The Vine and its Fruit

The Vine and its Fruit

THE » VINE AND ITS FRUIT, - MORE ESPECIALLY IN RELATION TO SS: o a) THE PRODUCTIDN OF WINE: EMBRACING an Pistorical and Descriptive Account of the Grape, ITS CULTURE AND TREATMENT IN ALL COUNTRIES, ANCIENT AND MODERN.. DRAWN FROM THE BEST AUTHORITIES, AND INCORPORATING A BRIEF DISCOURSE ON WINE. maine By JAMES Lf DENMAN. “I pr’ythee take the cork out of thy mouth, That I may drink thy tidings.’—As You Like It. LONDON: LONGMAN, GREEN, LONGMAN, ROBERTS, & GREEN. MDCCCLXIV. Ave, 13,/929 RPrOP D377] REORF ‘Then took a goatekin fill’d with precious wine, Mellifiuous, undecaying, and divine! The gift of Maron of Evantheus’ line, Which, now some ages from his race conceal’d, The hoary sire in gratitude reveal’d. Such was the wine,—to quench whose fervent steam, , Scarce twenty measures from the living stream To cool one cup sufficed: the goblet crown’d Breath’d aromatic fragrancies around.’ OpyssEy, b. ix. LONDON PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO. * PHS owas ~ “ "Brey oe 12 Sb PREFATORY NOTE. —o— It is with feelings of great satisfaction that I presume to invite public notice to this new and enlarged edition of A Brief Discourse on Wine. The gratifying recep- tion accorded to that little volume on its publication, and the flattering notice bestowed on it by a consider- able portion of the public press, induced a desire on my part to render the work more perfect and complete. The additional information now supplied may serve to extend its utility, and possess sufficient novelty and interest to make it worthy of attention and perusal. It will, doubtless, be readily perceived that the task was one involving both time and patient labour; and as the pressure of business left me but little leisure for research, I gladly availed myself of the willing aid of a valued relative, to whose zealous co-operation most of “the new matter contained in these pages is due. It is earnestly hoped that this humble effort at improvement will meet with renewed indulgence and favour ; and that the Vime, now replanted and extended, may put forth its blossoms afresh, and its Fruit prove sound, abundant, and refreshing. J. L. DENMAN. Lonpon: December 1863. INTRODUCTION. —— Tux policy of the British Government having by recent legislation been fairly directed towards measures tending to promote an increased consumption of foreign wines in this kingdom, a new era is opening for the daily use and enjoyment by all classes of that refreshing beverage. For generations past, high and prohibitive fiscal duties had served to exclude the lighter wines of Europe, and the people being thus limited to the knowledge of a few leading and expensive sorts, their taste and judgment were much contracted, if not perverted. Yet no pro- duction of the soil, perhaps, demands more uniform care and forethought than the grape, to make it yield in full perfection. Nor should this be matter of doubt or surprise when the many delicate circumstances which affect the health of the vine and the quality of the fruit are fairly considered. A single year of slovenly cultiva- tion, an injudicious mode of training or pruning, an untimely season of frost, or rain, or blight, may de- teriorate for years the properties of any particular growth. Carelessness, too, in harvesting the fruit, negligence in the manipulations and subsequent process, imperfect fermentation, unskilful treatment of the must, vi INTRODUCTION. unclean casks or inadequate storeage, to say nothing of the frequent poverty and ignorance of the farmers them- selves,—all tend to modify the strength and virtues of the product, and so multiply the sources of uncertainty, that uniform quality is not attainable even by cultivators of the highest repute. To herald the emancipation of hilarious Bacchus from fiscal shackles of more than a century and a half’s duration, neither senatorial eloquence nor sanguine an- ticipations were wanting, and England’s parliament responded with earnest sympathy and applause. It could not be gainsaid, that the substitution of a cheap and wholesome beverage would do more to wean an industrial people from confirmed habits of inebriety than all the custom-house restrictions or Maine liquor laws in the world. The expansion thus wisely inaugu- rated for the increase of commercial activity in wines, will doubtless promote the importation of vintages hitherto unavailable or unknown in this country; and as sound and timely suggestions in aid of a true appre- ciation and judicious selection for private use may be appropriate and serviceable at such a juncture, this slight attempt to elucidatesuccinctly and correctly some of the chief points connected with a subject of so much interest is respectfully proffered to an indulgent public. Lonpon: January 1861. CONTENTS. SECTION I. EARLY ORIGIN AND DESCRIPTION OF THE VINE. Invention of Wine —Career of Bacchus — The Vine and its numerous Varieties ; its distinctive Characteristics — Influence of the Soil — Fer- tility of the Vine —~ English Vineyards — Area of Vine Culture—Im- portance of Solar Heat — Longevity of the Vine — Modes of Planting, Pruning, and Training — Chemical Analysis of Grape-juice — Theory of Fermentation — Annual Product of European Vintages — Great Utility of the Vine — Rural Superstitions —The Grape Cure; its Reputation in Germany — Hospitaliers for Patients — Vine Maladies and Enemies — The Grape Blight; its destructive Course . PacE l SECTION II. THE VINTAGES OF THE ANTIENTS. Judicious Culture of the Vine in early Times— Pagan Superstitions — Occult Doctrines — Supposed Influence of the Moon on Vegetation — Mago of Carthage — His Instructions for making Wine — Use of the Fumarium—<Ancient Modes of clarifying, mellowing, and strengthening Wines — Perverted Taste and singular Expedients— Roman Vintages —Cato’s Farm Rules—A Banquet with Lucullus; his luxurious Habits— Wines of Greece — Their superlative Quality — Athenian Standard of vinous Merit . 6 oe - « « 28 SECTION III. AMBROSIAL NECTAR OF THE ANTIENTS: THEIR GORGEOUS CUPS AND FESTAL CUSTOMS. Fragrance of Lesbian and Saprian Wines; their unrivalled Quality —Primitive Wine-vessels — Taste and Skill of Greek Artists— Murrhine Vases— Beauty of the Material — Grecian Conviviality ; its Moderation — Diluted and iced Liquors — Seneca’s Lament on the Use of Snow- water ; a Passion with modern Italians — Banquets in heroic Times — Simple Fare of the Trojan Heroes — Their own Herdsmen and Cooks — Grecian: Epicurean and Festal Rules — Source of modern Social Forms — Magnificent Dinner-couches — Fertility of the Campania — Celebrity of Falernian Wine — Unrivalled for Excellence. . 44 see vu CONTENTS. SECTION IV. MODERN WINES: THEIR CHARACTER AND QUALITIES. The Nature of Modern’ Wines — Influence of Site and Soil— True vinous Flavour and distinctive Properties — Alcoholic Strength of Fo- reign Wines — The Vine-crop precarious — England’s last Effort — Im- ports from France — Early fiscal Imposts — Assize of French Wines — Royal Restriction— Wine of Tyre — Legislative Regulations — Hospi- tality of the ancient Nobility—- Abundance and variety of Foreign Wines — London in the Olden Time— Civic Governance — Pains and Penalties —Hippocras and Clarry — Medicated Liqueurs — Sack first imported —Old Age attainable withont any Sickness by the use of Wine— Popular Passion for Sack — Falstaff’s Eulogium on its Properties — Bottled Wines prohibited — Falling off in the Consumption — First In- troduction of ardent Spirit; its rapid Progress — Popular Clamour against Trade with France — Excessive Wine-duties — English Sobriety imperilled — Anglo-Saxon Intemperance — Alcohol both nutritious and restorative — Physiological Effecta of Aleohol— Total Abstention inju- rious —Social Influence of Wine; its sanitary Properties; a Remedy for nervous Irritability—Counter Influences . . . Paes 59 SECTION V. OF THE WINES OF PORTUGAL. The Throne of Pomona — Salubrity of the Climate — Blind adhesion to Custom — Preparations for the Vintage — Process of Manufacture — The Douro District — Imperfect Produce — The Methuen Treaty — English dislike of Port— Effect of differential Duties — First Imports pure and unmixed — Factors and Agents — Admixture of Aguardiente — British Commissioners’ official Report — Reduced Quality and low Prices; their Effects — Oporto Wine Company established ; its baneful Policy — Inequitable Trade System — The English Consul’s Testimony — Official Wine-conners — Oppressive Export Regulations — Reform required — Portugal white Wines—The GrapeMalady . . 97 SECTION VI. THE WINES OF SPAIN. Its auspicious Climate and superior Vintages — Scanty Means of Transit and Storeage—'The Mountains of Granada — Congeniality of the Soil — Amontillado Sherry ; its high Quality and capricious Nature — Solera Wines — Vineyards of Catalonia and Arragon — Beni Carlos — Manzanares, Paxerete, Manzanilla, Vino Tinto— Mountain Water- Reservoirs — The Mountains round Malaga — Beauty and Fertility of the Axarquia — Malaga Grapes and Muscatel Raisins—The Isles of Majorca and Minorca —The Oidium and its Effects . . . 118 CONTENTS. ix SECTION VII. THE WINES OF FRANCE. The Vine-grounds of France — Diversity of Soil and Temperature — Introduction of the Vine— Its ready Adaptation and early Fecun- dity —Its Cultivation prohibited by the Romans; the Plants every- where uprooted—Restoration of the Privilege — Vinous Purity of French Wines — Their cheerful Properties — Varieties multifarious — Their extensive Consumption — English Aversion to the Wines of Portugal — Political Cabals against novel Imports — French Climate and Soil con- genial — Increase of Cultivation —Modes of Tillage and Propagation — The Vintage Season — Claret ; its long-established Celebrity — The ‘Mineral Waters’ of Carbonnieux — Ottoman Rigour cunningly eluded — Bordeaux in the Days of Louis XIV.