly into the cellar or storehouse, but it is better to have the entrance through an outbuilding, or at least with an outer and an inner door, at a considerable distance. If the wine house is above ground, its walls should be of sufficient thickness and of suitable material to prevent changes of temperature, and it should have a loft or room above, so that the wine may be protected from the effects of the rays of the sun falling upon the roof; and it may also be shaded by trees. Some of the older writers say that the proper temperature for a cellar is 50° or 52° F., but so low a degree can only be obtained in a well constructed cellar wholly under ground, and deep, and is not likely to be obtained in this State. Boireau, however, says that in the Gironde the average temperature of the cellars is from 15° to 17° C., or 59° to 62½° F., and if a person can maintain the temperature of his cellar or storehouse in this State uniformly at 60° he will do well.

Dampness.—Formerly, when wooden hoops for casks were used, it was necessary to guard against dampness, for they soon rotted, and required to be frequently renewed; but now with the use of iron in place of wood, less care is necessary in that respect. It is best, however, that they should be sufficiently dry that mould will not form on the cask, for a bad taste may thereby be communicated to the wine. Therefore, cellars should not be constructed in very damp places, should have the soil of the floor well compacted, should be well drained, and well cemented, and if necessary, the floor may be covered with a bed a foot deep composed of a mixture of lime, sand, and gravel, or cinders, or the like, well beaten down, and the whole covered with dry sand. Nothing should be left in the cellar which naturally gathers moisture. All mould should be frequently removed, and the sand removed and replaced with dry sand when necessary. Sawdust should not be used on the floor. In San Francisco, the best cellars have a good asphaltum floor, and I know of nothing better after the odor has passed away.

Ventilation is necessary at times to prevent too much dampness, and also to change the air which may become foul. Underground cellars can be ventilated by means of a large tube, such as is used on shipboard, provided with a broad opening at the top which can be turned in the direction of the wind, conducting the air into the cellar. Storehouses may have small, movable windows. In order to keep down the temperature, the proper time to ventilate is during the coolest part of the night in the warmer parts of this State.

Evaporation of the Wine, however, must be guarded against, which may vary from 3 to 10 per cent. per annum, according to whether the place of storage is open or closed. In France the government makes an allowance in favor of the wholesale merchant of 8 per cent., for loss. And Boireau says that in dry storehouses where the air is continually renewed by ventilation, the loss equals the allowed per cent., and even exceeds it, particularly if the casks are weak and poor, hooped in wood, and if the hoops are not driven when they become dry. The loss may then reach 10 per cent., without extraordinary leakage. By guarding against too free access of air and heat, not only will a very considerable loss by evaporation be avoided, but also other defects which may seriously affect the wine, such as acidity, bitterness, too great dryness, etc. And moreover, in poor cellars the wines require much more attention, such as ulling, racking, and frequent tasting, to protect them from secondary fermentations.

Other Precautions.—From what has been said concerning the influence of light, motion, etc., it results that wine cellars should not be too light, nor be situated under wagon roads where vehicles frequently pass, nor near blacksmiths’ shops, or other noisy industries, such as boiler making, etc. The vicinity of sinks, cesspools, sewers, and the sources of noisome odors generally, should be avoided; and cellars should not be used for storing milk, cheese, vinegar, or any matter liable to ferment, such as fruit, vegetables, etc.; nor should new wines be stored there until their active fermentation has ceased, for these things may either communicate a bad odor and taste to the wine, or set up in it secondary fermentations.

Fig. 15.

Cask and Support.

The Casks and Tuns should be supported by strong timbers or masonry, and should be sufficiently elevated, so that the wine may be easily drawn off, and should be securely blocked. [Fig. 15] represents a cask supported by timbers resting on brick work. Where the casks are arranged in piles, those in the lower tier should have four blocks or chocks each, for if they are blocked only on one side, they are liable to be disturbed, and the outer ones should also have a large block under the bulge. Of course, the outer blocks should be so adjusted that they cannot be knocked out in passing by, and in rolling barrels, etc. The casks of the upper tiers are rolled up on skids, or inclined planes, and are then rolled along over scantlings, laid on the tier below; and hoisting tackle is often of use in this connection. When, however, the cellar is furnished with sufficient large tuns, the piling of casks may be dispensed with.

