AND MADEIRA,
Including Chapters on the Wines Vintaged Around Lisbon
and the Wines of Teneriffe.
Illustrated with 80 Engravings from Original Sketches.
[ CONTENTS.]
| PAGE. | |
The Early Vineyards of the Champagne—Their Produce esteemed byPopes and Kings, Courtiers and Prelates—Controversy regarding therival Merits of the Wines of Burgundy and the Champagne—DomPerignon’s happy Discovery of Sparkling Wine—Its Patrons underLouis Quatorze and the Regency—The Ancient Church and Abbey ofHautvillers—Farre and Co.’s Champagne Cellars—The Abbey ofSt. Peter now a Farm—Existing Remains of the MonasticBuildings—The Tombs and Decorations of the AncientChurch—The Last Resting-Place of Dom Perignon—The Legend ofthe Holy Dove—Good Champagne the Result of Labour, Skill, MinutePrecaution, and Careful Observation | 9 |
[II.—The Vintage in the Champagne. The Vineyards of theRiver.] Ay, the Vineyard of Golden Plants—Summoning the Vintagers by Beatof Drum—Excitement in the Surrounding Villages—The Pickersat Work—Sorting the Grapes—Grapes Gathered at Sunrise theBest—Varieties of Vines in the Ay Vineyards—Few of theGrowers in the Champagne Crush their own Grapes—Squeezing theGrapes in the “Pressoir” and Drawing off the Must—Cheerful GlassesRound—The Vintage at Mareuil—Bringing in the Grapes on Mulesand Donkeys—The Vineyards of Avenay, Mutigny, andCumières—Damery and Adrienne Lecouvreur, Maréchal de Saxe, and theobese Anna Iwanowna—The Vineyards of the Côted’Epernay—Boursault and its Château—Pierry and its VineyardCellars—The Clos St. Pierre—Moussy andVinay—A Hermit’s Cave and a Miraculous Fountain—AbloisSt. Martin—The Côte d’Avize—The Grand Premier Crû ofCramant—Avize and its Wines—The Vineyards of Oger and LeMesnil—The Old Town of Vertus and its Vine-clad Slopes—TheirRed Wine formerly celebrated | 20 |
[III.—The Vineyards of the Mountain.] The Wine of Sillery—Origin of its Renown—The Maréchaled’Estrées a successful Marchande de Vin—From Reims toSillery—Failure of the Jacquesson Vineyards—Château ofSillery—Wine Making at M. Fortel’s—Sillerysec—The Vintage and Vendangeoirs at Verzenay—The VerzyVineyards—Edward III. at the Abbey of St. Basle—From Reimsto Bouzy—The Herring Procession at St. Remi—Rilly, Chigny,and Ludes—The Knights Templars’ “Pot” of Wine—Mailly and theView over the Plains of the Champagne—Wine Making atMailly—The Village in the Wood—Village and Château ofLouvois—Louis-le-Grand’s War Minister—Bouzy, its Vineyardsand Church Steeple, and the Lottery of the Great GoldIngot—MM. Werlé’s and Moët and Chandon’sVendangeoirs—Pressing the Grapes—Still RedBouzy—Ambonnay—A Peasant Proprietor—The Vineyardsof Ville-Dommange and Sacy, Hermonville, and St. Thierry—The StillRed Wine of the latter | 32 |
[IV.—The Vines of the Champagne and the System ofCultivation.] The Vines chiefly of the Pineau Variety—The Plant doré of Ay, thePlant vert doré, the Plant gris, and the Epinette—The Soil of theVineyards—Close Mode of Plantation—The Operation ofProvinage—The Stems of the Vines never more than Three YearsOld—Fixing the Stakes to the Vines—Manuring and GeneralCultivation—Spring Frosts in the Champagne—Various Modes ofProtecting the Vines against them—Dr. Guyot’s System—TheParasites that Prey upon the Vines | 42 |