— Medical Virtues of its Wines — Burgundy; superiority of its vinous Products — Hermitage —The Recluse of Tain— Origin of the Vineyard — Sweet Wines of Roussillon —Masdeu— The Wines of Champagne; Care in Manufacture — Their capricious Nature — Loss from Breakage — Their early Fame — Tribute from Royalty — Vins de Liqueur — Wines of Corsica — The several Wine-regions of France — The Beaujolais— The Bordelais — Annual Value of the French Vintage —The Grape Malady Pac 129 SECTION VIII. THE WINES OF GERMANY AND SWITZERLAND. German Aspirations for early Vigneron Fame — Mildness of Climate —Careful Tillage—The Heidelberg Tun — Rhenish Wines; their Quality and Character — The Rheingau — Johannisberger — Steinberg — Marcobrunner — Hochheimer — Riidesheimer — Sparkling Wines of Scharzhofberg and Josephshofer — Asmannhausen — Liebfrauenmilch— Bavarian Stein Wine— The Vine in Switzerland — Chiavenna Wine of the Grisons — Malvasia of Sierre — White Wine of Bex— The Vin @ Enfer of Salgetach — Martigny —Schaffhausen—The ‘ Wine of Blood’ — Canton of Vaud — Red Wine of Berne — The Valteline . 167 SECTION IX. THE WINES OF ITALY, SARDINIA, AND SICILY. Voluntary Homage to Bacchus— Benignity and Fertility of the Climate — Luxuriant Beauty of the Vegetation — Ignorance and Indo- lence of the Peasantry — Capabilities of the Soil — Tuscany ; its great Beauty; is the Land of the Vine— Ardour of the People — Bacchus and Ariadne on divine Circuit— His Tribunal at Florence — Bacco in Toscana — His Inebriety and its Effects— Noble Vintners — Italian Modes of Training — High System of Calabria — Wines of the Papal x CONTENTS, States — Wines of Savoy and Piedmont; their numerous Vineyards — Kingdom of Naples— Lacryma Christi — Profusion of the Sardinian Plantations — Wretched System of Culture — Natural Advantages neglected — Island of Sicily — Abundance neutralized by bad Hus- bandry — Prolific Vineyards of Mount tna — Marsala Wine — Increase of Exports— Elba — The Grape Distemper . . Pace 178 SECTION X. THE WINES OF HUNGARY, AUSTRIA, AND THE CRIMEA. Excellence of the Vintages — Mr. Dunlop’s official Report on Hunga- rian Produce — Genial Soil and Climate — Varied vinous Character and Properties — Phosphorus a constant Ingredient—The Tokay Vineyard — Harvest Operations — Process of Manufacture The Wines pure and natural— Liqueur and Table Sorts — District of Arad — Regal Munificence — M. de Szémere — His Testimony and Estimates — Enor- mous rocky Cellars — Social Habits — Commissioner Douglas’ official Report — The Hungarians a primitive People—A Vintage Jubilee — The Banat; its Aspects and Products — Medicated Liqueurs— Austrian Produce — Dessert Wines.of Dalmatia— The Grape Blight — The Crimea — Origin of its Vineyards — Successful Cultivation . . 195 SECTION XI. THE WINES OF SOUTH AFRICA. The ancient Ambrosial Vintages extinct— Lingering Culture in Morocco and Algiers— The Vine first planted at the Cape by the Dutch —Favourable Climate and Soil—tIts magnificent Vegetation — The Vineyards of Stellenbosh, Drakenstein, and Paarl — Dutch Avarice — Slovenly Cultivation and Manufacture — Quality of the Vintage — In- creasing Consumption — Improved Character — Future Prospects — Island of Madagascar ; its fertile and picturesque Scenery — The People ignorant and superstitious — Hostile to European Civilization . 217 SECTION XII. THE WINES OF MADEIRA AND THE CANARY ISLANDS. Madeira first colonized — Benignity of the Climate—JIts Volcanic Soils— System of High Training —Malmsey — Sercial New Wines harsh and fervent — Methods for Amelioration — Artificial Expedients — The Oidium — Virulence of the Attack — Remedies unavailing — Estimated Loss — Vine Culture abandoned —The Vineyards replaced by Sugar Plantations — Renewed Efforts to restore the Grape — The Canary Islands — Teneriffe—The Azores — Howell’s merry Induction 227 oe Oo ae CONTENTS. xi SECTION XIII. THE WINES OF GREECE AND THE WESTERN ARCHIPELAGO. Continental Greece; its Aspect, Climate, and Soil— Wines of an- cient Greece—Its modern Produce — Origin of Pruning — Wines of Thessaly — Athenian Vintage— The Morea; its Malmsey Wine — The Islands of the Archipelago — Their ancient Fame — Their Salubrity and Fertility — Cyprus; its large and luscious Grapes; its delicious Wines — Candia; Abundance and Quality of the Vintage— Candian Wine-bibbers —Chian Wine — Preference of Homer—The Mastica Plant ; its healing Powers — Samos — Cos, Naxos, and the minor Isles — Valleys of Melanés and Potamia — Isle of Santorin ; its Vicissitudes ; its physical Attributes; its external Appearance ; its singular Origin —Sublime volcanic Phenomena ; their powerful Effects — Ancient Cal- liste; peopled by Cadmus; Dominion of Membliares— The second Colony — Ascendency of Theras, their Leader — Its modern Name — Its majestic Scenery —Its external Appearance — A dangerous Path — Prolific Vineyards — Method of Training at Santorin — Its vinous Products — Vin Santo — Wine of Bacchus — Wine of Night — Grecian Malmseys — The Ionian Islands — Their productive Character — The Currant Vine — Difficult of Culture .. . : PAGE 237 SECTION XIV. THE WINES OF PERSIA, ARABIA, AND THE HOLY LAND. Persia the native Seat of the Vine — Enormous size and richness of the Grape— Origin of Wine—Imperial Grape of Tauris — Wine of Shiraz — Principal Vine-districts — Oriental Intemperance — Its bane- ful Effects — Culture of the Vine in Arabia — The Patriarchal Age — A royal Problem — Influence of Wine — Power of Kings — Influence of Women —Triumph of Truth— The Grapes of Lebanon — Wine of Palestine— Nuptial Festivals among the Jews— Modern Cana and its Traditions . . . . . . . - 271 SECTION XV. THE WINES OF INDIA, CHINA, AND AUSTRALIA. Ancient Notions of Eastern Opulence— The Hindoo Bacchus — His peaceful Conquests and Apotheosis — Ungenial Soil and Climate — Asiatic Inebriety — Penalty for Drunkards—Chinese vinous’ Produce —A Preference for Animal Spirits — Invention of Wine —Prohibitory Vintage-duties—A Bacchanalian Revel— The Vine in the Eastern Archipelago — Java— Siam — Australia — New South Wales — Beech- worth Vineyards — Popular Predilection for their Culture — The Vine in South Australia — Successful Planting — Official Returns of the xii _ CONTENTS. Produce— Payneham — Fairford — Clarendon — Hazlehurst — Wattle- ville Drying-ground — Approved Species— Character and Quality of na- tive Growths — Progress in Australia Felix (Victoria) — Flemington — Gardiner’s Creek — Longfield — South Yarra — Brighton . paeu 285 SECTION XVI. THE WINES OF COLUMBIA. The wild Vines of Ohio — Early Culture in Philadelphia — Success of Swiss Settlers — Extended Planting — Mexico; early Introduction of the Vine — Cuba — American Champagne — South America — Vine- grounds of Mendoza — Destructive Earthquake—Its calamitous Inci- dents— Grapes of Peru and Chili— Their rich Flavour — Beauty of the Clusters — American Blight . : . . . 297 SECTION XVII. ON THE CHOICE AND PRESERVATION OF WINE. - Pure Wine grateful and invigorating — Correct Judgment a rare Faculty — Taste a true Criterion — Inherent Difficulties of Selection — Explanation of distinctive Terms — Influence of Fashion — Purity indispensable — Blending, when admissible— Power of vinous En- durance — Selection of Wines and Management of the Dinner-table — Vinous Preservation and Maturity — Vintage Characteristics — Cellar Management — Bottled Wines — Sensitive Nature of Wine — Preserva- tive Rules — Chemical Analyses — Wine regarded us a Medicine — Re- gimen of Hippocrates — Use in modern Practice— Tonic Virtues of Port —Malt Liquors depressing in certain Cases — Wine efficacious in Fevers —- Opinion of Professor Liebig — Homage of Science. 307 APPENDIX. MODERN WINES ANALYTICALLY CONSIDERED. Early Effects of the reformed Wine Duties — Novel Imports; their Character and Quality—Elementary Properties of Wine— Official Wine Survey — Analysis of the Exhibition Wines — Waning Taste for fervent Wines— Medical Objections to factitious Wines New Standard of Taste — Diminished Consumption of Port — Novel Theory on alcoholic Fermentation — Insect Scavengers — Particulars of the Government Commission: Mr. Bernard on the Wines of Spain and Portugal ; Mr. Ogilvie on the Produce of France; Mr. Douglas on German and Hungarian Wines; and Mr. Davies on Sicilian and Italian — Average Strength of the Wines sent to the International Exhibition — Alcoholic Meters—French ExciseLaw . . . «© «© +. « ~ 827 THE VINE AND ITS FRUIT, THEIR Culture and Produce in all Countries. ' —059400-—__ SECTION I. A ay Early Origin & Description of the Vine. | HE invention of wine, like the origin of “4 many other important arts, is enveloped in the obscurity of the remotest ages of the world; but in the history of ancient nations it has been commonly ascribed to those chiefs and heroes who contributed most to advance and civilize their respective coun- tries, and to whom divine honourswere often rendered in acknowledgment of the bene- . fits which they had conferred on mankind. Without dwelling on the fabulous tradi- tions handed down on the subject, it may be sufficient to observe, that the use of wine could not have remained long unknown to those portions of the globe where the vine freely grows. Bacchus, the son of Jupiter and Semele, after his training by the Nysean nymphs at their mountain dwelling in Arabia, or as others suppose on the banks of the Indus, is said to have traversed nearly the B 2 CAREER OF BACCHUS whole known world, introducing the culture of the grape, and diffusing refinement wherever he went. In old my- thologies he is stated to have revealed so many things useful to mankind, that he was universally accorded a distinguished place among the pagan gods. To him they attributed the invention of wine, the method of making honey, tilling the earth, commerce and navigation, with many other arts and social benefits. He was a great lawgiver, having conquered India and subdued the Egyptians, who honoured him as a deity under the name of Osiris; hence his history became allied to their