CHAPTER XII.
RACKING.

The Racking of Wines, or drawing off, is performed for the purpose of freeing them from the lees. Some of the older writers recommend that wine should be allowed to remain on the lees till February or March, but the better practice is to draw it off as soon as it has cleared. If it is allowed to remain long upon the lees, variations of temperature and secondary fermentations, storms, etc., are apt to cause it to become troubled and muddy, and acquire a flavor of the lees. Boireau says that he has constantly observed that wines in general, and especially those which have been fined, if racked as soon as well cleared, say from two weeks to a month after fining, according to the kind of finings used, place of storage, nature of the wine, etc., are generally more limpid, have a cleaner taste, and are much less liable to work than if left on the finings for six months, from one racking to another. Wines not fined, which have become clear naturally by repose, exhibit the same results; those which are racked as soon as bright, are, in every respect, of a quality superior to those which have been left upon their lees from one equinox to another.

The Conditions Indispensable to Good Racking are stated by Mr. Machard as follows:

1. To perform the operation when the weather is dry and clear, and if possible during a north wind, for it is only during such weather that the precipitation of the lees can be really complete.

2. To avoid the operation during damp and rainy weather, and while violent winds are blowing from the south.

3. Not to proceed during a storm, because then the lighter parts of the lees rise and produce fermentive movements which are always to be guarded against.

4. Never to draw off a troubled or muddy wine, for then it must be racked again; and in that condition the deposits are always mixed with the wine.

5. Moreover, never rack at the following periods of the vegetation of the vine: when the buds begin to swell, at the time of flowering, and especially at the time when the fruit commences to change color, in ripening.

6. Never to proceed during the heat of the day, or a south wind, but always in the cool of the morning and during a north wind.

7. To always make use of the sulphur match.

8. Never to leave the wine long exposed to the air.

9. Not to allow the wine to fall too far, so as not to deprive it of its carbonic acid, which exerts a conservative effect, and thus also to avoid too great agitation, which may be prejudicial.

10. Finally, to use the greatest care to free it from the least traces of sediment.

I have repeated nearly the language of the author quoted, at the expense of some repetition, because the rules are laid down by him more minutely than by the other authors who agree with him in general terms.

It is agreed that the most critical periods for wine on the lees are the different periods of the vegetation above mentioned, which vary somewhat in different climates, and they should therefore be racked before these epochs arrive.

New Red Wines, says Mr. Boireau, which have been properly made, which are clear, which do not work, and which are kept in closed cellars, should be drawn off four times during the first year; the first racking is performed as soon as the insensible fermentation has ceased, and the wine has become clear, i. e., during the first cold weather of December; the second in March, before the sprouting of the vine, or at the vernal equinox; the third before the flowering of the vine, in June; and the fourth at the autumnal equinox, in September. Machard considers that no racking is so important as that of March, and he insists upon it that it should never be omitted, and that it should be well done, for if the lees are all removed then, it may even go safely till the next vintage, and the June or July racking be omitted, except in warm climates; and then, as before observed, it should be done in the cool of the day. Instead of waiting till September, the operation is often performed in August, when the grape begins to turn. Of course, the periods change somewhat in different climates, as already observed, so that the cellar-man must familiarize himself with the conduct of the wine in his locality, and govern himself accordingly, racking before the period arrives when the wine usually works.

Old Red Wines are racked only twice a year, in the spring and fall, before the equinoxes, except in case of their becoming turbid by secondary fermentations, when they must be racked, whatever the time of year, except also in case of certain diseases. If, however, the wine has not been well made or properly cared for, it may show signs of fermentation and alteration, and need racking at periods different from those above mentioned. If the wine does not clear of itself by the time it should be drawn off, it may be necessary to clarify it by fining (which see). But if well made and properly cared for, it will ordinarily clear itself.

New White Wines are racked as soon as they become clear, and no precise epoch can be fixed for the operation, because the duration of the fermentation depends essentially upon the density of the must and the temperature. In any case, it is much more prolonged than that of red wines. It often happens that it continues till the month of February, when the must is very rich in sugar, especially if the weather is cold late in the fall; while wines made of grapes from the same vineyard, made in the same way, but less rich in the saccharine principle, may terminate their fermentation in December.

