A Treatise on the Art of Making Wine from Native Fruits

A Treatise on the Art of Making Wine from Native Fruits

R i L > . TREATISE. ON THE Art of Making Wine FROM NATIVE FRUITS; EXHIBITING THE CHEMICAL PRINCIPLES UPON WHICH THE ART OF WINE MAKING ‘ DEPENDS ; THE FRUITS BEST ADAPTED FOR Home-mave Wines, THE METHOD OF PREPARING THEM. UL. mae, eg SV ue NN . Uy Lee By FREDRICK Accu M. St LD c - il en MS * Opera TS Othe Arte aint’ Manurscturces Member Senki elo ed gages . Fellow of the Linnean 5 Member, of the Sciences, and of the Hoval Society Arte of Be Berlin, 8c. Agee LONDON: LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, PATERNOSTER ROW. J Green, Printer, Leicester Street, Leicester Square. 1890. Soc 4763.8 RL ‘ Blarvard College Library Jul. TL (€3€ Gift -of Prof. Joke 8. P.ay. PREFACE. LONDON, COMPTON STREET, SOHO. My principal intention in this Treatise has been to give a concise description of the art of preparing the several varieties of Wine which may be made from the fruits of domestic growth, to enable those who possess no knowledge of the subject to proceed with facility and success. Ihave prefixed a slight historical sketch of the Art of Making Wine, and have elucidated its general principles, without regard to which, all attempts a iv PREFACE. at preparing Domestic Wines must depend on chance, and be eyer subject to failure or uncertainty. I have stated the distinctive characters of British Fruit Wines, and their chemical differences from the Wine of the grape. Ihave pointed out the native fruits most capable of being converted into Home Made Wines, and have given directions for preparing the several kinds most generally esteemed. Lastly, I have stated, on the authority of an eminent philosopher, some prevalent errors with regard to- the manufacture of British Wines, and the injurious effects resulting from them. FREDRICK ACCUM. a CONTENTS. Pace Prefae . . ..... =... ii Historical Sketch of the Art of Making Wine... 6 ww we ew ee Specific Differences, and Component Pavts of Wine. ©. . . «© « . 20 Distinctive Characters of Hame Made vi CONTENTS. PAGE General principles of the Art of Making Wine . . . . . .. 821 Process of Fermentation . . . . 81 Racking and Sulphuring of Wine . 387 Barrelling of the Wine . . . . . 40 Clarification of the Wine . . . . 42 British Fruits most capable of being converted into Wine . . . . . 44 4rt of Making Wine from Native Fruits 2... 1... ©6851 Error with regard to the Use of Brandy in the Fabrication of British Wines. . . «sw 2 ws + 86 Method of Making Gooseberry Wine 61 CONTENTS. vii PAGE Wine from Mature Gooseberries or Currants. . . . . . . «~~ 65 Brisk Gooseberry Wine . . . . . 66 Brisk Currant Wine. . . . «© «© 69 Brisk Grape Wine . . . 1... 70. Brisk Wine from Leaves and Tendriis ofthe Vine . . . . . ... 7 Black Currant Wine . . . . . 78 Elderberry Wine. . . , . 1. . 7 British GrapeWine . .... 7 Red and Black Currant Wine . . 79 Mulberry Wine . . . .... 80 Raspberry Wine... ... =. 80 Cherry Wine . . . . «. . «. « 81 viii. CONTENTS. PAGE. Wine made from Mixed Fruits. . . 82 Ginger Wine . . . «ww » «88 Cowslip Wine . .°. . « « «. .) 84 Apricot Wine... « . . s ) 8S Peach Wine ye ee ee. BE Orange Wine - - . « . « . . 86 Raisin Wine » 2 2 6... OT Quantity of Spirit contained in various kinds of British Wines «§ . . . 9 Quantity of Spirit contained in various kinds of Foreign Wines . «§ . « ® Art of Making tine. ‘HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE ART OF MAKING ; WINE, Ir is. impossible to trace the era when mankind first discovered the art of making - wine. This discovery seems to be lost in the darkness of antiquity, and the origin of wine has its fables like all other things which haye become objects of general utility. Almost every country in «which the wine is indigenous, has. boasted: of some individual or native deity to whom the honour of the discovery has been de- ” scribed. : 10 ART OF MAKING WINE. We are told by Athenezus, that Orestes, the son of Deucalion, came to reign at Ethna, where he planted the vine.— Historians agree in considering Noah as the first who made wine in Illyria, Saturn in Crete, Bacchus in India, and Osiris in Egypt. A poet, who assigns every thing to a divine source, is inclined to believe, that after the deluge, God granted wine to man to console him in his misery. Even the etymology of the word wine has given rise to different opinions among authors; butfrom that long series of fables with which the poets, who are always: bad historians, have obscured the origin of wine, we may goliect some valuable truths, and among these we may venture to class the follow- The Asiatics first learned the art of cul- tivating the vine from the Egyptians ; the ART OF MAKING WIRE, i Grecian froin the Asiatics, and the Romians from the Greeks. . The earliest authors not only attest that they were acquainted with the art of mak. ing wine, but that. they had some very correct ideas in regard to the different qualities