When Necessary—Effect of.—In good years, almost all wines can be drank in their natural condition, but when the grapes have not become sufficiently ripe, the wines, even of good growths, lack quality, or preserve for a long time a roughness more or less marked, and always disagreeable. It is then necessary to mix them, especially if common wines, with better ones, to make them tolerable. It is not always necessary, however, that the season should be bad, in order that cutting should be proper. Wines naturally have, for a certain time, an earthy flavor and greenness which are unpleasant, which disappear by mixing. This is why ordinary wines of a moderate price, which have been mixed, are preferred by a great number of consumers to others which are higher in price but left in a state of nature. For example, a new, very dark-colored wine of good growth is not an agreeable drink; but if an old white wine of an inferior growth, but of good taste and constitution be added, it will be drank with pleasure.
Mixing the wine produces results similar to those caused by mixing the fruit, and it may be done by the wine maker as well as by the merchant. As they come from the vat, wines manifest the qualities and defects communicated by the vintage, and which are varied by a multitude of circumstances, such as the nature of the soil, varieties of grapes, temperature of the season, and the like.
Wines endowed with qualities which fit them to be kept in their natural condition, of course, are not mixed. But those which, on the other hand (and they are in the majority), have too much or too little color, are weak, flat, coarse, green, pasty, rough, lacking in bouquet, too strong, or too light, cannot be put on the market till they have been cut with other wines capable of giving them the qualities which they lack, and of remedying their defects. It will be understood that the mixture of a weak wine with a stronger one, of one lacking color with one which has too much, a light wine with a generous one, of a hard wine with a flat one, etc., a wine will be produced superior in quality to any one of those used.
For these reasons, in a viticultural district, when a producer cannot sell his wine of a bad year, he mixes it with that of the following year, if the latter is of a better quality; if he cannot mix it all, he may use it for ullage. In the same way, if he has new white wines which become discolored and turn yellow, he mingles them with very dark red wines, which then become more agreeable to drink.
It is said that the tithe wines used to be of superior quality. In certain communes of France, the inhabitants contributed to the priest’s cask a certain amount of their new wine, and this wine which represented a mixture of all the wines of the commune, had the reputation of being superior to any one of the others.
And the following case, quoted by Maigne, is given for what it is worth. A cask lay in a cellar into which they were accustomed to throw the leavings of all kinds of wine, such as from broken bottles, drippings, etc. It was intended to use the liquid upon diseased trees, but it was for some time forgotten. When found and brought out, the cellar-man tasted the singular mixture out of curiosity. It was found to be a delicious liquor, which gave delight at dessert; and it was with true grief that they saw its end approach!
In order to perform the operation successfully, an experienced man is required, who will be guided by his educated taste; and therefore, precise rules cannot be laid down, but there are certain general principles which it may be useful to state.
Wines of the same General Nature and Flavor should be used, and two of such wines may nevertheless be deficient in some particular respects, so that by mixing, the defects of the two will be corrected. Such wines are mixed, because they are said to marry better, and produce a more homogeneous liquid than those of different natures.
Fine Wines.—All agree that fine wines which have a bouquet and a future are best left in their natural condition, for their distinctive character will be destroyed by mixing with wines of a different nature and quality. Boireau says that experience proves that if such wines are mixed while young, even with old wine of good quality, they will never acquire that degree of fineness which they would have obtained if left by themselves; that they sooner loose their fruity flavor, and are more liable to make a deposit in the bottles.
There are cases, however, when cutting becomes necessary, as when the wine from being kept too long in casks, has commenced to decline, has lost its fruity flavor, has become acrid and dry; when made in a bad, cold season; and when they are too poor, green, or too feeble to keep well.