The Wine Drinkers Manual

The Wine Drinkers Manual

WINE-DRINKER’S MANUAL. “IN VINO VERITAS.” LONDON : MARSH AND MILLER, 137, OXFORD STREET, AND CONSTABLE AND CO. EDINBURGH. 1830. ; HARVARD COLLEGE LIDRARY FRI Tipe HEIRS oF GEORGE ¢, DEMPSEY PRINTED BY C. RICHARDS, 100, 8T, MARTIN’S LANE, CHARING CROSS. YN SA n i) To J. H. THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED, WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF ESTEEM AND FRIENDSHIP, BY THE AUTHOR. April 27, 1880. ERRATA. At p. 26, for ‘ Vienna,’ read ‘ Vienne.’ 35, for ‘St. Lawrence,’ read ‘ St. Laurence.’ 140, for ‘Gestaccio,’ read ‘ Testaccio. BHS of Heirs of gees? c. Dem PREFACE. THE object of the following pages is to exhibit a sketchy outline of the most cele- brated vineyards, and the several processes of wine-making in different countries: in short, to represent the general economy of one of the most interesting branches of hu- man invention. - The subject was of no very facile complexion; but one from which the Author would have shrunk with due sense of his incompetence to treat, had he not been induced to the task, by the super- abundance of materials,which, much reading and laborious research enabled him to ren- der available. His duties, therefore, became -Vi PREFACE. rather those of arrangement than author. ship; although it is hoped that the candour with which this distinction is made in the subsequent pages, renders this explanation almost superogatory. As the present volume aspires only to the rank of a ‘‘ Manual,” the reader will not expect to find it contain any extensive re- searches into the antiquarian history of Wine, or the ancient and modern philoso- phy of its manufacture. Had these divi- sions of the subject been largely expatiated on, the work must necessarily have assumed too scientific a character for the general reader. On the other hand, the Author has endeavoured to produce a book of pictu- resque details of the wine-countries, and the practical points of wine-making; at the same time, illustrating the latter by the results of the most recent enquiries of men of experimental and practical science. To these the Author has added his own ex- PREFACE. Vii perience, which, though comparatively un- pretending, has, he hopes, enabled him to adapt and arrange the contributions of others with propriety and effect. Although the Author’sclaim to originality in these pages is thus humbly rated, it would be false delicacy not to express his confidence in the appreciation of the labour which was requisite for their production. Anxiety to furnish the reader with the pre- sent face of the wine-countries, has led him to consult the journals of the most recent and accredited travellers; and equal dili- gence has prompted him in the more prac- tical and technical portions of his work. Few attempts have been made at ornate style, or embellishment of the subject; since it would have been folly to attempt in prose what the poets of all ages have so divinely blended with their happiest productions ; but some relief was occasionally neces- sary. viii PREFACE. A glance at the annexed Table of Con- tents, will excuse the Author adding more in a prefatory form; but, as the subject is rife with delight, he willnot trespass on the patience of the reader, further than by ex- pressing a hope, that his gratification will be identified throughout the pages of the Wine-drinker’s Manual. Ricumonp, April, 1830. CONTENTS. ON WINE-DRINKING. ApaM and Noah—Ancient Physicians—Ancient Drink- ing—Quantity—The Poets—Statesmen—Medical quali- ties—National Drinking—Origin of Wine—Persia, &c. Page 1-15. WINES OF THE ANCIENTS: Greek and Roman Vineyards and Wines. 15-26. FRENCH WINES: Classification—Wines of Gaul—Modern Wines: Cham- pagne, Burgundy, Dauphiny, Bordelais, Languedoc, Pro- vence, and Rousillon—Manufacture of Champagne and Claret—Management—-Count Chaptal on the choice of a Cellar—Bottling, Forcing, &c.—Wine-trade of France —Consumption, &c. 27-68. SPANISH WINES: Mismanagement of the Peasantry—Xeres, or Sherry— Paxareta—Tinta di Rota—Malaga—Alicant—Benicar. lo—Vine in Catalonia—The Canaries—Teneriffe—Vi- donia—Chacoli—Majorca and Minorca—Vineyards at Yepes. 69-81. x CONTENTS. PORTUGUESE WINES: Lisbon and Port—Wine Country of the Douro—Oporto Company — Methuen Treaty—Adulterations of Port Wine—Exports from Oporto—Management—Introduc- tion in England—White Wines—Carcavellos, Setuval, and Termo—Red Wines of Lisbon—Vintage. p. 82-97. GERMAN WINES : Introduction of the Vine into Germany—Circle of Cob- lentz—Soil of the Banks of the Rhine—Rhinegau, Hoch- heim,and Mayn—Immense Casks of Tubingen, Heidelberg, and Grumingen—Autumn on the Rhine—Bacharach and the ara Bacchi—Vineyards of Wurtemburg—Qualities of Rhenish Wines—the Moselle—German Wines drunk in England—Hock and Soda Water— Oil from the Stones of Grapes. , 98-114. HUNGARIAN WINE: The Vine in Hungary—Peasants’ Vineyards—Tokay, Ausbruch, and Essence; its properties and rules for judging—Red and White Wines of Hungary—Vineyards