No French white wine has so much celebrity as Champaigne. This is of two kinds; one of which, called still or quiet Champaigne, has gone through the whole process of fermentation; the other, which has the name of sparkling Champaigne, has been bottled before the fermentation was complete: this, consequently, proceeds slowly in the bottle, and causes the wine, on the drawing of the cork, to sparkle in the glass. Vin de Grave is produced in the vicinity of Bourdeaux, and the lower parts of Gascoigne: Pontac is made in Guienne; and Frontignac and Muscadel are white wines, the delicious productions of Languedoc.
(c) Spanish Wines.—The country about Xeres, in Andalusia, is celebrated for a grape which produces an excellent wine called Sherry. There are several French and English houses at Xeres and Seville which trade, to great extent, in this wine. It is very strong, and full-bodied, owing, in a great degree, to the quantity of brandy with which it is mixed. In the province of Valencia, some of the proprietors have wines of different kinds, sixty, eighty, and even a hundred years old, the prices of which differ according to their age. Rota, in Seville, produces a rich and sweet white wine; and the country around Malaga, near Gibraltar, is celebrated for white wine which is known by that name; and so assiduously is the cultivation of the vine there pursued, that the export of the produce of the vineyards yields to the inhabitants an annual revenue of more than 200,000l. sterling per annum. We import from Spain a harsh and inferior kind of red wine, which, duty free, sells for only 10l. or 15l. per pipe of 126 gallons; but the territory of Alicant produces a very rich and excellent kind of red wine. The sweet red wine which we call Tent is a Spanish production; chiefly imported from Cadiz, and in hogsheads of about sixty gallons each. It is made from the juice of a particular kind of grapes, which are not used for this purpose until some time after they have been perfectly ripe.
(d) Italian Wines.—Notwithstanding the ancient celebrity of many of the wines of Italy, by far the greater part of what are now manufactured in that country are thin and bad. Certain vineyards on mount Vesuvius, however, still have great celebrity for a luscious red wine called Lachryma Christi.
(e) German Wines.—Germany produces many excellent wines, of which Tokay, Hock, Rhenish, and Moselle, are the most celebrated. Tokay has its name from a town in Hungary, near which it is chiefly made. The quantity of this wine is so small that, even on the spot where it is manufactured, it is sold at a very high price. It is made by mixing with the common grapes a portion of luscious, half-dried, and shrivelled grapes; the latter being absolutely necessary to constitute the peculiar quality of the wine. The two kinds of grapes are pressed separately, and the juice is afterwards mixed, fermented, and strained through a cloth or sieve into the barrels in which it is to continue. The best Tokay does not long remain in the place where it is made, a great portion of it being sent into the cellars of the nobility in other parts of Hungary. Tokay is certainly a fine wine, but is no way adequate to the price for which it is sold. Several years ago it could not be purchased, even in Hungary, for much less than half a guinea of English money per bottle; and yet there are few Englishmen, who, except on account of its scarceness, would prefer it to good Claret or Burgundy. Of all the German wines, that which is in greatest demand in England is Hock. This has its name from the town of Hochstadt in Suabia, celebrated for a great battle which was fought in its neighbourhood by the French and the allies in 1704. Rhenish and Moselle are produced chiefly on the banks of the rivers Rhine and Moselle, and have a cool, sharp taste, and considerable strength. Anterior to the late wars in Germany, there were wines in the cellars of many of the noble and wealthy inhabitants of that country which were more than a hundred years old, and of such body as to be uninjured even by so great an age.
(f) Madeira and Teneriffe Wines.—To the Madeira and Canary islands we are indebted for some excellent white wines. Of these Madeira wine is considered by far the most valuable, particularly after it has been ripened by conveyance into a hot climate. The number of pipes of Madeira annually made is about 30,000. The grapes, when gathered, are put into wooden vessels, and the juice is extracted by persons treading upon them.
The Canary Islands gave name to a rich white wine, which was formerly in great esteem under the name of Canary sack, and is now usually called Malmsey Madeira. The genuine Malmsey wine, which is of sweet and luscious flavour, and rich golden yellow colour, is the produce of Malvesia, one of the Greek islands, and thence had originally its name, the French merchants denominating it Vin de Malvesia: but so little is now made that few persons can possess it. Teneriffe wine, when two or three years old, has much the flavour of Madeira, but, after this age, it becomes so sweet and mellow, as somewhat to resemble Malaga.
(g) Cape Wines.—There are produced, at the Cape of Good Hope, two kinds of peculiarly rich, sweet, and delicate wine, called red and white Constantia. The farm from which they have their name is situated about eight miles from Cape Town. The grapes of this farm, owing, as it is supposed, to some peculiarity in the soil, are superior to any other in the whole country. The vintage commences about March or April; and great care is taken in the manufacture of the wine, no fruit being used but such as is fully ripe and in the highest perfection. The annual produce is considered to be about sixty pipes of the red, and 100 pipes of the white wine. Constantia is in perfection when about two years old; but, when kept six or seven years, it sparkles in the glass somewhat like wine which has not undergone a perfect fermentation. What is denominated Cape Madeira is a light kind of white wine, the produce of the Cape of Good Hope. Considerable quantities of this wine are now consumed in England, in consequence of the lowness of its price. This is owing to its paying to government only one-third part of the duty which is imposed on most other wines.
The juice of unripe grapes has a harsh, sour, and rough taste. This, under the name of verjuice, was formerly much esteemed for culinary and other purposes. The young twigs of the vine, when dried, cut into small pieces, and moistened with water, afford a wholesome food for cattle and horses. The leaves and tendrils have an astringent taste, which it is probable they would impart to British made wines, and thus render them somewhat similar to foreign wines. The wood of the vine, reduced to charcoal, is used by painters for drawing outlines; and, from the seeds or stones, a kind of oil is sometimes made, which can scarcely be distinguished from olive oil. These stones, when purified, moderately roasted, and ground to a coarse powder, form a tolerable substitute for chocolate.
Brandy is a spirituous liquor, produced by the distillation of wine; and prepared in most of the wine countries of Europe. The principal manufactories of this spirit are in France, particularly in Languedoc, and Anjou, whence comes the well-known Cognac brandy. The distilleries of brandy in Catalonia, in Spain, are so extensive as to yield more than 35,000 pipes per annum. When brandy first issues from the still, it is colourless as water; and the colour, which is given to it by the merchants, is produced partly by the oaken casks in which it is kept, but chiefly by the addition of red saunders wood, burnt sugar, and other colouring matters. These, however, do not in the least affect the quality of the spirit.
In addition to the preceding uses of the vine, we have to add those of its fruit in a recent state, called grapes, as a delicious addition to our desserts; and of this fruit, in a dried state, under the appellation of raisins and currants.