[V.—Preparation of Champagne.] Treatment of Champagne after it comes from the Wine-Press—Rackingand Blending of the Wine—Deficiency and Excess ofEffervescence—Strength and Form of Champagne Bottles—The“Tirage” or Bottling of the Wine—The Process of Gas-makingcommences—Inevitable Breakage follows—Wine Stacked inPiles—Formation of Sediment—Bottles placed “sur pointe” andDaily Shaken—Effect of this occupation on those incessantlyengaged in it—“Claws” and “Masks”—ChampagneCellars—Their Construction and Aspect—Transforming the “vinbrut” into Champagne—Disgorging and Liqueuring the Wine—TheCorking, Stringing, Wiring, and Amalgamating—The Wine’s AgitatedExistence comes to an End—The Bottles have their Toilettesmade—Champagne sets out on its beneficial Pilgrimage | 48 |
[VI.—The Reims Champagne Establishments.] Messrs. Werlé and Co., successors to the VeuveClicquot-Ponsardin—Their Offices and Cellars on the site of aFormer Commanderie of the Templars—Origin of the Celebrity ofMadame Clicquot’s Wines—M. Werlé and his Son—TheForty-five Cellars of the Clicquot-Werlé Establishment—Our Tour ofInspection—Ingenious Liqueuring Machine—An Explosion and itsConsequences—M. Werlé’s Gallery ofPaintings—Madame Clicquot’s Renaissance House and its PicturesqueBas-reliefs—The Werlé Vineyards andVendangeoirs—M. Louis Roederer’sEstablishment—Heidsieck and Co. and their Famous “Monopole”Brand—The Firm Founded in the Last Century—Their variousEstablishments Inside and Outside Reims—The Matured Wines Shippedby them | 63 |
[VII.—The Reims Establishments(continued).] The Firm of G. H. Mumm and Co.—Their Large Shipments to the UnitedStates—Their Establishments in the Rue Andrieux and the RueCoquebert—Bottle-Washing with Glass Beads—The Cuvée and theTirage—G. H. Mumm and Co.’s Vendangeoirs atVerzenay—Their Various Wines—The Gate of Mars—TheEstablishment of M. Gustave Gibert on the Site of the Château desArchevêques—His Cellars in the Vaults of St. Peter’s Abbey andbeneath the old Hôtel des Fermes in the Place Royale—Louis XV. andJean Baptiste Colbert—M. Gibert’s Wines—Jules Mumm andCo., and Ruinart père et fils—House of the Musicians—TheCounts de la Marck—The Brotherhood of Minstrels ofReims—Establishment of Périnet et fils—Their Cellars ofThree Stories in Solid Masonry—Their Soft, Light, and DelicateWines—A Rare Still Verzenay—M. Duchâtel-Ohaus’sEstablishment and Renaissance House—His Cellars in the Cour St.Jacques and Outside the Porte Dieu-Lumière | 74 |
[VIII.—The Reims Establishments(continued).] M. Ernest Irroy’s Cellars, Vineyards, and Vendangeoirs—Recognitionby the Reims Agricultural Association of his Plantations ofVines—His Wines and their Popularity at the best LondonClubs—Messrs. Binet fils and Co.’s Establishment—Wines Soldby the Firm to Shippers—Their Cellars—Samples of Fine StillAy and Bouzy—Their Still Sillery, Vintage 1857, and their CreamingVin Brut, Vintage 1865—The Offices and Cellars of Messrs. CharlesFarre and Co.—Testing the Wine beforeBottling—A Promenade between Bottles in Piles andRacks—Repute in which these Wines are held in England and on theContinent—The New Establishment of Fisse, Thirion, and Co. in thePlace de Betheny—Its Construction exclusively in Stone, Brick, andIron—The Vast Celliers of Two Stories—Bottling the Wine bythe Aid of Machinery—The Cool and Lofty Cellars—IngeniousMethod of Securing the Corks, rendering the Uncorking exceedinglysimple—The Wines Shipped by the Firm | 86 |