of Menes, and description of the Vintage, 115-128. ITALIAN WINES: Luxuriance of the Vineyards—Improved Culture—Wine at Naples—North of Italy—Ancient and Modern Italian Wines—Wine-making in Tuscany—Montifiascone—Epi- taph in the Cathedral at Siena—Wine Festivals of the Roman peasantry—Vines of the Campagna—Tuscany and Genoa — Wines of Vesuvius —Lacryma Christi— Vines of Southern Italy—Sicilian Wines—Syracuse— Policy of introducing Italian Wines into England— Wine-trade at Florence—Wines of Elba—Culture of the Vines, &e. 129-153. CONTENTS. Xi GREEK WINES: Neglect of the Vine—Zante Currants—Vines of Corinth —Candia and Crete—Malivisi—Rettimo—aAncient and Modern Cyprus Wine—Barout—Wines of Zante, Ithaca, Rhodes, Cos, Samos, Tino, Lampascus—Vineyards at Leuctra—Adulteration of Greek Wines. _p. 156-168. RUSSIA WINES: Wines consumed in Russia—Cultivation of the Vine in the South—Valley of Soudak—Vintage at Akerman— Georgian Wine—Tifis. 162-176. PERSIAN WINES: Discovery of Wine by Jem-sheed—Grapes of Shiraz— Persian Vine-dressers—Wine forbidden by the Koran— Shah Suffee—Abbas IL—Royal Wine-drinkers—the Per- sian love of Wine—Vineyards of Shiraz, Ispahan, Te- heran—Persian Poets in Praise of Wine. 177-186. MADEIRA WINES: Introduction of the Vine—Varieties of Wine—Sercial and Malmsey—Culture, &c.—Soil of the Vineyards de- scribed by Mr. Bowdich —Manufacture—Quantity—Im- provement by a voyage explained—Maturation of Ma- deira—Flavouring—Climate of the Island. 187-203. CAPE WINES: Climate of the Cape—Culture of the Vine—Constantia —Cape Madeira—Wine-trade at the Cape—Duties— Brandewyn—Quantity of Wine exported—Improvement of the Manufacture—Training—Management of the Vines—Soil, Adulterations, &c.—Constantia, 204-211. oe Xl CONTENTS. Y BRITISH WINES: Introduction of the Vine—Saxon Vineydtds—Domesday— Monasteries— Vineyards in Lond GI ter —Wind- sor—Foreign Wines introduced—Vineyards in Sussex, Surrey, and in the Isle of Wight—Painshill—Change of Climate—Chaptal on Vines—Earliest Foreign Wine Statute-duties — Wine-Conduits—Wine at Breakfast— Aristocratical Fnactments—Duties and Importation— Wine in Scotland—Theory of Wine-making—Failure of British Wines explained — Dr. Macculloch’s System— Synthetical preparations. p. 212-241. ADULTERATION OF WINE: Early English Mal-practices — Vintner's Company — Enactments of Henry VI., Mary, and Charles II.—Addi- son, in “ the Tatler.”—Lead Adulteration, and Tests for its Detection—Washing Bottles—Correcting Acidity— Brandying Port Wine—To detect Adulterated—Tests for the natural Colouring—Flavouring—-Dry Rot. 242-229. ART OF DRINKING WINE: Rationale of Drinking — Fashion—a French Dinner— Precedence of French Wines—Wines for different tem- peraments — Wine - Melancholy — Claret and Cham- pagne—Port—Sherries—Philosophy of Wine-drinking— Poets and Essayists — Plutarch’s authority — Morris, Burns, and Moore—Table Companions. 260-276. APPENDIX: The Cellar—Champagne—Claret—Iceing Wines—Dr. Maculloch’s Receipts: Wine from unripe Gooseberries— from unripe Grapes—from ripe Gooseberries and Cur- rants—from ripe Grapes—French Method of making su- perior Gooseberry and Currant Wines—Improved Me- thod of making Raisin Wine. 277-296. THE WINE-DRINKER’S MANUAL. ON WINE-DRINKING. THE love of Wine may almost be classed with the innate principles of our very being. It is believed that the father of the human race drank wine, and were the antediluvian records more complete, this point of belief might be settled by the next Antiquarian meeting at Somerset House. We have, however, “confirmation strong as holy writ” that Noah planted a vineyard, and, more- over, “ that he drank of the Wine and was “ drunken.” (Genesis, ix. 20.) Adam, good man, for aught we know, did the same. “ Driven by sin from Paradise,” says old vhristopher North, “what liquor could “ ever have raised his spirits? How dismally B 2 WINE-DRINKER’S “in his cups must he have sung ‘ Auld lang “ syne! What a hollow hip, hip, hurra!” A moderate use of Wine has been sanc- tioned by the wise and good in all ages. St. Paul says, (Tim. i. v. 23) “Use a little “ wine for thy stomach’s sake:” and this seems to have been the opinion of the most ancient philosophers and physicians. As- clepiades wrote upon Wine, the use of which he introduced with almost every remedy, ob- serving, that the gods had bestowed no more valuable gift on man: even Diogenes drank of it; for it is said of him that he liked that Wine best, which he drank at other people’s cost: no bad proof of the policy of his philosophy. A modern, however, adopted this notion, who, when asked,—“ What “ Wine do you drink, Doctor?’ answered, “ Port at home, Claret abroad !” Hippocrates recommended a_ cheerful glass; and Rhases, an ancient Arabian physician, says no liquor is equal to good Wine. Reineck wrote a Dissertation, “ De Potu Vinoso;” and the learned Dr. Shaw lauded the juice of the grape. But the stoutest of its medical advocates was Tobias Walker, physician to Charles II, who MANUAL. 