The racking should always be performed before the weather becomes warm, for the elevation of the temperature will set the wine working, and the lees will become mixed with it. Ordinarily the most favorable time is the month of February.

Subsequent Rackings.—White wine, new or old, requires to be racked three times a year, as stated in the chapter on White Wine; first, in March, at the time of the sprouting of the vine, before the equinox; secondly, at the flowering of the vine, in June, before the summer solstice; and thirdly, in September, at the ripening of the grape, before the autumnal equinox. (See [White Wine], [Racking].)

Care to be Observed.—Contact with the air should be carefully avoided during the operation. The same care should be observed as in racking red wine, and the operation is performed in the same manner, always keeping in view that what may be essential to keep a mellow wine in condition, may to a certain extent be neglected where dryness is desired.

A sulphur match ought always to be burned in the cask before wine, either red or white, is racked into it, for thus the germs of fermentation which may be in the cask will be rendered inactive by the sulphurous acid formed, and which will also absorb with avidity the oxygen, and thereby in two ways tend to prevent fermentation. The cask, however, should not be sulphured till well drained, or the water remaining will be impregnated with the gas, which is liable to give a disagreeable sulphur taste to the wine which will not disappear for some time. (See [Sulphuring].) A cask which has been put away sulphured must for the same reason be washed before using; and in fact no cask should be used without washing.

Other Precautions.—Great care must be taken in all cases not to disturb the sediment by moving the cask, by pounding on the stave to loosen the bung, or by driving in the faucet. The latter ought to be opened before inserting it, so as to allow the air contained in it to escape, and not to force itself into the cask and trouble the wine, which it is liable to do by contraction and expansion, forcing in the faucet. It should be closed as soon as the wine begins to run. It is hardly necessary to say that an empty bucket should be kept under, when putting in the faucet, to catch the wine that may escape. Care must also be taken that the cask to be filled, and all the utensils used in and about the racking, are scrupulously clean, and buckets, hose, funnels, siphons, etc., must be washed carefully every day, for if allowed to stand with wine in them, they will become sour. Siphons and short tubes can be scoured by means of a brush, such as is used for cleaning bottles and lamp chimneys, by attaching it to a long, stiff wire.

Different Methods of Racking.—The commonest way is to draw the wine through a faucet into a bucket, and pour it into the empty cask by means of a funnel. The faucet is placed in a hole bored in the end of the cask, an inch or more above the lower stave. After the faucet has been placed in position, vent the cask of wine, but not before. When the wine no longer runs, the cask should be slightly tipped forward, but by a very easy and gradual movement, so as not to disturb the lees. This may be done by a man carefully lifting the rear end. A kind of hoisting-jack ([fig. 16]) is used for this purpose. The lower end rests on the ground, near the rear end of the cask, and the upper end of the movable rod is placed under the upper chime. On turning the crank the cask is tipped gently forward, and a ratchet catches the pinion and prevents the return. If there is not sufficient space between the wall and the cask to operate in the manner stated, one end of the jack is placed against the wall above the cask, and the power is applied to the upper forward part of the cask by placing the other end behind a forward hoop.

Fig. 16.

Jack for tipping a Cask.

Fig. 17.

Fork for tipping a Cask.

The fork ([fig. 17]) is used in the same way, being lengthened by means of the screw. [Fig. 18] represents another contrivance for the same purpose.

If only one man is employed, a lever supported above the cask by two legs straddling it, and forming the fulcrum, the rear end provided with a hook which hooks under the chime, and the other end extending forward beyond the front, may be used ([fig. 19]). The workman, by bearing down on the lever, or by pulling the strap at the end, tips the cask forward. When the wine has nearly all run out, it should frequently be examined by holding a small quantity to the light in a small, thin glass, and as soon as the slightest appearance of lees presents itself, the operation should cease, and none of the muddy wine should be poured into the other cask. This method has its advantages, in that the first appearance of cloudiness can be detected, for the liquid is always under the eye of the operator, but it has the disadvantage of greatly exposing the wine to the air.

Fig. 18.

Implement for tipping a Cask.

Fig. 19.

Implement for tipping a Cask.