[IX.—The Reims Establishments(concluded).] La Prison de Bonne Semaine—Mary Queen of Scots atReims—Messrs. Pommery and Greno’s Offices—A FineCollection of Faïence—The Rue des Anglais a former Refuge ofEnglish Catholics—Remains of the Old University ofReims—Ancient Roman Tower and Curious Grotto—The handsomeCastellated Pommery Establishment—The Spacious Cellier and HugeCarved Cuvée Tun—The Descent to the Cellars—Their Great Extent—These Lofty Subterranean Chambers OriginallyQuarries—Ancient Places of Refuge of the Early Christians and theProtestants—Madame Pommery’s Splendid Cuvée of 1868—Messrs.de St. Marceaux and Co.’s New Establishment in the Avenue deSillery—Its Garden-Court and Circular Shaft—Animated Scenein the Large Packing Hall—Lowering Bottled Wine to theCellars—Great Depth and Extent of these Cellars—Messrs. deSt. Marceaux and Co.’s Various Wines | 93 |
[X.—Epernay Champagne Establishments.] Early Records of the Moët Family at Reims and Epernay—Jean RemiMoët Founder of the Commerce in Champagne Wines—Extracts from theOld Account-Books of the Moëts—First Sales of SparklingWines—Sales to England in 1788—“Milords” Farnham andFindlater—Jean Remi Moët receives the Emperor Napoleon, Josephine,and the King of Westphalia—The Firm of Moët and ChandonConstituted—Their Establishment in the Rue duCommerce—Delivering and Washing the New Bottles—The NumerousVineyards and Vendangeoirs of the Firm—Making the Cuvée in Vats of12,000 Gallons—The Bottling of the Wine by 200Hands—A Hundred Thousand Bottles Completed Daily—20,000Francs’ worth of Broken Glass in Two Years—A SubterraneanCity, with miles of Streets, Cross Roads, Open Spaces, Tramways, andStations—The Ancient Entrance to these Vaults—TabletCommemorative of the Visit of Napoleon I.—Millions of Bottlesof Champagne in Piles and Racks—The Original Vaults known asSiberia—Scene in the Packing Hall—Messrs. Moët and Chandon’sLarge and Complete Staff—Provision for Illness and OldAge—Annual Fête Given by the Firm—Their Famous “Star”Brand—M. Perrier-Jouët, the lucky Grandson of a littleEpernay Grocer—His Offices and Cellars—His Wine Classedaccording to its Deserts—Messrs. Roussillon and Co.’sEstablishment—The Recognition accorded to their Wines—TheirStock of Old Vintages—The Extensive Establishment of Messrs. PolRoger and Co.—Their Large Stock of the Fine 1874Vintage—Preparations for the Tirage—Their Vast FireproofCellier and its Admirable Temperature—Their Lofty and CapaciousCellars of Two Stories | 101 |
[XI.—Champagne Establishments at Ay and Mareuil.] The Establishment of Deutz and Geldermann—Drawing off theCuvée—Mode of Excavating Cellars in the Champagne—The Firm’sNew Cellars, Vineyards, and Vendangeoir—The old Château of Ay andits Terraced Garden—The Gambling Propensities of BalthazarConstance Dangé-Dorçay, a former Owner of the Château—ThePicturesque Situation and Aspect of Messrs. Ayala’sEstablishment—A Promenade through theirCellars—M. Duminy’s Cellars and Wines—His new ModelConstruction—The House Founded in 1814—Messrs. Bollinger’sEstablishment—Their Vineyard of La Grange—The Tirage inProgress—The Fine Cellars of the Firm—Messrs. Pfungst frèresand Co.’s Cellars—Their Dry Champagnes of 1868, ’70, ’72, and’74—The Old Church of Ay and its Decorations of Grapes andVineleaves—TheVendangeoir of Henri Quatre—The Montebello Establishment atMareuil—The Château formerly the Property of the Dukes ofOrleans—A Titled Champagne Firm—The Brilliant Career ofMarshal Lannes—A Promenade through the MontebelloEstablishment—The Press House, the Cuvée Vat, the Packing-Room,the Offices, and the Cellars—Portraits and Relics at theChâteau—The Establishment of Bruch-Foucher and Co.—Thehandsome Carved Gigantic Cuvée Tun—The Cellars and their LoftyShafts—The Wines of the Firm | 117 |
