The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-03-12


crush the fruit, in similar way persons use a
| dasher in churning butter, and with no more fOrce
than necessary to burst the skins. The FRUIT when
thus prepared, is called marc, and is fit for pressing
| in this state-which must be done in the following
| way take a press-cOth-the form of which will
hereafter descrbe-doube it and place it in large
wooden bowl; then put on the cloth as much
| marc as ii will contain; when folded up,
| tie it round with strong cord, and place
| it the platform of the press, and press 1t
! with much force you please, the form and
plan of which is not material, that the largest
| quantity of juice is obtained while cloth is
| being used at the press second should be filled.
| so as to save tlme as it Is very important that all
the juice should be pressed out possible,
| after the first operation has commenced. The juice
of all the vintage having been expressed carry it
to the working tub in the cellar, and it is no longer
| to be called juice but receives the name of must
| This tub containing the must should be covered
| over with clean linen cloth, and left undsturbed
for twenty-four or thirty-six hours If the night
| be cold, throw over it blanket, but be sure to
remove it in the morning, in order to keep an even
temperature which should be, if possible, not below
$50 or above $50 Fahrenheit-(mne at the vintage is
| 1907 You will observe, by-the-by, that the juice
will require other straining than received at the
| press by passing through the press-clOth; and by
| this plan both waste and much time are saved.
The must having been allowed to settle, directed
| above, should now be turned or drawn off into
| prepared casks, to work for ten twelve days,
according to the temperature OF the weather at the
| time, and kept filled up morning, noon and night
| for four or five days, after which twice day will
| do. There must at the time Of turning be suf-
ficient spare must in reserye-say six gallons to
every barrel, after all the casks full, and this
should be kept the casks, to fill them up from
| time to time. The filling up must be done with an
earthern or china pitcher having lip, and at no
| time must any metallic article be suffered to drop
into the must, is apt to nure the color of the
wlne well as to affect the taste. At the filling
up always remove whatever scum may be at the
| bung hole, and keep small tub or dish under each
cask, to receive the drippngs, the clear will do
! for filling up. At the end of ten or twelve days
| the working will have ceased, which you1v know
by seeing the wine clear at the bung hole, and the
| kissing noise stopped in the cask, and all floating
| beads disappeared from the surface. If the wine
Gor recOect it is no longer must show these lnd-
cations it has ceased working, and may be stopped
| in the following manner: Set the cask up
right, and place over the bng- hole clean piece
of paper lay the bung on top, and press both into
the hole as hard as you can with your hand, with
| out any other instrument This is mainly to
cude the ar-see to it once day, for three four
days that it be not disturbed. At the end of that
time place your close to the bung, and if no
| Kissing sound proceed from the cask remove the
bung, disturbing the wine as little as possible; fill
| the cask up to within fraction of the under edge
| of the hole, and drive the bung down tight; but
should the wine at this last examination not have
ceased working, the bung and paper should have
been placed before, and left three or four days
| longer. The wine, thus being stopped down, will
require more attention until bottllng time in
| the following March, that being about the time
| think all wines should be bottled transvased.
If you conclude to keep it in cask second year, it
| must be transvased letting no more run from it
| than is bright and clear, the hullage, thick, be-
ing turned into smaller cask and fined for use.
| The cask you intend bottle do in the following
manner: Remove the bung, or, my plan is to bore
hole through the bung with large size gimblet,
as starting the bung disturbs the wine,) without
disturbing the cask in the least possible way. Let
this be done not twentyfour hours fore bottlng,
which is the method most persons take, but about ten
minutes, and see that every thing has been got
ready before, the cash having been tapped at the
time of turning with tight bottling cock and four
| inches from the bottom of the cask, proceed to
bottle, taking care only to draw off about two
thirds. | have with me at this time careful ser
vant as it is business for two Iallow only about
| dozen bottles to be filled before | commence to
cork, giving only about ten minutes for the air to
escape from the bottle, for if longer the bouquet is
much injured, and wine without or deficient in
this quality is like rose without fragrance. Your
bottles should be filled to about one-third of the
neck above the shoulder, and on account suffer
your corks to be soaked in any thing before being
used, they will shrink after from the wax, and
perhaps cause your wine to spoil, whereas if driven
in dry, they swell in the bottle, and the will
adhere more perfectly. With this precaution
never lose bottle of wine, as | generally attend
TO the old adage, that any thing worth doing at all
is worth doing well. Reject all corks that
hard and porous When all are corked, with
sharp knife trim off close down to the glass before
waxing after which pack in dry sawdust in bins
or casks, in a cool cellar, with uniform tempera
ture, and in six months you may try it, but twelve
will be better
Having got through making and botng, will,
before | conclude, say word about casks, tubs,
wax, etc. etc. In regard to the casks ! think it
always best to buy new, and have them made of
the best materials, and soon as brought home
filled up with cold water, and soaked thus twenty
four hours then emptied and halffilled with boil
ing water, shaken about and turned over three
four times during an hour, and while hot emptied
and placed hole downWards forty-eght hours to
dry; then sui phured, in the following manner
melt stone phur in an iron saucepan, have ready
strips of muslin twelve inches long and half an
inch wide, dip them in the sulphur while hot,
these are called matches,) double two three of
them over the end of wire, set fire to them and
let them down 10 the bottom of the cask at the
bnng- hole, keep them burning as long they will,
repeat this as long match will burn, and when
the cask is full of vapor bung it up tight and it is
fit for the reception of the wine, and will keep so
for months, that before the vintage be ripe all
the casks can be made ready for USE The working
tub should he large enough to contain all the must
of the vintage unless different colored wines are
to be made: in that case separate tubs will be re-
CURED This tub should be placed in the cellar,
on stand or strong bench, high enough for the
casks, at the turning, to be rolled under and filled
at the spigot placed fourth from the bottom Of
the tub, performing the turning in any other
way will be troublesome well wasteful.
Wax should be made in the following way: take
one pound of resin and one pound Of beeswax, with
an ounce of pulverZed Spanish brown, and melt
them in a saucepan over a charcoal f.e, keeping
them stirred, and while hot the bottles are to be
dipped in so to have about one fourth of an inch
of glass covered as more is unnecessary. In bot
Ting, every vintner should be provided with
bottling stool, which may be seen at almost any
porter cellar, and without it the business cannot be
well done. Across it you sit-the end forms table
with rim to keep on your corks and driver; on II
is fixed thick soft piece of sole leather, on Whlch
to place your bottle for driving the cork; on the
table also is fixed orksqueezer, for squeezing the
cork two or three times before it enters the bottle,
as this always should be done when corks are used
dry as they yield much better to the bottle, and go
farther down. My press cloths are made with
strong coarse linen, such as is used by manufac-
turers in bang up dry goods. Each cloth is made
the size of a bed-sheet. Linen is by far the best
material as it gives out no linty fibres cotton or
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