Another method which avoids the last objection, is to securely connect the faucet of the cask of wine with the faucet of the empty one, to open them both, and let the wine run from one to the other. If they are both on the same, or nearly the same level, a portion only will be transferred, and then the rest may be forced over by connecting the tube of a hand-bellows tightly with the bung-hole of the cask of wine, and blowing into it. This is easily done by attaching the bellows by means of a hose to a long, hollow, conical bung. (See [fig. 20].) As soon as the air is heard in the tube, close the faucet, and before removing it, bung the cask tight. The remaining wine is removed as in the first method.

Fig. 20.

A Method of Racking.

Pumps and Siphons are very useful where wine is to be merely transferred from one cask to another, but they are not well suited for racking it from the lees, for it is difficult to make use of them without disturbing the sediment, and thereby troubling the liquid.

Fig. 21.

Siphon.

Fig. 22.

Siphon.

Figs. [21] and [22] represent two forms of siphons. They may also consist simply of a bent tube.

[Fig. 21] shows an exhausting tube attached, by which the air is sucked out with the mouth.

[Fig. 23] shows a rotary force pump for transferring wine from one cask to another. Lever force pumps are also used for the same purpose.

Fig. 23.

Rotary Force Pump.

CHAPTER XIII.
CLARIFICATION—FINING.

When Necessary.—Wines do not always acquire the desirable state of brightness and limpidity by repose and racking, and it becomes necessary to clarify them. They may become cloudy through secondary fermentations, which cause the lees once deposited to rise and become again mixed with the liquid, or through changes of temperature, by transportation, by careless racking, etc., and by mixing different kinds together; or they may fail to clear naturally, because not possessed of sufficient tannin or albumen to precipitate the different matters held in suspension. Weak wines of poor years may contain ferments in excess of their sugar, which may be removed by clarification, and so fermentation be checked or retarded. Wines, however, which are well made and properly cared for, ought to become bright without recourse to clarification, and such will be found preferable to, and will possess more fruitness, unctuosity, and color, than those which have been clarified by several finings. And for these reasons—although it may be necessary to fine such wines as do not naturally clear themselves—care must be observed not to carry the process too far, and deprive them of the tannin necessary to their preservation, as well as of too much of their color, fruity flavor, and mellowness.

The Different Substances Employed for Clarifying act either chemically and mechanically, or simply mechanically. Among the latter are blotting paper, either in sheets or in pulp, fine sand, and powdered stone, which are placed in the cask, and which in falling, carry down with them the matters which are held in suspension. Wine is sometimes clarified by filtering it through woolen bags. Those substances which act both chemically and mechanically are albumen and gelatine, and similar substances.

Of Gelatinous Substances, two kinds are used, gelatine, so-called, and isinglass, or fish glue, and they act in two ways. They are not entirely dissolved in water; thin, transparent pellicles remain in suspension, which form a sort of network in the wine, and in settling they carry with them other insoluble matters. Thus, their action is mechanical. The portion which is fully dissolved is pure gelatine, and acts chemically. It combines with the tannin of the wine and forms an insoluble substance, tannate of gelatine, which is readily precipitated.

Gelatine, so-called, is prepared from the bones, skin, and tendons of animals, and is sold in tablets or sheets, and is sometimes chipped or broken into small fragments. It is one of the most powerful of finings, and causes a loss by precipitation of a considerable portion of the tannin and of the coloring matter of the wine. It should not, therefore, be used in clarifying red wines, except when it is desirable to deprive them of a portion of their roughness caused by an excess of tannin, or of a portion of their color; and it should always be employed with caution. It produces more sediment than the two substances next named, and leaves a bad taste in the wine, unless perfectly fresh matters have been used in its preparation. For the latter reason, wine clarified with it should be racked from the finings as soon as cleared. It may be profitably used to clarify common white wines; and if they are difficult to clarify, tannin should be added as described below.

Preparation.—Take about two tablets, or one ounce, for one hundred gallons, or double the quantity, if the greatest possible effect is desired. Dissolve it in a dish over the fire with a little water, constantly stirring, and do not allow the water to boil. If previously soaked a few hours in water, it will dissolve all the more easily. Use as directed below.