[XII.—Champagne Establishments at Atize and Rilly.] Avize the Centre of the White Grape District—Its Situation andAspect—The Establishment of Giesler and Co.—The Tirage andthe Cuvée—Vin Brut in Racks and on Tables—The Packing-Hall,the Extensive Cellars, and the Disgorging Cellier—Bottle Storesand Bottle-Washing Machines—Messrs. Giesler’s Wine-Presses atAvize and Vendangeoir at Bouzy—Their Vineyards and their Purchasesof Grapes—Reputation of the Giesler Brand—The Establishmentof M. Charles de Cazanove—A Tame YoungBoar—Boar-Hunting in the Champagne—M. de Cazanove’sCommodious Cellars and Carefully-Selected Wines—Vineyards Owned byHim and His Family—Reputation of his Wines in Paris and theirGrowing Popularity in England—Interesting View from M. deCazanove’s Terraced Garden—The Vintaging of the White Grapes inthe Champagne—Roper frères’ Establishment atRilly-la-Montague—Their Cellars Penetrated by Roots ofTrees—Some Samples of Fine Old Champagnes—The PrincipalChâlons Establishments—Poem on Champagne by M. Amaury deCazanove | 129 |
[XIII.—Sparkling Saumur and Sparkling Sauternes.] The Sparkling Wines of the Loire often palmed off asChampagnes—The Finer qualities Improve with Age—Anjou theCradle of the Plantagenet Kings—Saumur and its Dominating FeudalChâteau und Antique Hôtel de Ville—Its Sinister Rue des Payens andSteep Tortuons Grande Rue—The Vineyards of the Coteau ofSaumur—Abandoned Stone Quarries converted into Dwellings—TheVintage in Progress—Old-fashioned Pressoirs—The Making ofthe Wine—The Vouvray Vineyards—Balzac’s Picture of La ValléeCoquette—The Village of Vouvray and the Château ofMoucontour—Vernou with its Reminiscences of Sully andPépin-le-Bref—The Vineyards around Saumur—Remarkable AncientDolmens—Ackerman-Laurance’s Establishment atSaint-Florent—Their Extensive Cellars, Ancient andModern—Treatment of the Newly-Vintaged Wine—TheCuvée—Proportions of Wine from Black and White Grapes—TheBottling and Disgorging of the Wine and Finishing Operations—TheChâteau of Varrains and the Establishment of M. Louis Duvauaîné—His Cellars a succession of Gloomy Galleries—TheDisgorging of the Wine accomplished in a Melodramatic-lookingCave—M. Duvau’s Vineyard—His Sparkling Saumur ofVarious Ages—Marked Superiority of the more MaturedSamples—M. Alfred Ronsteaux’s Establishments at Saint-Florentand Saint-Cyr—His convenient Celliers and extensiveCellars—Mingling ofWine from the Champagne with the finer Sparkling Saumur—HisVineyard at La Perrière—M. E. Normandin’s SparklingSauternes Manufactory at Châteauneuf—Angoulême and its AncientFortifications—Vin de Colombar—M. Normandin’s SparklingSauternes Cuvée—His Cellars near Châteauneuf—Highrecognition accorded to the Wine at the Concours Régionald’Angoulême | 139 |