3 undertook to prove the possibility of main- taining life, from infancy to old age, without sickness, by the use of Wine. But Toby lived in too free an age to warrant his doctrine, although no one can say that his theory was unacceptable to his monarch, or the times in which he practised. In a musty old tract on “ voracitie and “ immoderate drinking,” of sundry stories of “no man drinking beyond a certaine ring “ about the glasses and cups,” a conscien- tious scruple which is easily wiped away by plain glasses. There is also “a strange historie” of three quaffers in Germany, in 1549, who, with a coal, “ painted the divell | “ on the wall, and drank freely to him, and “talked freely to him as though hee had “been present. The next morning they “ were found strangled, and dead, and were “ burried under the gallowes.” Mahomet, another crafty wight, persuaded his followers when he forbad them the drinking of wine, that “in every grape there dwelt a divell.” The attachment of Alexander Cambyses to Wine, is proverbial. Hiolmus, a king of the Goths, was so fond of it, that “he would sit a “ great part of the night quaffing with his B2 4 WINE-DRINKER’S “ servants,” for which gracious condescen- sion, they (in sport) threw him into “a great “ vessell of drinke, in the middle of the “room,” and thus, “he misserably and ridiculously ended his life.’ Paulus Dia- crius tells us of a drinking wager between four old men, each of whom drank as many - bowls of Wine as he had lived years, and thus one of these jolly old fellows drank 92 bowls. Cyrus, however, preferred water to Wine; and Antonius Pius “ commanded that “ none should presume to sell Wine but in “ apothecaries’ shops, for the sicke or “ diseased.” Had his edict remained in force to this age, every house would be required for a hospital, and the Wine-haters find room in the hospitals. ' The antiquity and propriety of drinking Wine is not, however, matter of question. The Archbishop of Seville, Antonio de Solis, who lived to be 110 years old, drank Wine; and even that wonderful preacher of propriety, Cornaro, did the same. All we differ about is quantity ; and this is a point on which we do not pretend to reconcile our readers, for that would be too quackial a pretension for any Wine-drinker to aspire to. MANUAL. 5 Sir William Temple, as good and grave a man as any of the “ illustrious” of our country, was pleased to lay down a rule, and limit propriety to three glasses. “TI “ drink one glass,” says he “ for health, a “second for refreshment, a third for a “ friend; but he that offers a fourth is an “enemy.” It is, however, fit that we show “ this” and “that” picture of the antient quantity. In modern times, we hear no- thing at all equal to the account given of some of the ancients. The elder Cato, we are told, warmed good principles with “a “ pretty considerable” quantity of good Wine; and he allowed his slaves, during the Saturnalia, four bottles of Wine per diem. What sort of a figure would a royal footman eut at a rout after such a modicum! But Cicero’s son exceeded all others: sv much so that he got the name of Bicongius, because he was accustomed to drink two congii ata sitting ; but as congii are not in the last authorized measures, it may be neces- sary to inform the reader that two congii are seven quarts or eight bottles! Pliny and others abound in grand examples, which 6 WINE-DRINKER’S prove we have degenerated at any rate in this respect ; for these convivials were neither sick nor sorry. Even Nero was only three times sick in fourteen years, a boast in which no crowned head of our times can join. We now come to the nobler effectsof Wine, in the invigorating of the mind, as well as the body; and of the former effect we have the highest authority. To begin with the poets, as the lex suprema, Martial says Regnat nocte calix, volvuntur biblia mane, Cum Pheebo Bacchus dividit imperium. All night I drink, and study hard all day: Bacchus and Phebus hold divided sway. Horace has done ample justice to Wine ; and even Homer, whose bearded busts we contemplate with such veneration, says The weary find new strength in generous Wines. This ,is a poetical license which was sure to be imitated; and doubtless, upon this principle of expanding the imagination, so early as 1874, old Geoffrey Chaucer had allowed hima pitcher of Wine aday. Rare Ben Jonson, in after times, had the third of a@ pipe annually; and, says Mr. Wadd, “a MANUAL. F “certain share of this invigorating aliment “has been the portion of Laureates down to “the present day; probably to aid the inspi- “ration of their birth-day odes and epithala- “ce mia.” Nor are the poets the only eulogists of Wine. Some of the genteel names in history are to be found in the list. We find Mr. Burke furnishing reasons why the rich and great should have their share of Wine. He says, they are among the unhappy; they -feel personal pain and domestic sorrow; they pay their full contingent to the contri- butions levied on mortality in these matters ; therefore they require this sovereign