and the various ways of preparing . it. The heathen deities, we are told, de- lighted in nectar and. ambrosia, The earliest historians who have fur~ nished us with any positive facts respect- ing the making of wines, leave us no rea= son to doubt that the Greeks had made considerable progress in the.art of prepar- ing and preserving them, They distin- guished wines into two kinds, according as they were produced fromthe juice which flowed from the grapes spontaneously be- fore they were trod upon, or from the juice expressed by treading them. B2 12 ART OF MAKING. WINE. Homer distinguished wine by the name of a divine beverage. In his time various sorts of wines were well known, and by the praises which he bestowed on them, he seems, as Horace observes, tu have often experienced their exhilarating effects ; his heroes were animated by it in their coun- cils and in the field. Néstor was not more remarkable for his length of years than for his large draughts of wine. . Plato, who strictly reatrains the use of wine, and severely censured an excess, says, that nothing more valuable or ex- cellent than wine was ever granted hy God to mankind, Plate, Aschylus, and Solo- mon, ascribe to it the property of strength- ening the understanding. But no writer has better described the real properties of wine than ,the celebrated Galen, who assigns to each sort, its peculiar uses, and e oy ABT OF MAKING WINE. 13 describes the difference they acquire by age, cultare, and climate. ’ It was customary among the Greeks to prevent intoxication by rubbing their temples and forehead with precious oint- ments and tonics. The anecdote of that famous legislator, who, to restrain the in- temperance of the people, authorized it by an express law, is well known ; and we read that Lycurgus caused drunken people to be publicly exhibited, in order to excite ahorror of intoxication in Lacedemonian. youth. By alaw of Carthage, the use of. wine was prohibited in the time of war.. Plato interdicted it to young persons below the age of twenty-two. Aristotle did the . same to children and nurses. And we are informed by Palmarius, that the laws of Rome allowed to priests, or those employed in the sacrifices, but three small glasses of wine at their repasts. la ART OF MAKING WINE. When we read with attention what Aristotle and Galen have handed down to us on the preparation of the most celebrated wines of their time, we can hardly help be- Jieving that the:ancients employed artificial ‘heat to thicken or to dry certain kinds of wine in order to preserve them for a long time. Aristotle tells us expressly, that the wines of Arcadia became so dry in the leather bags in which they were kept, that it was necessary to scrape them off and dilute them with water before they could be fit for drinking. Pliny speaks of wines kept for a hundred years which had become as thick as honey, and which could not be used till diluted _ with warm water and strained through a cloth. Galen speaks of some wines of Asia, ART OF MAKING WINE. 15 which, when put into large bottles sus- pended near the fire, acquired by evapora- tion the solidity of salt. It was certainly wine of this nature that the ancients preserved in the upper part of their houses, and in a southern exposure ; these places were distinguished by the ap- pellation of apotheca vinaria. But all these facts can relate only to mild, thick, and little fermented wines, or rather to juices not altered and merely con- centrated. They were extracts rather than liquors. — Each kind of wine had a known and de- terminate period, before which it-could not be employed for drinking. Dioscorides fixes this period at the seventh year, as a mean term. According to Galen and Athe- neus, the best Falernian wine was never drank, until it had attained the age of ten years, and never after the age of twenty. 16 ART OF MAKING WINE. The Alban wines required the age of twenty years, the Surrentine twenty-five, &c. Macrobius relates that Cicero, being at supper with Damisippus, was treated with Falernian wine of forty years, which Cicero praised by observing that it bore its age well: (bene, inguit, etatem fert.) Pliny. speaks of wine served up at the table of Caligula which was more than 160 years old, and Horace celebrates wine of a hun- dred leaves. - When we consider what historians have left us respecting the origin of the. wines possessed by the ancient Romans, it seems doubtful whether their successors have added any thing to their knowledge on that’ subject. They procured their best wines from Campania, called at present, Terra di Lavori, in the kingdom of Naples. The Falernian and Massic wines were the pro- duced of vineyards planted on the hills. ART OF MAKING WINE. 17 around Mondragon, at the foot of which runs the Garigliano, formerly called the Tris. The wines of Amicla and Fondi were made in the neighbourhood of Gaeta, the grapes of Luessa grew near the sea, &c. But, notwithstanding the great variety of