[XIV.—The Sparkling Wines Of Burgundy and the Jura.] Sparkling Wines of the Côte d’Or at the ParisExhibition—Chambertin, Romanée, and Vougeot—Burgundy Winesand Vines formerly the Presents of Princes—Vintaging SparklingBurgundies—Their After-Treatment in the Cellars—Excess ofBreakage—Similarity of Proceeding to that followed in theChampagne—Principal Manufacturers of SparklingBurgundies—Sparkling Wines of Tonnerre, the birthplace of theChevalier d’Eon—The Vin d’Arbanne of Bar-sur-Aube—Deaththere of the Bastard de Bourbon—Madame de la Motto’s OstentatiousDisplay and Arrest there—Sparkling Wines of theBeaujolais—The Mont-Bronilly Vineyards—Ancient Reputation ofthe Wines of the Jura—The Vin Jaune of Arbois beloved of HenriQuatre—Rhymes by him in itsHonour—Lons-le-Saulnier—Vineyards yielding the SparklingJura Wines—Their Vintaging and Subsequent Treatment—TheirHigh Alcoholic Strength and General Drawbacks | 157 |
[XV.—The Sparkling Wines of the South of France.] Sparkling Wines of Auvergne, Guienne, Dauphiné, andLanguedoc—Sparkling Saint-Péray the Champagne of theSouth—Valence with its Reminiscences of Pius VI. andNapoleon I.—The “Horns of Crussol” on the Banks of theRhône—Vintage Scene at Saint-Péray—The Vines and VineyardsProducing Sparkling Wine—Manipulation of SparklingSaint-Péray—Its Abundance of Natural Sugar—The Cellars ofM. de Saint-Prix and Samples of his Wines—SparklingCôte-Rotie, Château-Grillé, and Hermitage—Annual Production andPrincipal Markets of Sparkling Saint-Péray—Clairette deDie—The Porte Rouge of Die Cathedral—How the Die Wine isMade—The Sparkling White and Rose-Coloured Muscatels ofDie—Sparkling Wines of Vercheny and Lagrasse—Barnave and theRoyal Flight to Varennes—Narbonne formerly a Miniature Rome, nowNoted merely for its Wine and Honey—Fête of the Black Virgin atLimoux—Preference given to the New Wine over the MiraculousWater—Blanquette of Limoux and How it isMade—Characteristics of this Overrated Wine | 165 |
[XVI.—The Sparkling Wines of Germany.] Origin of Sparkling Hock and Moselle—Sparkling German Wines FirstMade on the Neckar—Heilbronn, and Götz von Berlichingen of theIron Hand—Lauteren of Mayence and Rambs of Trèves turn theirattention to Sparkling Wines—Change of late years in the Characterof Sparkling Hocks and Moselles—Difference between them andMoussirender Rheinwein—Vintaging of Black and White Grapes forSparkling Wine—The Treatment which German Sparkling WinesUndergo—Artificial Flavouring and Perfuming of SparklingMoselles—Fine Natural Bouquet of High-Class SparklingHocks—Impetus given to the Manufacture of German Sparkling Winesduring the Franco-German War—Annual Production—Deinhard andCo.’s Splendid New Cellars at Coblenz—The Firm’s Collection ofChoice Rhine and Moselle Wines—Their Trade in German SparklingWines—Their Sources of Supply—The Vintaging andAfter-Treatment of their Wines—Characteristics of their SparklingHocks and Moselles | 172 |
[XVII.—The Sparkling Wines ofGermany (continued).] From Coblenz to Rüdesheim—Ewald and Co.’s Establishment and itsPleasant Situation—Their Fine Vaulted Cellars and ConvenientAccessories—Their Supplies of Wine drawn from the most favouredLocalities—The Celebrated Vineyards of the Rheingau—Eltvilleand the extensive Establishment of Matheus Müller—His Vast Stocksof Still and Sparkling German Wines—The Vineyards laid undercontribution for the latter—M. Müller’s SparklingJohannisberger, Champagne, and Red Sparkling Assmannshauser—TheSite of Gutenberg’s Birthplace at Mayence occupied by the Offices andWine-cellars of Lauteren Sohn—The Sparkling Wine Establishment ofthe Firm and their Fine Collection of Hocks and Moselles—TheHochheim Sparkling Wine Association—Foundation of theEstablishment—Its Superior Sparkling Hocks and Moselles—TheSparkling Wine Establishments of Stock and Sons at Creuznach in the NaheValley, of Kessler and Co. at Esslingen, on the Neckar, and ofM. Oppmann at Würzburg—The Historic Cellars of the King ofBavaria beneath the Residenz—The Establishment of F. A.Siligmüller | 183 |