balm... - “Some charitable dole” says he “ is want- “ing to these, our often very unhappy “ brethren, to fill the gloomy void that “reigns in minds which have nothing on “earth to hope or fear; something to “relieve the killing languor and over- “laboured lassitude of those who have “nothing to do.” It is rather out of date, but as we are talking of statesmen, let us hear an argument held by the learned Sir Thomas More. Sir Thomas was sent by Henry VIII as ambassador to a foreign 8 WINE DRINKER’S court. The morning* he was to have his audience, knowing the virtue of Wine, he ordered his servant to bring him a good large glass of sack; and having drank that, called for another. The servant, with offi- cious ignorance, would have dissuaded him - from it, but in vain; the ambassador drank off a second, and demanded a third, which helikewise drank off, insisting on a fourth; he was over-persuaded by his servant to let it alone; so he went to his audience. But when he returned home, he called for his * Wine in the morning is rather a ticklish ven- ture with some folk. That mad wag, Tom Browne, says— Wine in a morning Makes us frolic and gay, That like eagles we soar In the pride of the day; Gouty sots of the night Only find a decay. Tis the sun ripes the grape, And to drinking gives light ; We imitate him, When at noon we're at height : They steal wine who take it When he’s out of sight. Boys, fill all the glasses, Fill them up now he shines : The higher he rises, ’ The more he refines, For wine and wit fall As their maker declines. MANUAL. : 9 servant, and threatened him with his cane. “You rogue,” said he, “what mischief “have you: done me! I spoke so to the “« Emperor on the inspiration of those three “ first glasses that I drank, that he told me “T was fit to govern three parts of the “world. Now, youdog! if I had drank “ the fourth glass, I had been fit to govern “all the world.” After this brilliant ex- ample, we recommend all the premiers of Europe to drink Wine ad libitum. We should like to know how many glasses Bonaparte drank, or rather, how many he found it necessary to drink before he re- solved on the domination of Europe. The French, who are, in truth, a very soher people, have a proverb :— Quil faut, 4 chaque mois, S’énivrer au moins une fois. which some, on this side of the water have improved into an excuse for getting drunk every day in the week, for fear the specified day should be missed. It would, however, startle some of our sober readers, to find this made a question of grave argument: yet “ whether it is not healthful to be drunk 10 WINE-DRINKER’S “once a month,” is treated on by Dr. Carr in his letters to D’Quincy. A French author writes too, to the following effect :— Drink my dear friends and deeply too, Ages of health you have before you. Wine as a remedy or medicine often gives rise to ludicrous associations. “Thus,” says Mr. Wadd, (ina pleasant article in Brande’s Journal, No. VIII)“ we find particular Wines recommended by particular doctors, having a fashionable run as specifics:—at one time, all the gouty people were drinking Madeira, and many a man persuaded him- self he had a flying gout, for the sake of the remedy. Somebody, however, found out that Madeira contained acid, and straight the cellars were rummaged for old Sherry; and Sherry, and nothing but Sherry, could or would the Podagres drink. Dr. Rey- nolds, who lived and practised very much with the higher orders, had a predilection for that noble and expensive comforter Hock! which short word, from his lips, has often made the Doctor's physic as costly as the Doctor’s fee. In short, Wine has been recommended by the highest medical MANUAL. ll authorities as alleviating the infirmities of old age; probably on the authority of the Greek physician, who recommended it to Alexander as the pure blood of the earth. After such authority, need we wonder at the penchant which the sick poor feel for Wine, even when labouring under the simoom of a fever?” The proper guantum of wine, however, yet remains undecided. Thus, drunkenness pre- vails to a much greater extent in northern than in southern latitudes. The nature of the climate renders this inevitable, and gives to the human frame its capabilities of with- standing diquor: hence, a quantity which scarcely ruffles the frozen current of a Nor- wegian’s blood, would scatter madness and fever into the brain of the Hindoo. In speaking of this subject, it is always to be remembered that a person is not to be con- sidered a drunkard because he consumes a certain quantity of liquor ; but because what he does consume produces certain effects upon his system. The Russian, therefore, may take six glasses a day, and be as temperate as the Italian who takes four, or the Indian who takes two. But even when this is 12 WINE-DRINKER’S acceded to, the balance of sobriety will be found in the favour of the south : the inha- bitants there not only drink less, but are, bond fide, more seldom intoxicated than others; those who have contrasted