wine produced by the soil of Italy, luxury oon induced the Romans to seek for that of Asia, and their tables were loaded with the valuable wines of Chio, Lesbos, Ephe- sus, Cos, and Clazomene. _ The vine was introduced into Britain by the Romans, and appears to have very soon become common. Few ancient mo- nasteries did not manufacture wine. In an early period of the history of Britain, the Isle of Ely was expressly denominated the Isle of Vines by the Normans. The Bishop of Ely, shortly after the conquest, received at least three or four tons of wine B38 18 ART OF MAKING WINE.. agnually, as tithes from the vines in his diocese, and in his leases he made frequent reservations of a certain quantity of wine by way of rent. Many of them were little inferior to the wines of France in sweet- ness. Gaul was totally without vines in the days of Cesar, yet not only this province, but the interior of the country, was largely stocked so early as the time of Strabo. In the reign of Vespasian, France became famous for her wines, and even exported large quantities to Italy. "In the age of Lucullus, however, even the Romans themselves were seldom able _to regale themselves with wine. - Italy . made but little, and the foreign wines were so expensive, that they were rarely pro- _ duced even at entertainments, and when they were, every guest was enly indulged ART OF MAKING WINE. 19 with a single draught. But in the seventh century, after the founding of the city, as their conquest augmented the degree of their wealth, and enlarged the sphere of their luxury, wines became an object of particular attention. Wine vaults were then constructed, and gradually became well stocked, and the wines of the country acquired a considerable character. The Falernian rose immediately into great repute, and especially that of Flo- rence, towards the close of the above cen- tury; and the more westerly parts of Europe were at once subjugated by the arms of Italy, and exhilarated by her wines. 20 ART OF. MAKING WINE. SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES, AND COMPONENT PARTS OF WINE. Every body knows that no product of the arts varies so much as wine ; that dif- ferent countries, and sometimes the dif- ferent provinces of the same country, pro- duce different wines. These differences, no doubt, must be attributed chiefly to the climate in which the vineyard is situated— to its culture—the quantity of sugar con- tained in the grape juice—the manufacture of the wine, or the mode of suffering its fermentation to be accomplished. If the grapes be gathered unripe, the. wine abounds with acid; but if the fruit be gathered ripe, the wine will be rich. When the proportion of sugar in the grape is sufficient, and the fermentation complete, ART OF MAKING WINE. 21 the wine is perfect and generous. If the quantity of sugar be too large, part of it remains undecomposed, as the fermentation. is languid, and the wine is sweet and lus- cious ; if, on the contrary, it contains, even when full ripe, only a small portion of su- gar, the wine is thin and weak ; and if it be bottled before the fermentation be com- pleted, part of the sugar remains .unde- eomposed, the fermentation goes on slowly in. the bottle, and, on drawing the cork, the wine sparkles in the glass ; as, for example, Champagne. Such wines are not sufficiently mature. When the must is separated from the husk of the red grape before it is fermented, the wine has little or no colour: these are called white wines. If, on the contrary, the husks are allowed to remain in the must . while the fermenta- tion is going on, the alcohol dissolves the 22 ART OF MAKING WINE. colouring matter of the husks, and the wine is coloured: such are called red wines. Hence white wines are often prepared from red grapes, the liquor being drawn off be- fore it has acquired the red colour ; for the skin of the grape only gives the colour. Besides in these principal circumstances, wines vary much in flavour. | All wines contain one common and iden- tical principle, from which the similar ef- fects are produced ; namely, brandy or al- cohol. It is especially by the different pro- portions of brandy contained in wines, that they differ much from one another. When wine is distilled, the alcohol readily sepa- rates. The spirit thus obtained is well known under the name of brandy. All wines contain also a free acid ; hence they turn blue tincture of cabbage, red. The acid found in the greatest abundance ART OF MAKING WINE. 23 in grape wines, is the tartaricacid. Every wine contains likewise a portion of super- tartrate of potash, and extractive -matter, derived from the juice:of the grape. These substances deposit slowly in the vessel in which they are kept. To this is owing the improvement of wine from age. Those wines which effervesce or froth, when poured into-a glass, contain also carbonic acid, to which their briskness is owing. The peculiar flavour and odour of different kinds of wine, depend upon