traditions concerning that ancient ruler, and from this source the Greeks borrowed their notions of him. As he was the god of vintage, of wine, and of topers, he is usually depicted crowned with vine and ivy-leaves, with a thyrsus in his hand. The panther is sacred to him, because he went on his expedition covered with the skin of that animal. He often appears naked, and riding upon the shoulders of Pan, or in the arms of Silenus, who was his foster-father. He is said to have married Ariadne, when forsaken by Theseus at the isle of Naxos, in the Grecian Archipelago, which is still in repute for the excellence of its wines and fruits. The general characteristics of the vine are familiar to every one. The fruit, differing in flavour, form, and size, is mostly sweet, often luscious in taste; but there are species diminutive in shape, and of a harsh and disagreeable flavour. The grape also varies much in colour, from a rich violet to a jet black, or a white, green, or golden hue. This distinction resides wholly in the skin, the pulp of every kind, save one variety, having the same internal tint. Although the general qualities of the plant are the same in all countries, the THE VINE AND ITS VARIETIES. 3 fruit it produces is greatly dependent upon external influences. Colour and size, form and taste, aroma and product, vary in so remarkable a manner, as might ~ lead us to regard the vine as a peculiar gift of a bounteous and all-protecting Creator: “ Tender in shoot, but large of leaf and stem, Its purple fruit, delicious to the taste, Produces wine to cheer the heart of man, — To heal the sick, and to support the weak,— To comfort all!” Next to wheat, there seems to be no plant so universal. Its varieties are very numerous, and may be observed not only in grapes that abound in different parts of the earth, but even in those growing in the same country, and raised on the same spot. A like variance, indeed, , though less strongly marked, may be perceived in fruit of the same vine. Protect one cluster from too great exposure to the sun, and cover it with a bell of dark glass, or with oiled paper, and leave another exposed, and you will obtain a much higher-scented product in the former than in the latter. It is not strange, therefore, that the grapes which grow on the sunny side of Johan- nisberg, for instance, should be very superior, so far as flavour and fragrance are concerned, to those raised on the opposite side of the mountain, nor that, in general, a more piquant and stronger wine is produced in warm regions than in such as are cold or temperate. If we add to this that the peculiarity of soil, its constituents, the influx and drainage of water, the lightness or stiffness of the ground in which the roots spread, and further, that the dryness or humidity of the air, and the change or equality of temperature, exercise a sensible influence upon the plant and its fruit, a B2 4 ITS DISTINCTIVE CHARACTER general idea may be formed of the multiple character of the juice that constitutes the principal element in : this grateful product, upon the excellence and perfec- tion of which the goodness of the wine mainly depends. Nature has endowed the earth with a universal and almost inexhaustible power of raising the necessaries of life; but she has curtailed within precise and moderate limits the ready production of luxuries. It is a well- known physical fact, that although the vine is distributed over one-third of the globe, the wines of each locality bear a peculiar and distinctive character. When trans- planted from a southern to a northern latitude its quality soon becomes impaired, but it improves when carried to a warm climate; and no attempt hitherto made to transport a particular species to another ‘country has ever been attended with such a measure of success, as to reproduce in the new site precisely the same distinctive properties that signalized it in the old. Whatever care may be bestowed to select an identity of nutrition, aspect, and climate, the grape on removal loses its former special and peculiar attributes. Vines taken from France, Germany, and the Peninsula to the Cape and Australia, furnished wines totally different from their previous growth, and no European plant retains its identity when transferred to American ground. The wine of one and the same stock which gave Hock upon the Rhine, became Bucellas in Portu- gal, and Sercial in Madeira. The vine that supplies Port on the hills above the Douro, gives a totally different wine in the vicinity of the Tagus. The vine district of the Rheingau is but nine miles in length, by half as many broad. The wines of Burgundy and the Garonne take their names respectively from circum- INFLUENCE OF THE SOIL. 5 scribed spots; and so narrow and seemingly capricious are their several limits, that a ditch divides portions whose produce from time immemorial has been sought with avidity, from others that uniformly bring but one- fifth the price of its more favoured