Isinglass, Fish Glue, or Ichthyocol (Ichthyocolla of the pharmacists), is prepared from the swimming bladder of the sturgeon, and usually comes from Russia. It acts in the same way as gelatine, mechanically, and also by combining with the tannin. This is preëminently the fining for white wine. One ounce or more maybe used for 100 gallons. It should be broken up by pounding it with a hammer on a block of wood, and should be chopped into small fragments, so that it may be easily dissolved. Put it in a vessel of crockery, and pour over it of the wine to be clarified sufficient to cover it. Add another glass or two of the wine in a few hours, when the first has been absorbed. After about twenty-four hours it forms a jelly. This should be thinned by adding more wine or warm water, and it should be thoroughly worked with the hand until completely dissolved, and then be strained through a piece of linen, using sufficient pressure to squeeze out the mucilage. It should be thoroughly whipped or beaten, and more wine is added if too thick. After being prepared, it may be kept for some time in bottles, by adding a little brandy. In clarifying sweet white wines, it is recommended that an ounce or two of cream of tartar be added, which must first be dissolved in warm water.

Albuminous Substances.—Among these are mentioned the blood of animals, dried or fresh, and it is a powerful clarifier. About two quarts to 100 gallons are used, beaten up with an equal quantity of wine. It is liable to deprive the wine of a portion of its color, and sometimes conveys a disagreeable flavor, particularly unless used when quite fresh. It should not be used to clarify old or fine wines, but may be employed for new and common ones. It is of use in clarifying white wines which have turned yellow, for it effectually removes this color. It should be used sparingly, if at all, for red wines, and the wine should be drawn from the finings as promptly as possible.

Milk is also used in the same way and in the same quantity as blood. It is liable to sour, and a small quantity is apt to remain in the wine. By its use sugar of milk is introduced, which is liable to undergo lactic and butyric fermentations, and the flavor of sour milk and rancid butter may be communicated to the wine. This may also be used to decolor white wine which has become yellow.

The White of Eggs is the best of the albuminous substances used for clarifying. It is coagulated by the alcohol and tannin, and forms a precipitate heavier than the liquid, and as it falls, carries with it the matters remaining in suspension. If the eggs are fresh, as they always must be, there is no danger of communicating any foreign flavor to the wine by their use; but it is not advisable to use the yolks, for they injure the wine by decoloring it, and the sulphur contained in them may communicate the odor of sulphuretted hydrogen. This is preëminently the fining for red wine. It is also used for the clarification of white wine, but Machard says that it is subject to be condensed in the form of splinters (esquilles), which obscure rather than clarify the liquid. The whites of ten or a dozen eggs are used for 100 gallons. They are beaten up in a small quantity of wine or water before using.

Clarifying Powders.—In addition to the substances mentioned, there are special preparations in the form of powders, sold for the purpose, which are highly recommended by some authors. They are supposed to consist mainly of dried blood; directions for using are given on the package.

Gum Arabic, about 10 ounces to 100 gallons, is also used, but it is not readily precipitated, and is apt to remain in dissolution in the wine.

Salt is often added to the different finings, by first dissolving a small handful in water. It renders them heavier, and as it is insoluble in alcohol, it becomes precipitated, and thus acts in two ways. Many authors recommend its use, but Boireau says it should only be employed in clarifying common or very turbid wines.

Alcohol is added with great advantage if the wines are so weak in spirit that the finings do not act.

Tannin, however, more frequently requires to be added, for upon it and the alcohol depends the action of the substances employed. If the wine is not lacking in alcohol, and the finings do not act, sufficient tannin must be added to produce the desired effect. If the ordinary tannic acid of commerce is employed, one-half to one ounce for 100 gallons may be used. Dissolve ½ lb. in a quart of the strongest alcohol, 95°, by thoroughly shaking in a bottle of double the size. After standing twenty-four hours it is filtered, and one gill of the solution contains one ounce of tannic acid. This preparation of tannin, which is prepared from nutgalls, is used for tannifying sparkling wines, because it does not adhere to the inside of the bottle. It is preferable, however, in general to employ the tannin derived from the vine itself. For this purpose a strong decoction is made by steeping grape seeds, which have not undergone fermentation, in water. They should be coarsely broken, or bruised, and boiled for several hours. By adding from one-fourth to one-fifth of its volume of strong alcohol of 85 per cent., it can be kept for future use. The liquor may be filtered before adding the alcohol. Instead of the seeds, sometimes a handful of stems are steeped, and the liquid is used. Tannified wine may be prepared by soaking 50 or 60 lbs. of the bruised seeds in 100 gallons of white wine, for one or two months. It is cared for as white wine. If only one cask is to be treated, say 100 gallons, one-half pound of grape seed may be reduced to powder and put in.