the presence of a volatile oil so small in quantity that it cannot be separated. France, ef all the countries of the earth, must be pronounced the most opulent in wines. ‘The best and most admired wines are those prepared from the juice of the grape. The property which this juice possesses of 24 ART OF MAKING WINE. forming the best wines that are known, does not depend upon its containing the most saccharine matter ; for in this point of: view the sugar-cane ought to afford it ; but: upon its saccharine principle being unitéd to a portion of a peculiar species of ferment, in such a manner that there re- sults from them the most homogeneous, the most proper, and the most agreeable vinous combination that can exist, or that which is the most universally pleasing to mankind. ; The French wines, called Burgundy,: are excellent and much esteemed ; thei¥ principles are perfectly combined, and none of them predominates ; they improve greatly in quality during six or eight years, after which they deteriorate, but very slowly, and in géneral they keep very well, ART OF MAKING WINE. 25 The Orleans wines, as they are called, possess qualities very similar to those of Burgundy wines, when time has dissipated their tartness, and intimately combined their principles. The red wines of Champagne are very delicate ; the white wine, which does not sparkle, is greatly preferable to that which does, and which is not sufficiently mature, and has not sufficiently fermented, besides "it contains little or no alcohol, and becomes flat when it has lost its carbonic acid. The wines of Languedoc and Guyenne, are of a deep colour, and very tonic, espe- cially when they are old. Those of Anjou are very spirituous, and soon intoxicate. The German wines, those of the Rhine and the Moselle, are white, and very full of alcohol ; they keep for a long time,.and im- prove much by age. The Italian wines 26 ART OF MAKING WINE. especially those of Orviette, of Vicenza, the ' lachryma Christi, are well fermented, and considerably resemble the good wines of France. The wines of Spain and Greece are in general dry, sweet, and little fermented, excepting those of Rota and Alicant, which are reckoned very useful cordials. © Some of the wines of the Cape of Good Hope are perhaps the first and best of all wines. The wine called Constantia, is much esteemed every where. It has been supposed to be the produce only of two farms in the immediate neighbourhood of the Cape; but Mr. Barrow observes, that the same grape, the muscadel, grows on every farm, and that some of the wines made in Drakenstein are equal, or even superior, to those of Constantia. The ma- nagement, however, is too imperfect to pro- _ART OF MAKING WINE. a7 duce good wine with any degree of eer- tainty. The grapes, ripe and unripe, along with the stalk, are thrown into the press ; in: consequence of which some acquire a thinness and: slight acidity, others a sickly, saccharine taste. ‘Fhe: boors and dealers, besides, have not arrived at the knowledge ef any enlarged and liberal principles of trade. Besides undergoing various adul- terations, the wines are seldom found to eerrespond to the samples furnished ; the native dealers imagining, that when they . are once paid and shipped, nothing farther is to be apprehended. The British govern- ment, since the last reduction of the Cape, have endeavoured to encourage the cultiva- tion of this wine by reducing the duty to 171. 10s. per ton, being not more than a third of that paid by the wines of Spain and Portugal. A considerable quantity has 28 ART OF. .MAKING WINE. consequently been imported; but it has not been relished in this country, and un- less the quality be very materially improved; does not seem likely to come into general use. It is understood, however, that the London merchants have lately sent out per- sons skilled in the culture and manufacture of wine, with the view of giving the natives the necessary instructions; and that con- siderable expectations are entertained of the benefits which may be reaped from this measure. 427 .OF MAKING wWhrE, 20 DISTINCTIVE CHARACTERS OF HOME-MADE WINES, Home-made wines differ chiefly from foreign or grape wines, in containinga much greater quantity of malic acid, whilst the wine of.the grape contains chiefly tarta- reous acid ; for it is the presence of super- tartrate of potash by which the grape is most strongly distinguished from all the other sub-acid fruits applied to the purposes of wine-making. This salt is most abundant in the grape before ripening, and a portion of it disappears during this process. A consideration of this diversity led Dr. Macculloch to point out to the public the useful practice ofintroducing super-tartrate of potash into all those juices of fruits 80 ART OF MAKING WINZ. which are intended for the basis of home- made wines. This salt is doubtless decomposed dur- ing the fermentative processes, and a con- siderable quantity of what remains is sub- sequently