neighbour. The costly Clos Vougeot grows on a farm of eighty acres; that of Romanée Conti is but six and a half; and the famous Montrachet of the Cote d’Or is separated into three classes, of which one sells at one-third less than the best of the other two, and the second at one-half that of the first: yet these varying qualities are raised from spots of ground divided from each other only by a footpath ; they have the’ same aspect, and apparently the same soil, in which the same vine is planted, and managed precisely in the same way. Art and science have been exerted to extend the bounds thus prescribed by nature with results but little satisfactory, for the choicest wine of any known vineyard has never been successfully reproduced beyond it. The red wines of Portugal grown in the Alto Douro can no more be made in the adjoining provinces of the Minho or Beira, than the white wines of Spain could be practically imitated on the banks of the Rhine. This intractability may possibly be attributable in some measure to the peculiar nature of the substratum which the several roots happen to penetrate. Hence it is manifest, that it is not more owing to the species of plant, than it is to the character and quality of the soil and climate where the grape is grown, that wines are indebted for the pecu- liarities of flavour, fragrance, and general excellence. The vine is a hardy plant, and will grow so far north that it can do no more than blossom. It decreases in size with the decline of temperature when raised in 6 FERTILITY OF THE VINE. open grounds. The climate most congenial to its nature extends from the 35th to the 50th degree of latitude, and it is between these points that the most esteemed plantations, and the countries richest in wine, are placed. But wherever the grape will ripen, in any quarter of the globe, its juice can be fermented into a beverage that will bear the name of wine, however deficient it may be in those refined qualities which we, in England, are accustomed. to associate with it. At its northern boundary the vine is a stunted shrub ; in the warm south it spreads from tree to tree with a luxuriance of vegetation proportioned to the more genial influence of the climate. The vines of Tuscany or of Granada, and those of Coblentz, present a curious contrast, both in appearance and fruit. On the one, Nature bestows a prodigality of beneficent character ; on the other, she seems to abandon her stinted offspring to man. The mhountains of Ferdistan, in Persia, probably supplied the vines that were first ameliorated by culture. From Palestine or Asia Minor into the Greek islands the transition was natural, and from thence along the shores of the Mediterranean to the Straits of Hercules the progress was easy. It was cultivated in France before the time of the Czsars — first, it is believed, at Marseilles —and was introduced into Germany at a later period, the earliest vineyards being on the Rhine, in a cleared portion of the Black Forest. In some parts of England, in propitious seasons, the grape will ripen very well; but the un- certainty of its climate prevents any attempt at cul- tivation with a view to the wine-press. Great Britain has a mean temperature as high as many parts of the world where the vine flourishes in perfection; but ITS EARLY CULTURE IN ENGLAND. ri although it is warmer than some of those countries in the winter, the temperature is lower in the months of September and October, at which period the fruit is arriving at maturity. The vine must have been known in this country at a very early period, since we find it mentioned in the writings of Tacitus, who observes, “In this island there is no intense cold; and besides the olive and the vine, and other fruit-trees natural to warmer climates, the soil produces corn in considerable quantities.” He adds further, that the natives were fed on a rude diet; at their meals each man had his mess to himself, and they drank freely of “ barley corrupted into the likeness of wine.” Ale and mead, or metheglin, were served at the feasts of our Saxon ancestors, and wine was only an occasional luxury. On the repeal by the Emperor Probus, in 282, of the edict of Domitian against all tillage of the grape, its culture in Britain was resumed, although more, it would seem, for shade and ornamen- tation than for the sake of the fruit. Camden and others date its first introduction here in the early part of the fourth century ; and we learn, on the still more reliable testimony of the venerable Bede, that prior to the commencement of the eighth century the restora- tion of the plant had made considerable progress. There is, indeed, abundant evidence that vineyards did once exist in this country, and towards the middle of the twelfth century, as recorded by William of Malmesbury, they extended over large districts, produc- ing abundantly, especially in the vale of Gloucester, regarding which he tells us, that “no county in England has more or richer