It is difficult to lay down a definite rule as to the amount of either preparation to use, for the reason that the amount of tannin contained in the wine itself varies. Three or four gallons of the tannified wine are recommended for 100 gallons, and a much smaller quantity of the first mentioned decoction would be equivalent in its effects, on account of its additional strength. If, however, it is found that sufficient has not been used, the wine must be clarified anew, and tannin added again. By experimenting on a small quantity of the wine, the proper quantity may be ascertained.

Fig. 24.

Fig. 25.

Fig. 26.

Implements for stirring.

Method of Operation.—After preparing the finings as described under the head of each of the substances already mentioned, two or three gallons of wine are drawn from the bung by the aid of a siphon, pump, or other suitable implement, the finings are poured in, and the wine is stirred until thoroughly mixed with them. This may be done with a stick split at the end into three or four prongs ([fig. 24]), or by a sort of brush consisting of several small bundles of bristles inserted in a stick and at right angles to each other ([fig. 25]), or with a sort of bent paddle, pierced with holes, called a whip ([fig. 26]). The wine drawn out should then be replaced in the cask, which should be completely filled, and left to rest till the wine is bright. In filling a cask which has recently been agitated, or into which finings have been put, a good deal of froth is frequently found which will run out at the bung before the cask is full, and will prevent the operator from filling it. A few smart blows on the bung stave with a bung starter will break the bubbles and remove the foam. The time required to clarify a cask of wine depends somewhat upon the quality of the wine itself, and also upon the kind of finings used. The usual time is from two weeks to a month. In no case, however, should it be allowed to remain on the finings after it has cleared and has ceased to deposit, for the sediment may work up again and cloud the wine, and if left too long in contact with the deposit, the wine may acquire a disagreeable flavor.

If, after leaving the wine a suitable time, it still remains turbid and continues to deposit, it should be racked into a clean cask and fined again, adding tannin, if necessary.

CHAPTER XIV.
SWEET WINES—FORTIFIED WINES.

Generally.—The French give the name vins de liqueur, liqueur wines, to sweet wines, and it is also sometimes applied to fortified dry wines. Sweet wines are those which, after terminating their active fermentation, still retain a quantity of sugar. In order to produce natural sweet wines, it is necessary that the must should contain a large amount of sugar; Boireau says, from 16° to 25° Baumé, or about 29 to 46 per cent. It would seem that the latter figure is too high for a natural sweet wine, for it probably would not ferment at all, and to make a wine from a must containing over 35 per cent. of sugar, the alcohol must be added. (See [Musts].) He goes on to say that these wines will contain from 15 to 16 per cent. of natural alcohol, without addition; the sugar which they contain makes them heavier than water.

To Increase Sugar.—In order to augment the amount of sugar, the grapes are left on the vine till they become excessively ripe; in some places the stem of the bunch is twisted on the vine to interrupt the rising of the sap; the must is also sometimes concentrated by boiling; sometimes the grapes are picked and exposed to the sun on screens or straw mats, until they become shriveled, and sometimes they are dried in ovens.

Without Fermentation.—Sometimes sweet wines are made without allowing the must to ferment at all, by adding alcohol till it contains 18 or 20 per cent. of spirit; thus all the sugar is preserved. Again, they are made by mixing with dry wines grape syrup or concentrated must, and fortifying.

Care Required.—It has already been stated in the chapter on keeping wine that these wines require less care than weaker ones. But Mr. Boireau says that wines, whether sweet or dry, whose strength does not exceed 16 per cent., require the same care as ordinary wines.