deposited in the casks or bottles in which the wine is kept, constituting what is: termed ‘the crust of the wine. Bew of our home-made wines possess an intense colour, for with the exception of the elderberry, mulberry, and the black cherry, searcely any colour is contained in our do- mestic fruits. ART OF MAKING WINE. $1 GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF THE ART OF MAKING WINE, ~ , PROCESS OF FERMENTATION. The juice of which wine is made consists of a large proportion of water, holding in solution certain proportions of saccharine matter, of the fermentative principle, which appears to be a modification of gluten, of various acids, which in the grape juice is chiefly the tartaric, and in the juice of our fruits, the malic acid, and of various iJl-de+ fined extractive or mueilaginous mutter. These prineiples, when left to themselves for a short time in a medium temperature, soon begin to re-act. upon one another, and some of them at length undergo remarkable changes. This process, which is termed Sermentation, constitutes the grand prin- $2 ART OF MAKING WINE. ciple of wine-making; it is analogous to the conversion ofthe wort of malt into beer.* The vinous fermentation scarcely com- mences, if the temperature be below 60°, but at the temperature of 70° the process goes on briskly. A large mass is very favourable for pro- moting the vinous fermentation. A small quantity of saccharine matter scarcely at ‘all undergoes this change, while it runs speedily to the acid fermentation. When the before-mentioned substances are placed in proper circumstances, the process conimences: in. a few hours, or -a few days, according to the. tempera- ture, the richness, and quantity of mass em- ‘ployed. . The liquid becomes agitated with an intestine motion; it! also' becomes thick 48 dee a Treatise on the Art of Brewing, exhibiting "the London practice of Brewing Porter,’ Ale, ‘Brown, Stout, and other Malt Liquors, 1820, p. 76, ART OF MAKING WINE. 33 and muddy; the temperature rises, and carbonic acid gas is disengaged. The liquid is increased in bulk, and the surface becomes . covered with a voluminous frothy matter» which is owing to the carbonic acid gas adhering for some time to the viscid yeast . in the liquid. The quantity of carbonic acid gas disengaged during the process is very considerable ; it begins to be evolved . at the commencement of the fermentation, and continues till its termination. At the end of a few days, or after a longer or shorter time, according to the temperature and other circumstances, the fermentation .ceases. The liquid becomes transparent, the matters which occasioned the muddi- ness having precipitated to the bottom, and the liquor, from having a sweet taste, be- comes vinous ; and from having been viscid ¢ 84 ART OF MAKING WINE. and glutinous, it becomes more liquid and lighter. It is now converted into wine. Such are the phenomena of fermentation, from which, and from the nature of the pro- duct, very considerable changes must have taken place in the component parts. One change is very obvious during this pro- cess, namely, that the quantity. of sugar is always diminishing, and that at the end of the process it has entirely disappeared. The. liquid is now more, fluid, is specifically lighter, and has obtained a spirituous taste ; which new properties are ascribed to the formation of alcohol which exists in the wine. It appears that it is the sugar only . which has suffered decomposition. It is divided into two portions, one of which se- parates, and is carried off in the form of carbonic acid gas, while the other, con- taining a greater proportion of hydrogen, ART OF MAKING WINE. 35 remains in the liquid, in the form of alcohol. Part of the alcohol is carried off also, and the alcohol which remains in the liquid is combined with the acids and colouring matter of.the wine. The tartaric acid, it has also been found, is partially de- composed during the process, and a portion of malic acid is formed. It appears from other experiments, that azotic gas is also disengaged during this process, from which : it is inferred, that some others of the con- stituents of the fermenting liquid must have been! decomposed, since sugar contains no azote. When this process has taken place, the wine is introduced into casks, where it undergoes further changes, and is matured by a modification of the fer- mentative process, which hasbeen calléd the insensible fermentation. Soon after the o2 36 ART OF MAKING WINE. wine has been put into the cask, a slight - hissing is heard, which arises from the continued disengagement of carbonic acid gas that escapes from every point of the liquor; some froth also passes through the bung-hole, and care must now be taken to keep the cask always full, that the froth may escape, and that the wine may become perfected ; whilst this is going on, it will be sufficient to fasten a piece of paper over the bung-hole, or to . lay a tile over it. In proportion