Great care should be taken to draw such wines from the fermenting vat, as soon as the active fermentation is finished, for a long sojourn in the tank with the stems and skins aggravates the defect.
The Treatment of wines so affected differs according to their origin, their nature, and their promise of the future; but the condition necessary in all cases is to promptly obtain their defecation or clarification, and never to allow them to remain on the lees. They should therefore be drawn off as soon as clear, and frequently racked to prevent the formation of voluminous deposits.
Red wines, which in spite of this defect, have a future, and may acquire quality with age, should be racked at the beginning of winter, again in the beginning of March, and after the second racking should be fined with the whites of 12 eggs to 100 gallons of wine; they are then racked again two weeks after fining.
Common red wines, without a future, dull and poor in color, and weak in spirit, are treated in the same manner, but before fining, a little more than a quart of alcohol of 60 to 90 per cent. is added to facilitate the coagulation of the albumen.
In treating wines which are firm, full-bodied, and charged with color, after the two rackings, an excellent result is obtained by an energetic fining with about three ounces of gelatine.
Earthy white wines should be racked after completing their fermentation, and after the addition of about an ounce of tannin dissolved in alcohol, or the equivalent of tannified white wine. After racking, they should be fined with about three ounces of gelatine.
These rackings and finings precipitate the insoluble matters, and part of the coloring matter, which is strongly impregnated with the earthy taste, and the result is a sensible diminution of the flavor. When not very pronounced, it is removed little by little at each racking. But if it is very marked, the wine after the first racking should have a little less than a quart of olive oil thoroughly stirred into it. After a thorough agitation, the oil should be removed by filling the cask. The oil removes with it a portion of those matters in the wine which cause the bad flavor. The wine is afterwards fined as above.
Some writers recommend that wine having an earthy flavor should be mixed with wine of a better taste, as the best method of correcting the defect; but from what has been said in the preceding part of this chapter, it would seem to be an unsafe practice.
The Wild Taste and Grassy Flavor are due to the same causes, and are removed in the same way.
Greenness—Its Causes.—This is due to the presence of tartaric acid, which it contains in excess. It gives a sour, austere taste to the wine, which also contains malic acid, but in a less quantity. When tasted, it produces the disagreeable sensation of unripe fruit to the palate, sets the teeth on edge, and contracts the nervous expansions of the mouth.