[XVIII.—The Sparkling Wines of Austro-Hungary, Switzerland, Italy,Spain, Russia, &c.] Sparkling Voslauer—The Sparkling Wine Manufactories ofGraz—Establishment of Kleinoscheg Brothers—Vintaging andTreatment of Styrian Champagnes—Sparkling Red, Rose, and WhiteWines of Hungary—The Establishment of Hubert and Habermann atPressburg—Sparkling Wines of Croatia, Galicia, Bohemia, Moravia,Dalmatia, the Tyrol, Transylvania, and the Banat—NeuchâtelChampagne—Sparkling Wine Factories at Vevay and Sion—TheVevay Vineyards—Establishment of De Riedmatten and DeQuay—Sparkling Muscatel, Malmsey, Brachetto, Castagnolo, andLacryma Christi of Italy—Sparkling Wines of Spain, Greece,Algeria, and Russia—The Krimski and Donski Champagnes—TheLatter Chiefly Consumed at the Great Russian Fairs | 196 |
[XIX.—The Sparkling Wines of the United States.] Earliest Efforts at Wine-Making in America—Failures to AcclimatiseEuropean Vines—Wines Made by the Swiss Settlers and the MissionFathers—The Yield of the Mission Vineyards—The Monster Vineof the Montecito Valley—The Catawba Vine and its GeneralCultivation—Mr. Longworth one of the Founders of AmericanViticulture—Fresh Attempts to make Sparkling Wine atCincinnati—Existing Sparkling Wine Manufacturesthere—Longfellow’s Song in Praise of Catawba—The KelleyIsland Wine Company—Vintaging and Treatment of their SparklingWines—Decrease of Consumption—The Vineyards ofHammondsport—Varieties of Grapes used for SparklingWines—The Vintage—After Treatment of the Wines—ThePleasant Valley and Urbana Wine Companies and their VariousBrands—Californian Sparkling Wines—The Buena VistaVinicultural Society of San Francisco—Its Early Failures andEventual Success in Manufacturing Sparkling Wines—The Vintage inCalifornia—Chinese Vintagers—How the Wine isMade—American Spurious Sparkling Wines | 203 |
[XX.—Concluding Facts and Hints.] Dry and Sweet Champagnes—Their Sparkling Properties—Form ofChampagne Glasses—Style of Sparkling Wines Consumed in DifferentCountries—The Colour and Alcoholic Strength ofChampagne—Champagne Approved of by the Faculty—Its Use inNervous Derangements—The Icing of Champagne—Scarcity ofGrand Vintages in the Champagne—The Quality of the Wine has littleinfluence on the Price—Prices realised by the Ay and Verzenay Crûsin Grand Years—Suggestions for laying down Champagnes of GrandVintages—The Improvement they Develop after a few Years—TheWine of 1874—The proper kind of Cellar to lay down Champagnein—Advantages of Burrow’s Patent Slider Wine Bins—Increasein the Consumption of Champagne—Tabular Statement of Stocks,Exports, and Home Consumption from 1844-5 to 1877-8—When to ServeChampagne at a Dinner Party—Charles Dickens’s dictum that itsproper place is at a Ball—Advantageous Effect of Champagne at anOrdinary British Dinner Party—Sparkling Wine Cups | 212 |
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