vineyards, or which yield greater plenty of grapes, or of more agreeable flavour. The 8 ENGLISH VINEYARDS. wine has not a disagreeable sharpness to the taste, as it is little inferior to that of France in sweetness.” In the counties of Worcester also, of Hereford, Somerset, Cambridge, and Essex, there are spots still called vineyards, many of them having been appurtenances of particular church establishments, whose ruins are yet in their vicinity. Vine-lands, moreover, are occasionally referred to in the laws of Alfred, and in other early documents; whilst in Domesday-book mention is made of them about eight-and-thirty times, most that were planted after the Conquest either appertaining to dif- ferent monasteries, or were cultivated by the wealthy for amusement rather than profit. Neither, according to Geoffrey of Monmouth, were the metropolitan suburbs in the closing years of Saxon rule altogether bare of these picturesque appliances, as it is stated that “without the city walls the old Roman vineyards still put forth their green leaves and crude clusters in the plains of East Smithfield, in the fields of St. Giles’s, and on the site where now stands Hatton Garden,”—known for genera- tions afterwards as a goodly appanage of the bishopric of Winchester. In some of the ecclesiastical records entries appear of tithes received on wine, whilst to all the greater abbeys vine-grounds were attached; and as these institutions were generally erected in fertile and well-sheltered valleys, the best spots for the plant might have been situate in their neighbourhood. But when it was found that the crop would not repay the grower more than one year in seven, open cultivation became neglected, and was gradually abandoned. Wine countries, it is true, have been regarded with favour by political economists as constituting a peren- nial source of healthful occupation and support for a AREA OF CULTURE. 9 numerous population; yet, even where aided by a favour- ing soil and clime, poverty and squalor too commonly aggravate their humble lot. That the inhabitants of many communes in France are exceedingly poor is obvious to every passing traveller; but although some- what may, here as elsewhere, be fairly ascribed to errors of culture, injudicious selection of the stock-plant, inattention to the nature of the soil, situation, and aspect, to unskilful pruning or contracted means, yet it must be admitted that the state of positive indigence which prevails in many of these districts is owing mainly to the heavy and arbitrary public imposts that burthen the cultivator and his produce, the quality and value of which rarely constitute incidents of the taxation exacted. It is only in the case of such vineyards as yield the choicest growths, and where the proprietors possess suf- ficient capital to enable them to store their wines till they acquire that excellence which time and judicious treatment alone can give, that this branch of culture becomes remunerative or reliable. The cultivation of the vine, for all practical purposes, is confined within 55° N. and the equator, but in south latitudes it ceases at 40°. It will bear any amount of heat, and is grown at various elevations, from 1,000 feet in Middle Germany to 5,000 feet in Italy and Sicily, and on the Himalayas as high as 10,000 feet above the level of the sea. Konigsberg, in 54° 42’ N., is the extremest point at which the grape can ripen. From the Rhine its culture continues throughout the middle and south of Europe to the fertile shores of the Grecian Archipelago; it is active in the north of China, Hindostan, Persia and the borders of the Euphrates, Syria, Lower Egypt, Abyssinia, and Barbary. In the new , 10 IMPORTANCE OF TEMPERATURE. world, both in North and South America, the vine is indigenous, and expands its foliage in wild luxuriance. In the ripening of the grape, the point of chief im- portance is the duration of summer heat. Thus, although the maximum of the season’s temperature is as great. at Moscow as in Paris, yet the vine will not pro- perly ripen its fruit at the former place; and this arises from the fact, that notwithstanding the greatest heats of June and July are as high as that of Paris, the months of August and September are several degrees below.* Nor will the mean temperature serve as a rule to indicate where the plant thrives best; but it will grow in any ground which is not infected by stagnant waters, and flourishes most in that which is dry, light, and stony or sandy. Porous land, particularly when gravelly or chalky, yields the pleasantest wines, — fresh and light. The more calcareous the soil, the drier and more friable it is, the better for the vine; the water which falls at intervals permeates freely to the roots, the surplus is carried off by the pervious nature of the ground, and the product will be fine, dry, and generous. Granitic soils, or those mingled with decomposed par- ticles of that rock, also yield good wines. Strong argillaceous loam is very prejudicial to the vine, as it not only restrains the free expansion of the roots, but often imparts an earthy taste to the produce. In central France it thrives in argillaceous slate: in the north, fat sand, with a mixture of calcareous loam, is preferred. Almost every free combination of earths and rocks will answer, but the injurious effects of too moist a site, or too rich an animal manure, are well known ; as are the exhaustion and deterioration of soils, which, though * Dr. E. Lankester, Lectures On Food. CONGENIAL SOILS. 