as the insensible fermen- tation decreases, the liquid sinks down ; and this depression. wust be carefully watehed, in order to pour in, from time to . time, more wine, that the casks may be . always kept full. This is a most important step in the pro- cess of wine making, as by different modes ART OF MAKING WINE. 37 of management in this last stage almost the whole of that infinite variety which exists among wines is produced. Here also it is, that all foreign substances designed to -imparta flavour to the wine, are in general introduced with the greatest propriety. RACKING AND SULPHURING OF WINE. When the insensible fermentation has been carried to thé point desired, it is checked by racking, that is, drawing off the wine from its lees; and, to prevent a new fermentation taking place, the cask is sul- phured by burningin it a piece of linen cloth, dipped in melted sulphur. The sweet taste of some wines arises from the presence of too much saccharine matter, and may be generally remedied by prolonging the fer- 38 ART OF MAKING WINE. mentation. On the contrary, when the fermentation has been carried so far as to decompose the whole of the sugar, the wine is said to be dry ; and if the original quan- tity of sugar has -been rather defective, it has a strong tendency to become sour. The astringent taste and colour of red wines are derived from the husks of the fruit; and when. it is wished to impart these qualities in a higher degree, the ma- nufacturers sometimes mix a certain por- tion of high coloured grapes with the other fruit. . In Madeira, as well as those wines of Xeres and San Lucar, i is tke practice to produce a nutty flavour, by the addition | of bitter almonds. Raspberries, orris-root, elary, and elder-flowers, may be employed for giving particular flavours to home-made wines. In using these different articles, ART OF MAKING WINE. 39 the best practice is to suspend the fla- vouring ingredients in the cask a few days, during the period of the insensible fermentation, by which means their flavour is retained without a chance of being dissi- pated.* When the strength of wine is deficient, brandy is customarily added in a more or less quantity; and to render the combination of this more complete, Dr. Macculloch very properly advises to add the spirit while the insensible fermentation is going on.., The colouring of home-made wines may be effected by bilberries, mulberries, or the husks of elderberries ; these substances im- part a fine red colour to vinous fluids ; they are sometimes suffered to ferment * See a Treatise on the Art of Brewing, exhibiting the London Practice of brewing Porter, Brown Stout, Ale, and other kinds of Malt Liquors, 1820, page 224, 40 ART OF MAKING WINE. with the must to render the colour more intense. BARRELLING OF THE WINE. When the wine has been completed, it is drawn off upon clean dry casks. That the wine may keep, and improve in quality, it is best to put it into vessels deposited in cool places. Glass bottles are the most favourable, because, besides their presenting no principle soluble in wine, they shelter it best from the con- tact of the air, and the principal varia- tions of the atmosphere. Care must be - taken to stop the bottles very closely with good cork, and to lay them on their sides, that the cork may not dry, and facilitate ART OF MAKING WINE. 4l the access of the air. For the greater safety the cork may be covered with a coat- ing of cement, applied by means of a brush, or the neck of the bottle may be immersed in a mixture of melted wax, resin, and pitch. a An eminent wine-merchant assures me, that the amelioration of wine, from age, is best-and more rapidly effected by keeping the wine, not in bottles, but in casks, con - stantly kept full; for the separation of a portion of super-tartrate of potash takes place more rapidly when the wine is in the cask, than in glass vessels. Every one has heard of the enormous capacity of the tun of Heidelberg, in which wine is preserved for whole centuries, always improving in quality ; and it is also allowed that wine keeps better in very large casks than in small ones. c 8 42 ART OF MAKING WINE. CLARIFICATION OF THE WINE. The clarification of wime is effected spon- taneously by time and repose ; for there is gradually formed a deposit at the bottom of the cask and on the sides, which frees the wine from every thing not in absolute solu- tion in it, or which is in it inexcess. This deposit, called the lees of wine, is a mixture of super-tartrate of potash, yeast, gluten, and colouring matter. But these substances, though deposited in the cask, and precipitated from the wine, are susceptible from being still mixed with it by agitation, or by a change of tempera» ture; and in that case, besides injuring the quality ofthe wine, which they render turbid, they may communicate to it a new fermen- ART OF MAKING WINES 43 tation, which makes it degenerate into vinegar. To obviate this inconvenience, the wine is drawn