London and Paris, may easily verify this fact: and those who have done the same to the city of Moscow*and Rome, can bear still stronger testimony. Who ever heard of an En- glishman sipping eaw sucrée, and treating his friends with a glass of lemonade? yet such things are common in France. To bring the argument down to our own times, before we censure the Romans for their potent draughts, or discredit their drinking prodigies, we should remember the * According to Dr. Granville, who, in his re- cently published Travels, is very minute in every point which relates to eating and drinking in Rus- sia, Champagne is drunk in great profusion at all the t entertainments in St. Petersburgh. In the Doctor's account of a Russian wedding, he des- cribes the company as walking in procession to the bed-chamber of the bride and bridegroom, each visitor quafiing a goblet of Champagne to the health of the parties, kissing the bride’s hands, who returns the salutation on the cheek, and embracing, a la francaise, the cheeks of the bridegroom. MANUAL. 13 feats of which Cesar speaks, as transfixing three soldiers through their shields, with javelins, &c. Wine, drunk in large quanti- ties, doubtless, flew through their brawny and sinewy arms, and fitted them for such exploits, which throw into the shade all the glory of modern cuirassiers, or the gigantic men of “ the Guards.” The belief that wine was the only inebri- ating liquor known to antiquity, is, how- ever, erroneous. Tacitus mentions ale or beer as common among the Germans ;—the Egyptians swigged malt liquor in the Delta ; —a kind of Bell’s beer deluged the middle ages ; the interior of Africa was ever famous for brewing ;—our Saxon ancestors were often drowned in mead ;—the worshippers of Odin were drunkards of the first water, whence the songs of the Scandinavian Sealds, and the fuddled futurity of Valhalla; ardent spirits were quaffed by the Arabians many centuries ago, and from time imme- morial arrack has been manufactured in the island of Java, and the continent of Hin- dostan. It must, nevertheless, be admitted, that ' almost every country in which the vine is ° 14 . WINE-DRINKER’S indigenous, has boasted of some individual, or native deity, to whom the honor of the invention of Wine has been attributed.— Among a number of fictions, the following is, at least, amusing. Jem-sheed, the founder of Persepolis, is by Persian writers said to have been the first who invented Wine. He was immoderately fond of grapes, and, de- siring to preserve some, they were placed for this purpose in a large vessel, and lodged in a vault for future use. When the vessel was opened, the grapes had fermented ; and their juice, in this state, was so acid, that the king believed it must be poisonous. He had some vessels filled with it : “poison” was written upon each, and they were placed in hisroom. It happened that one of his favor- ite ladies was affected with a nervous head- ache, and the pain distracted her so much, that she desired death. Observing a vessel with “poison” written on it, she took it, and swallowed its contents. The Wine, for such it had become, overpowered the lady, who fell into a sound sleep, and awoke much refreshed. Delighted with the remedy, she repeated the dose so often, that the mo- narch’s poison was all drank! He soon MANUAL. 15 discovered this, and forced the lady to con- ’ fess what she had done. A quantity of Wine was made; and Jem-sheed, and all his court, drank of the new beverage ;— which, from the circumstance that led to its discovery, is this day known in Persia by the name of Zeher-e-Kooshon, the de- lightful poison ! Only let the Wine-drinker, be he a three- glass, or three-bottle man, think of this de- lightful apologue, and we venture to predict that his ecstatic pleasure will be enhanced, and his illusion brightened by the glorious recollection. WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. From the pleasures of wine-drinking among our ancestors, we pass to the vine- yards of the ancients, and the processes used by them in the preparation of their Wines; and it is curious to observe in how few circumstances their most approved sys- tem differed from that of the moderns. The varieties of their Wines were considerable, 16 WINE-DRINKER’S and attempts have been made to point out the affinities of their to our modern varieties ; but when we consider the changes which soil and culture produce in the vine, even in a few years, it would be absurd to ima- gine, that after a lapse of two thousand years, we should be able to assign the exact place, in a modern botanical arrangement, to the varieties that adorned the Massic or Surrentine hills. The variety which they most esteemed appears to have been the Arimean, which produced a small grape, which is described as surpassing all others in richness and flavor. The most remark- able fact connected with the vineyards of the ancients, is their productiveness; the Roman jugerum, which was less than an English acre, being computed to yield fifty- four hogsheads of Wine ; whereas, the best vineyards in the Lyonnais, the most produc- tive in France, afford little more than one fifth of this quantity. This superiority, however, in a great degree, arose, according to Columella, from the ancients allowing their vines to grow to a degree of luxuriance quite incompatible with the rules of good WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. 