11 formerly the homes of generous wines, are no longer capable of supplying them of equal quality. In Italy and Sicily the choicest plants grow amovg , the rubbish of volcanoes. Three-fourths of all vines are planted on hilly ground, and wines of the highest class are made from such as are reared among stone and loose pieces of rock, with little attention save oc- casionally raking the ground around them. Rich, highly-dressed land has never produced wine of pre- ferable quality. In districts where the summer is suffi- ciently long and warm, and the temperature throughout the year never sinks below a minimum of 50 degrees of Fahrenheit, the vine matures nothing but ripe and well-flavoured fruit; and when the bearing is exuberant, the quantity as well as quality is dependent entirely upon the climate. The grape that furnishes the most saccharine matter makes the best wine; no other property will compensate for a deficiency in sugar, on which also depends the proportion of alcohol formed. As the pure juice of the grape is in all cases colourless, it is manifest that the colour of wine is wholly derived from the skin, and the lighter or darker shades it acquires rest on the greater or smaller quantity of purple husks allowed in the process of fermentation. . Of all fruits the grape, perhaps, is the most susceptible of alteration in its nature from the influence of nutrition and solar heat, and to this cause its varying qualities. ought probably to be referred, rather than to any nor- mal difference of species, which are very numerous. Fourteen hundred sorts from the provinces of France once adorned the gardens of the Luxembourg, of which above a thousand appeared worthy of a particular de- scription; in 1844 a new catalogue was published, 12 VARIETIES OF THE VINE. which extended the number to two thousand. The botanical character and minute distinctions of -those .enumerated are not easy of perception, even on the spot where they grow: the unpractised eye cannot discriminate them. In all, however, the general pro- perties of the plant are carefully described, so as to be readily recognised wherever the vine is cultivated, whether in regions that will properly mature the grape or not, which, as previously mentioned, varies with the | influence of climate, the power of the sun, the atmos- pherical exposure, the character of the season, and the mode of tillage. Two hundred and fifty varieties are also particularized as cultivated in the kingdom of Andalusia alone. The quality of the grape is necessarily determined by the nature of the vine that produces it. Of some kinds the fruit is hard and rough; of others, it is sweet and mild: some varieties contain much saccharine matter; in others, the mucilaginous principle abounds. Nor can these distinctions be always ascer- tained by the taste; for two grapes may appear almost equally sweet, and yet on examination present very different constituents. Thus the ripe muscadine grape of Fuencaral was found to yield 30 per cent. of solid sugar, and the wine made from it is very sweet and generous; but the chasselas of Fontainebleau, though an exquisite grape to the palate, affords very little sugar. This species is cultivated exclusively for the table, the wine it furnishes being dry and indifferent, for its sweetness proceeds not so much from the proper sugar of the grape, as from the superabundance of the mucoso- saccharine matter. The red sorts usually ripen ten or twelve days sooner than the white, and in cultivation it is of importance to keep them separate. The age to ITS LONGEVITY AND FECUNDITY. 13 which the vine continues to bear well ranges ordinarily from sixty to seventy years, often more, and under favourable circumstances of site and soil it is long lived. In the Gironde, when properly attended to, it will last from 100 to 150 years. In the commune of Pauillac, in a gravelly soil, there are vines 200 years old; whilst at Pessac some are shown of a yet greater age, planted, as is there traditionally believed, in the fourteenth century, during the pontificate of Clement V. A vine in Burgundy is credibly recorded to have lived 400 years, and in Italy plants three centuries old continue to flourish productively, In 1585 North _ Allerton, in the west riding of Yorkshire, possessed a vine that covered 137 square yards, and was then a hundred years old. One at Valentines, in Essex, is known to have produced in one season 2