off into other vessels at different periods ; all the lees which have been pre- cipitated are carefully separated ; and every thing existing in it in a state of incomplete solution is disengaged from it by drawing off the wine upon clean casks. New-made wine should be as little dis- turbed as possible. The removal of new wine is always injurious, because it tends to re-establish a new insensible fermenta- tion in the wine. 44 ART OF MAKING WINE. BRITISH FRUITS, MOST CAPABLE OF BEING CON- ' VERTED INTO WINE. Besides grapes, of which the most per- fect wine is made, there are a number of fraits from which vinous liquors can be ob- tained. The practice of making wine from the produce of our gardens is deserv- ing of very general. attention. Foreign wines are entirely beyond the reach of the poor, and therefore the benevolent will endeavour to supply them, in age and sick- ness, with the best substitutes which our native fruits will afford. The following domestic fruits are well calculated for the fabrication of wine :— The gooseberry, elderberry, mulberry, raspberry, blackberry, strawberry, red ART OF MAKING WINE. 45 currant, black currant, white currant, and cranberry. These ferment well, and afford good and wholesome wines. Itis a vulgar prejudice to suppose, that the wine made from domestic fruits are unwholesome. They may disagree with the constitutions of some persons, but no fact can warrant the assertion that they are more injurious than wine made from the grape. The pulpy indigenous fruits, such as. the peach, nectarine, plum, cherry, damson, and apricot, may also be employed ; but, upon the whole, they answer not so well for the fabrication of wine as the sub-acid esculent berries. The gooseberry and currant are, of all other fruits, most commonly employed in the fabrication of home-made wines ; and, upon the whole, they are best adapted for the purpose. When used in their green 48 ART OF MAKING WINE. state, they nay be made to form light brisk Wines, falling little short of Champagne. Ripe gooseberries are capable of making sweet or d¥y wine; but these are com- monly ili flavoured, particularly if the husk has not been carefully excluded. Ripe carrants, if properly managed, make a much better wine than gooseberries. These fruits are much improved, according to Dr. Macculloch, by boiling the juice, for a few minutes, previously to fermenta- tion. This is particularly the case with the black currant, which, when thus ma- naged, is capable of making a wine closely - resembling some of the best of the sweet Cape wines. The strawberry and raspberry are capa- ble of making‘both dry and sweet wines of an agreeable quality. The elderberry is well calculated for making an excellent red wine. Its cheap- 4QT OF MAKING WIND. 47 ness also reeothmends it, Ft does not, in- deed, possess any great degree of flaveur, but it possesses no bad one, whioh is a' ne- gative property often of great importance in artificial wine making. The cherry produces a wine of no very peculiar character. If used, care shoald be taken not to bruise too many of: the stones, otherwise a disagreeable bitter taste will be imparted to the wine. - The blackberry and mulberry are capable of making coloured wines, if managed: with - that view; they are: deficient, however, in ’ ..-. the astringent principle ; nevertheless, they may be octasfonally employed with advan- tage whem a particular object is to be gained. The sloe and' damson are so assoeiated in qualities, that nearly the same resiilts are’ obtained from both. Their juice is 48 ART OF MAKING WINE. ~ acid and astringent ; and hence they are qualified only for making dry wines. By a due admixture of currants or elderberries with sloes or damsons, wines not much un- like the inferior kinds of port are often_pro- duced. . Grapes, of British growth, are capable of making excellent sparkling and other wines, by the addition of sugar. I have made wine from immature grapes and sugar, which so closely resembles the wines called Grave, and Moselle, that the best judges could not distinguish them from foreign wines. The grapes may be used in any state, however immature ; when even but half grown, and perfectly hard, they succeed completely. Dr. Macculloch informs us, that the cot- tagers in Sussex are in the habit of making wine, almost annually, from the produce of ART OF MAKING WINE. 49 vines trained on the walls of their houses. Many individuals, through various parts of the southern counties, and even as far north as Derbyshire, practice the same with success. But the experiment is well known to have been made for many years on a Jarge scale, and with complete results, at Pain’s Hill, by the Hon. Charles Hamil- ton, in a situation, with respect to soil and exposure of which, parallel instances are to be found throughout the country, and produced from land of no value what- ever for the ordinary purposes of agricul- ture. ‘Raisins are extensively used in this country for making domestic