17 ‘husbandry, and forcing them to bear, till, in the end, they became exhausted, and lost all their original excellence. Tattle is known respecting the modes of manufacturing some of the most celebrated of the ancient wines. The general processes did not perhaps differ much from those at present in use. The fruit was collected, bruised by the feet, and subjected to pres- sure, as now practised.* Both Greeks and Romans appear to have frequently concen- trated their wines, either by spontaneous evaporation, or by boiling. For this pur- pose, the wine was sometimes introduced into bladders or large jars, and exposed in the chimney to the heat of fire, or in the upper parts.of the house to the heat of the sun. Sometimes the fruit was converted into raisins by drying, and the wine pre- pared from such fruit was denominated pas- sum. At other times, the must was reduced by boiling to one-half. This formed the * Of this we have scriptural testimony: ‘ Where- fore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy gar- ments like him that treadeth in the wine-vat ?”— “TI have trodden the wine-press alone.’—Isaiah, chap. lxiii. v. 2, 3. c 18 WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. vinum defructum: occasionally even to one’ third, when it was termed sapa. By one, or perhaps more, of these methods, the wines were reduced to the state of syrup, or in some instances even to dryness, and were capable of being preserved a very long time. Thus, Aristotle states, that the Arcadian wines required to be diluted with water be- fore they were drunk, as indeed was the case with most of the ancient wines; and Pliny speaks of wines as thick as honey, which it was necessary to dissolve in warm water, and filter through linen before they were used. These remarks apply chiefly to very old wines.* Thus, that compared to honey had been made two hundred years; and wines of a hundred years old and up- * The passion for old wine has been carried to a very ridiculous excess among the moderns. At Bremen there is a wine cellar, called the Store, where five hogsheads of Rhenish wine have been reserved since the year 1625, or 204 years. These five hogsheads cost 1200 francs, or £50. Had this sum Seen put out to compound interest, each hogshead would now be worth above a thou- sand millions of money: a bottle of this precious wine would cost 21,799,480 francs, or about £908,311; and a single wine-glass, 2,723,808 francs, or about £113,492! WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. 19 wards seem not to have been uncommon among the luxurious citizens of ancient Rome. Indeed, seven years was the short- est period, according to Aristotle and Galen, for keeping wine before it was fit for drinking. The ancients, too, were as fond of giving their wines an artificial flavor, as are the moderns; and for this purpose, the former introduced pitch, turpentine,* and different herbs, into the must; a practice still followed by the modern Greeks. Such are a few of the facts known re- specting the manufacture of celebrated an- cient wines; which, as Chaptal justly re- marks, appear in general to have rather deserved the name of extracts, or syrups, than wines. They must have been sweet, and little fermented, and consequently have contained a very small portion of alcohol. The earliest of the Greek wines was the Maronean, a sweet black wine, which Ho- mer describes as “rich, unadulterate, and fit drink for the gods,” and as so potent, that it was usually mixed with twenty mea- * Probably with the Chio turpentine, now used in medicine, and to be purchased at the druggists. c2 20 WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. sures of water. Nearly of equal antiquity was the Pramnian, a strong, hard, astrin- gent, red wine, from the island of Icarus. It may be compared to our Port wine; like which; also, it was often used medicinally, and on that account was sometimes called pharmacites. The best'Greek wines, how- ever, and which surpassed those of all other nations, were the sweet luscious wines, the products of the Ionian and the Egean seas ; particularly Lesbos, Chios, and Thasos. They were wines ofa pale amber color, with much odour, and ahigh flavor. The Phanean, which is extolled by Virgil, as the “king of wines,” was from Chios. The lighter wines were the Medean, the Argitis, and the Omphacites: but the Greeks were also familiar with the African and Asiatic wines, several of which were in high reputation. According to Florentinus, some of the Bi- thynian wines, but especially that procured from a species of grape called Mersites, were of the choicest quality: the wines of Byblos, in Phenicia, on the other hand, vied in fragrancy with the Lesbian ; and if we may confide in the report of Athenzus, the white wines of Mareotis and Tenia, in Lower WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. 