New Orleans daily crescent., 1860-10-23
Frer,cf, wines.
From The London saturday asview.l

Fl K j.sk
At present there are some twelve OF fIirfeea
thousand vineyard pr0prietors. The vine Asng
districts are divided into the Coteaux se Grayes
and the Palus. The Goteaux are tie mountain
to no other purpose. and gensraaly composed Of
mari, chalk and argliaeauns Substances, so badly
mixed near the summit as to offer very serious inn
pediments to ruiiyation. The Graves are plains
of diluyan origin, consisting Of sand pebbles and
gravel ihtermixed as if by the rapid action of a
current of water The Palna ara deep, fat soils
apparently the slow formed sediment Of standing
water, and the wines made in these show a re-
markable fitness for transportation and are sent in
large quantities to India and America. Many of
| the eommunes have an European celebrity. The
Medoc district lies between the Gironde river and
the Gulf Of Gaseony and is devoted exclusively to
the production of the finest qualities. The COM
mune OF Banquefort is noted for q delicious. dry,
white wine and the red wines Of this region are
free from that earthly aser which is the common
defect of wines raised the plain. The neighbor--
ing canton of Canenac is also famous for the soft
and bouquet of its wines, and to the sonfh lies
Margaux, on a fnty gravel, where about 1000
tons are raised annually.
The celebrated estate Of Chateau MaFgaux pro-
duees rather more than one hundred tons, and is
eagerly welcomed all over the Continent. The
Champa gne district comprises the Ardennes Marne
Aube and Haute Marne. In the Marne the product
of the ACCOMPLISHMENT of Epernay is calculated at
the value of three millions francs per annum-that
of ReiIns at six millions that of VfFy at nearly a.
million and half. The best red wines go to the
low countries, Prussia and the Rhenish Provinces,
the Sery comes principally to England. Here
the greatest care is necessary; every Imperfect
grape is excluded, and every rough motion guarded
against The must, having been pressed, is turned
into vat for hours to deposit its gFosser iees
it is then allowed to ferment, and by Christmas,
when the fermentation is well over, and the weather
dry and frosty the wine is racked and fined. These
processes are repeated at different intervals accerd
ing the wine Is intended to be gfl0aSsear or sf
The process OF bottling is excessively troublesome.
In the first place the wine is very eapricous about
becoming efteryescent. Sometimes the desired
change takes place in fortnight, sometimes not
for many weeks. Sometimes, when it has ohsti-
nately withstood every attempt for length of
time, it will become sparkling without the least.
apparent reason. The bottling is done by work
men in sets Of FIVE called aeliers, each man having
his own portion of the task. ~ Moet, at Epernay
has seldom less than half million bottles To be-
thus filled, and often ten dteltei's at work at fhes
same time.
The bottles when filed, are carried into vaults
excavated in the chalk rock and here numbers eN-
pode from the formation Of earhonio acid gag.
Sometimes, in July and August, the explosions
have been known to range as high as. 40 per cenk
of the whole number. The proprietor generalh
aequesces in the loss of per cent, but after this
stage the gas ia considered to be becoming " IN
Gus ~ the bottles taken down, placed in a loy
cellar, flooded with cold water, and sonetimesy IN
eorkei. Iii September the breakage eeas6ssG n
in October another process is commenced. A AZ
post has by this time formed IN the Bottles, an n 4
fget rid of il they are placed topsy turvy Tor on,
days and slightly tapped at intervals. Thss5 sar
gagss lhe uel,oslt, nn.A - ~ " sls cork
A G4eNer WORKMAN tleH CUTS lffe lHSteuldG Iat
off the cork, which carries the deposit alos MIS-
it, and fresh is then inserted before . W.,
hes time to escape. Ii wine is kept lon X q /;
sometimes subjected to several of these sSses. ~ .
,steats, whereby greater purity is obtained aa u
9ostliness, Of coutse, seriously enhancedA -
The only other district we can notice. ! tbet =
Drome, which Is the native soil of arm; -, =
Real Hermitageis is made from the SeYras 4 p 80
grape, ands found the hills from So Vatl,a =
Tain. 1t goes improving for tea or 5ssae, aSs :,
years. and is generally not bottled tia it il ra
six years cid. The white Hsriaits ge % ~. ~ ~
from the Rsnssanne grape, an is Stra.
slow i'll the process ef fermen tation- I'll arnss !.
yield of real white Hermitage Is presa ably M -
tAan 40 casks of 40 tres apieea. IL viii H. :
perfectly good fora century, thos gh fer IL 70 p
years It's perfume and tasts slightly. rnossf 81
The straw Hermitage is tha best of the Flreneh .eo
de liqaar. The most perfect grapes ARE cb oss' oss'
and laid to dry upon straw for five or si~ W. ose
they are Their plucked from the ste,ms ana aMeRs M
fully pressed Little of it is made tAnti its cary
enormous ffom the frequent failures agains 'rlee
the manufacturer has to contend, since II Whhe /,
when the grape is In particular stage of ~ on
and the weather precisely suitable, thai 14tuFl. I
age Pailie can be successfully produced ; hern