The national era. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1847-1860, 1856-09-11

the neck of the bottle, accommodating on the end
OF the cork leaving the wine as clear and as
bright as crystal. In this position, they can,
and sometimes do, remain for years in fact,
they are never removed from it, although such
removal would entail no injury to the contents,
until 1t is wanted for export or sale, as the wine
will keep without deterioration, if unmixed with
sugar, for at least twenty years, but after the
sugar has been added, it will depreciate sensi-
bly, In five or six years. The next operation is
that OF the degorgement, or cleansing out of the
sediment, which is the most difficult and deli.
cate, as 1T Is the most curious, requiring great
skill and precision in the handling, for by this
time the wine has become so highly effervescent,
that In the hands of the unskillful and uninitia-
ted, 1t would either be made cloudy, or every
drop would suddenly quit the bottle. The
prachced degorgeur, however, takes it carefully
from its perpendicular position, and inclninq
it slightly, with its mouth towards the ground,
divests it of the wire and Irvine, and, with an
instrument resembling brad-awl, quickly dis
places the cork, which flies from its resting
place with sharp report, carrying with it all
the deposit, and small portion of the wine
seldom as much, however, as is necessary to
give place for the liquor, which is immediately
afterwards added. Up to this moment, the
wine, generally, with the exception of such as
sistance as has already been mentioned. re.
mains free from any artificial mixture, but on
leaving the table of the degorgeur, it passes
at once into the hands of the mixer, who adds
to each bottle, according to the country it is to
be sent to, from eight to twenty-five per cent
OF liquor composed of crystallized sugar candy
OF the finest quality, dissolved in wine of char
acter especially intended for this use, and
certain per centage of very fine old Champagne
brandy, for which fabulous price is paid. For
America the allowance of brandy is never over
one per cent, whilst for England three and
sometimes four is added. For the Partisan
consumption one per cent is also the quota. but
for Russia and Germany very spirituous wine
is employed instead. AS the addition of the
liquor is greater than the escape of wine and
deposit, the necessary quantity is generally
poured out into bottles which are slightly forti-
fed, and sold to the Partisan restaurateurs, who
readily retail it, under the name of 'Tisanne.'
at four francs the bottle.
In defence of this addition of sugar and spir.
its, it is alleged that it is employed not only to
give sweetness and body to the wine, but also
that it is absolutely necessary for the purpose
of destroying certain deleterious qualities ap-
pertaining to it in its natural state, which, un.
changed, would render it both disagreeable and
unhealthy; in other words, that a certain guam
tty of sugar is required to correct the mdlc acid
which forms constituent element of the wine,
which, if drank pure, would inevitably cause in
the stomach of the imbiber thereof sensation
painfully reminding him of the "belly-ache"
of his boyhood. From the mixer the bottle
passes to the .corker, who, with the aid of
powerful lever, reduces the cork, which is pre-
viously soaked in wine, to about half its origi-
nal size and forces it into its place; it is then
secured by Irvine and wire, which gives it the
knobby-looking head it possesses when released
from its prison by the consumer; and finally,
after being tin-foiled or loaded, as the case may
be, and labelled, it is packed away in cases or
baskets, to await orders for shipment The
average days work of large establishment is
one thousand bottles. The report of the Minis.
ter of the Interior states that the annual export
Of genuine Champagne wine is about thirteen
millions of bottles, which are distributed as fol-
lows: To Germany, which includes Austria,
Prussia, and all the States belonging to the
Germanic Confederation between four and five
millions. To America, the expectation amounts
to very nearly three millions, and to Russia
about two millions. In France and Belgium,
the consumption averages about two millions,
while in England the demand is very limited,
seldom exceeding half million, leaving about
million and half for the rest of mankind.
The class of wines sent to Russia and Germany,
as general rule, are of the first quality, pos.
sessing deicacy of flavor, light body, and high.
ly effervescing, with from eighteen to twenty.
two per cent, Of sugar. In America, which
offers no fixed standard of taste, every grade
and quality, from the Heidsck, with it's eighteen
per cent. of sweetened liquor, to the "Grand
Vim of Moet, with its two per cent. Of brandy
q PAngtaise, are exported, and find admirers
and advocates. The general standard of the
frst-class houses, however, is from fourteen to
sixteen Per cent, land an experiment is now
being made by the well known firm of G. II.
Mumm Il Co., to introduce into this market an
article with but moiety of the usual addition
of sugar, approaching, as near as possible, to
the French standard, which ranges from eight
to twelve per cent To England, however, is
sent the driest, strongest, and poorest quality
OF wine; for, although an English wine mer-
chant will assure you that he receives none but
wine of the first quality, it is notorious fact,
In the Champagne district, that an order for
anything above the third quality rarely finds its
way from London and as no labels are per.
mitted on wine intended for that market, the
manufacturer has no means Of designating the
true quality to the consumer, who is thus left
to the mercy of the dealers, who are, beyond
contradiction, as class, the greatest rogues in
Christendom.
Of late years, it has been the fashion, on the
part of would.be wine oracles and pseudo con
noisseurs, to talk learnedly and invoigh bitterly
against what they are pleased to term "the ex-
traordinery depreciation in the quality of Cham
payne wine," some of them even going so far
as to assert they don't believe "there is a single
bottle of genuine wine ever reaches our chores"
quoting, in substant;stion OF their dictum, their
reco.leotions of the celebrated I. C. Cham
pagne,' the famed Oornet brand" and host
of fancy names "lopg since dead and passed
away" any OF which could be had for fourteen
dollars or less. In the "dollar sense" of the
case, these gentlemen are very nearly right
but they forget that during that same period of
time, -four, "the staff of life" to quote that ele.
CANT remark of the classic Baggs, "isnt what
it used to was" and it ia wildly within the rec.
olleatiop OF many suffering housekeepers, that |
a shilling loaf of bread, twenty years ago, was
esteemed food enough for growing family, |
while now it barely sufices 70 stay the stomach
of 2 sturdy STRIPPING. But that feeling fact |
certainly does not prove that the Genesee of
today is inferior to the common brands of
other and cheaper times, nor is it convincing |
that the bakers of yore had more |
conscience than the modern doughfaces, or still |
less that Young America is better feeder than |
his father; it simply demonstrates that the |
demand is greater than the supply, end, as an /
consequence, prices so ZIP or quality |
goes down, just as naturally as water 6nds its
level, or that two and two make four. Now,
apply the same rule to Champagne wine, and
you aave the same result, for how is it possible
that, with limited and frequently diminished
supply of the raw material, and constantly.in-
creasing demand for the manufactured article,
prices and quality should r.ma;s stationary. |
1t certainly capaot 20 supposed that gentlemen /
Engaged in The wine trade are going to invest
from one to FIVE hundred thousand dollars of
20 cit al p,oralv for tho en- ~ heo.;,,c. al .