21 Egypt, were of almost unrivalled excellence. The former, which was sometimes called Alexandrian, from the neighbouring tervi- tory, was a light, sweetish, white wine, with a delicate perfume, of easy digestion, and not apt to affect the head; though the allu- sion of Horace to its influence on the mind of Cleopatra, would seem to imply that it had not always preserved its innocuous quality. The wine of Merie, however, which was produced at the feast given by Cesar to that voluptuous female, would ap- pear to have been in still higher estimation, and to have borne some resemblance to the Falernian. The Teniotic, on the other hand which derived its name from the nar- _row slip of land where it grew, was a grey or greenish wine, of a greater consistence, and more luscious taste than the Mareotic, but accompanied with some degree of as- triagency, and a rich aromatic odour. The wine of Antylla, also the produce of the vi- einity of Alexandria, was the only remain- ing growth from among the numerous vine- yards ‘which adorned the banks of the Nile, that attained any degree of celebrity. The wines of ancient Italy were even 22 WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. more celebrated than those of Greece. The choicest of the Roman wines were the Mas- sic and Falernian.. “ No wine,” says Dr. Henderson, “ has ever acquired such exten- sive celebrity as the Falernian; or more truly merited the name of“ immortal,” which Martial has conferred upon it. At least, of all ancient wines, it is the one most gene- rally known in modern times. But although the name is thus familiar to every one, scarcely any attempt has been made to de- termine the exact nature and properties of the liquor ; and little more is understood concerning it, than that the ancients valued it highly, kept it until it became very old, and produced it only when they wished to regale their dearest friends. All writers, however, agree in describing the Falernian wine as very strong and durable, and rough in its recent state ;—that it could not be drunk with pleasure, but required to be kept a great number of years before it was suffi- ciently mellow. Horace even terms it a “fiery” wine, and calls for water from the spring to moderate its strength; and Per- sius applies to it the epithet “indomitum,” probably in allusion to its heady quality. — WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. 23 From Galen’s account, it appears to have been in condition only from the tenth to the twentieth year; and afterwards it was apt to contract an unpleasant bitterness; yet we may suppose that, when of a good vin- tage, and especially when procured in glass bottles, it would keep much longer, without having its favor impaired. Horace, who was 2 lover of old wine, proposes, in a well- known ode, to broach an amphora which was coeval with himself, and which, there- fore, probably, was not less than thirty-six years old. As he bestows the highest com- mendation on this sample, ascribing to it all the virtues of the choicest vintage, and pronouncing it truly worthy to be produced on so happy a day, we must believe it to have been really of excellent quality. In general, however, it probably suffered more or less from the mode in which it was kept; and those whose taste was not perverted by their rage for high-dried wines, preferred it in its middle state.” Among our present wines, Dr. Henderson has no hesitation in fixing upon those of Xeres and Madeira, as the two to which the Falernian offers the most distinct features 24 WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. of resemblance. Both are straw-colored wines, assuming a deeper tint from age, or from particular circumstances in the quality, or management, of the vintage. Both of them present the several varieties of dry, stout, and light. Both of them are exceed- ingly strong and durable wines; being, when new, very rough, harsh, and. fiery, and re- quiring to be kept about the same length of time as the Falernian, before they attain a due degree of mellowness. Of the two, how- ever, the more palpable dryness and bitter sweet flavor of Sherry might incline us to decide, that it approached most nearly to the wine under consideration; and it is worthy of remark, that the same difference in the produce of the fermentation is ob- servable in the Xeres vintages,as that which Galen has noticed with respect to the Faler- nian ; it being impossible always to predict with certainty, whether the result will be a dry wine, or a sweetish wine, resembling Paxarite. But, on the other hand, the soil of Madeira is more analogous to that of the Campagna Felice; and thence we may con- clude, that the flavor and aroma of its wines are similar. Sicily, which is also a volcanic WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. 