wines, there- fore they deserve to be mentioned here. When properly managed, they are capa- ble of making a pure and flavourless vinous fluid, well adapted for receiving any 50 ART OF MAKING WINE. ‘flavour which may be required, and thus of imitating many wines of foreign growth. The orange and lemon are likewise used for making domestic wines. Upon the whole, however, they aré not very well adapted for the purpose, as they contain too much acid, and too little of the extrac- tive and of the sweet or fermentative principle. The apricot, peach, and quince, from its analogy to the apple and pear, is better qualified for making a species of cyder than wine. ART OF MAKING WINE. 51 ART OF MAKING WINE FROM NATIVE FRUITS. We start upon the grounds that home- made wines are intended to be imitations of foreign wines. In the first place, there- - fore, we have to prepare a juice or must similar to the juice or must of the grape in its general composition. Now, no fruit whatever yields a juice precisely similar to that of the grape. In our northern climate mote especially, the saccharine principle, which is the fundamental basis in wine- making, exists only in very minute propor- tions in most fruits. It must therefore be supplied artificially. The tartaric acid, or rather super-tartrate of potash, which is another essential principle in wine-making, is likewise wantitig im most of our fruits. 52 ART OF MAKING WINE. This therefore must also be supplied. On the contrary, other substances, and particu- larly malic acid, exist in too large a proportion in most of our fruits, which, in their natural state, are thus better adapted for making cider than wine. To get rid of the malic acid, and to prevent its dete- riorating quality, as well as the deteriorat- ing effects of other foreign principles, is difficult, or perhaps impossible ; and this will doubtless always render home-made wines inferior to those of the grape, though very near approaches may be made by judi- cious management. The practical mode of obviating these difficulties is to dilute the juice of the fruit to such a degree, that a given quantity of it shall contain no more of the malic acid, or nearly so, than a given quantity of the juice of the grape ; and, as before observed, ART OF MAKING WINE. 53 to supply artificially the two grand prin- ciples, sugar, and super-tartrate of potash, which are wanting. Having thus prepared an artificial must, as nearly resembling in its composition that of the grape as possi- ble, the application of the other principles will be obvious, as we have nothing to do but to manage, in general, all the subse- quent processes precisely as if we were operating upon the must of the grape. From what has been said (page 28) of the manufacture. of wine from grapes,: our readers will observe, that different methods are pursued according to the kind of wine which we intend to make. Now, these remarks are equally applicable to home- made wines, in the manufacture of which it is absolutely necessary that the maker should determine before-hand upon the kind of wine which it is his object to pro- 54 ART OF MAKING WINE. duce, and to modify his processes accord- ingly. We may, with Dr. Macculloch, consider wines as of four general desorip- tions; sweet wines; sparkling or effer- vescing wines; dry and ght wines, ana- logous to hock, grave, and Rhenish, in- which the saccharine principle is entirely decomposed during fermentation; and, lastly, dey and streng wines, as Madeira and sherry. Those of the first and most simple class are the sweet wines, or those in which the. fermentative process has been incomplete. It is to this class that by far the greater number of our home-made wines bear the greatest resemblance ; a resemblance, says : Dr. Magculloch, so general, as to. shew. that few makers of. this article possess . sufficient knowledge of the. ant:to enable: themselves, to steer: clear of, what maybe . ART QF MAKING WINE, 35 fairly called the radical defect of domestic wines ; for so large a quantity of sugar is often added to a proportion of the juice of: the fruits, that the quantity of natural leaven, or fermentative matter in the com- pound, is insufficient for the. conversion of the whole of the sugar into wine; hence, that part of it which remains undecom- posed is sweet. ‘The use of the artificial . leaven, or yeast, may in some measure correet this defect, but the quantity added is generally inadequate te. this object. 56 ART OF MAKING WINE. ERROR WITH REGARD TO THE USE OF BRANDY IN THE FABRICATION OF BRITISH WINES. . “'Phe addition of spirit, so often recom - mended in the recipes for making fruit wines, so far from checking the wine from becoming sour, increases the tendency, and therefore the use of brandy, as a pre- servative to wine, is founded in error. This view* is opposed to all popular opi- nions and practices, opinions most assuredly founded on erroneous and vague analogies, drawn from some supposed preserva