In order that sweet and fortified wines may be kept in storehouses subject to great changes of temperature, in bottles upright, or in casks in ullage—in other words, under the conditions in which brandy can be kept, they must contain 18 or 20 per cent. of alcohol. They age sooner in casks than in bottles. (See [Aging].)

Clarification of these wines is effected by fining or by filtering. The best finings for the purpose are those containing albumen, such as the whites of eggs, though fresh blood may be used, but only for the commoner wines. If they are very pasty, tannin should be added, and then they should be clarified with a strong dose of gelatine.

Small quantities of wine may be filtered through paper or flannel, in closed filters.

These wines should always be allowed to rest for a while, and then be racked before shipping, for it is rare that they do not make a deposit. (See [Fining].)

Boiling Must.—Pellicot says that the common practice in making sweet wines, is to reduce the volume of the must by one-third, or even one-half, by boiling. They clear sooner, and retain less of the cooked flavor if only a part is boiled, that is, if, after boiling, one-fourth to one-third of the volume is added of must from the sweetest varieties of grapes. In this way the wines are more agreeable, and sooner matured. When the boiled must is taken from the cauldron, it must be briskly stirred with a bunch of twigs, or the like, till it ceases to smoke, in order to remove a disagreeable flavor which wines so made may contract. He gives it as his opinion that the greater part of the sweet wines, even of southern countries, are made by boiling the whole or a portion of the must, in spite of allegations to the contrary; and he considers it an innocent and legitimate operation, the only objection being the cooked flavor, which disappears with age. He excepts, however, wine made from very sweet varieties, which are ripened artificially. He also recommends that when kept in a large cask, the lees should not be removed, as they contain a good deal of sugar. As a certain quantity is drawn off, it may be filled each year with new wine of the same quality.

Sweet Muscat.—In making sweet Muscat, fermentation should be checked by the addition of alcohol, for if allowed to continue too long, the Muscat flavor will disappear. And this is usually necessary, as before stated, to keep the wines sweet.

Pressing.—Where the grapes are quite ripe, and somewhat dry, it may be difficult to extract the juice without a very powerful press; under such circumstances Machard recommends that, after crushing, the grapes be put into a vat for twenty-four or forty-eight hours, according to the temperature, and until fermentation commences, which fluidifies the must and makes it run more freely from the press.

The Marc of Sweet Wines is useful to mix with poor white wines to give them more sugar and more strength.

The amount of Alcohol to be added varies from two to five per cent., or more, depending upon the amount developed by fermentation, and the degree of sweetness desired. If the must is not allowed to ferment at all, it must be fortified up to 18 or 20 per cent.; if, however, it is so sweet that it will not ferment, it may be kept without the addition of alcohol, but it will be syrup, and not wine.

Density.—Dubief says that sweet wines should mark a density of from 4° to 5° Baumé, and the best of them even 7°.

Furmint Wine.—The following is the method given by Pellicot as practiced by him in making wine from the Furmint grape. He gathers the grapes when they are very ripe, and the small berries are half dried, and then exposes them to the rays of the sun for six or eight days, upon screens. When ready to crush, he takes the screens to the crusher. The dryest berries are then removed by shaking the frame, or with the hand, and put by themselves; and the remainder are crushed in the usual manner. Then the dry ones are crushed as well as possible, and the two kinds are mixed together and fermented. Owing to the syrupy nature of the must, it ferments for a long time, and without much effervescence. When it acquires a suitable flavor, it is drawn off, and is then racked several times till clear.

Where the grapes are trodden, it is probably necessary to separate the dry grapes from the rest, and crush them by themselves, in order that they may be well crushed; but if a good crusher is used, it would seem entirely unnecessary.

Straw Wines, according to Machard, are made as follows: The ripest bunches are chosen, and preferably from old vines. They are gathered when the weather is warm and dry. They are spread upon straw, or hung up in the upper room of a house. They are visited from time to time, and the rotten berries removed. They are thus left till February or March, the time when straw wine is usually made. Some, however, press in December, but the wine has not the quality of that made later.[4] When sufficiently dried the grapes are stemmed, and the remaining rotten berries are removed. They are then crushed and pressed. The pressings are all mixed together. To arrive at perfection, such a wine, he says, must be kept ten, twelve, or more years; that it need not be racked, nor the casks made full, and that it requires no fining.