25 country, supplies several growths which an inexperienced judge would very readily mis- take for those of the former island. Another point of coincidence is deserving of notice : both Xeres and Madeira wines are, as is well known, infinitely improved by being trans- ported to a warm climate; and latterly it has become a common practice, among the dealers in the island, to force the Madeira wines by a process which is alsolutely iden- tical with the ancient operation of the fu- - marium. If Madeira, or Sherry, but parti- . cularly the latter, were kept in earthern jars until it was reduced to the consistence of honey, there cau be little doubt that the taste would become so intensely bitter, as to be “ intolerable,” an epithet applied by Cicero to Falernian. Among the other wines of the Roman territory, may be noticed the Sabinum, the Nonuntanum, (which resembled Claret) Ve- nafranum, the wine of Spoletum, distin- guished by its bright golden color, the wines of Mamostinum, in Sicily, the Pollium of Syracuse, the growths of Cesina, Liguria, and the territory of Verona; the Gallic wines of Dauphiny, Marseilles, and Nar- 26 WINES OF THE ANCIENTS. bonne; with those obtained from the violet- scented grape of Vienna, and the rich Mus- cat of Languedoc. From the valuable source already quoted, we could likewise add many curious facts with respect to the consump- tion of wine at Rome, the dilution of ancient wines, and the method of iceing the juice of the grape, employed by the epicures of the eternal city. On the use of wine at the banquets of the Greeks and Romans, much amusing information might also be quoted. The extent to which they carried the plea- sures of the table, their self-indulgence and ostentation, devoid of hospitality, will not, however, enhance the veneration with which we are accustomed to consider these won- derful people. FRENCH WINES. THE classification of wines is a task of no trifling difficulty ; and, accordingly, va- rious methods have been adopted to ensure its accuracy. M. Jullien, the editor of the Revue Encyclopédique, at Paris, has at- tempted to arrange wines in genera, or or- ders, determined by the qualities of sweet- ness, dryness, body, and color; and species, by the comparative excellence of their qualities. Dr. Henderson, however, prefers the division of wine into two principal classes, viz. Rep and WHITE, which may be again separated into two orders, Dry and SWEET; while the genera are made to depend on the distinctive characters derived from soil and climate, the species on parti- cular localities, and the varieties on the re- spective qualities of the different growths. 28 FRENCH WINES. According to the latter arrangement, we shall attempt an outline history of the dif- ferent modern wines of Europe, beginning with those of FRANCE. We are told by Posidonius and Strabo, that the vine was partially cultivated in the south of Gaul; yet it does not appear that its culture was general, even at the time of Columella, who wrote in the first century after Christ. It nevertheless afterwards became so; and even Normandy, Picardy, and Brittany, provinces in which the vine, as in England, has yielded to crops more suitable to the climate, produced their vines; but they were sour and harsh, in conse- quence of the cold winds and fogs to which these countries are exposed. In the wine districts of France, however, every advan- tage which can be desired for the perfection of the vine, is found: for example, every species of strata that is congenial, much di- versity of surface, and consequently the most favorable exposures, and a sufficient range of temperature to occasion the great- est variety in the character of the grapes. The French, therefore, by the improveraent of these gifts of nature, at present deservedly FRENCH WINES. 29 rank as the first wine makers in the world. According to Count Chaptal’s calculations, in the year 1808, the land in France occu- pied by vines amounted to 1,639,939 hec- tares, or 8,988,974 acres. The average production of wine was 35,358,890 hecto- litres, or 934,184,500 gallons, and the value of the whole 718,941,675 francs, or upwards of twenty-eight millions sterling.* The wines of Champagne, of Burgundy, Dauphiny, and Bordelais, are decidedly the best which France now supplies; to which may be added those of Languedoc and Roussillon. — Y * In tracing the history of French wines, we find that. many vineyards, which have little or no repute, were in former times renowned for the ex- cellence of their growths; while those which of late years have maintained the greatest celebrity, were then unknown or almost unnoticed. Thus, the wines of Orleans and the Isle of France were at one time in greater estimation than those of Bur- gundy and Champagne; and even Mantes, which ison the borders of Ni ormandy, was famed for the produce of its wines. These changes are attributed chiefly to transfers of property, particularly from the church to the laity,