Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1867-07-19

should be added. By the use OF 9hese IN
struments as good wine can always be made
as the fruit Will allow, and will always be
alike, as it is now, no two samples are
alike.
The berries should not be gathered until
perfectly ripe, as the ripper they are the
greater the quantity of sugar, and less the
amount Of acid. It is not possible to
have the berries over ripe, provided
they are not rotten. They should be
gathered on a clear, bright day, and
carefully picked over, all imperfect
or 11nripe ones, and all leaves or stems
thrown out, as they communicate n harsh
unpleasant taste to the wine and destroys
the aroma AS soon as the berries have
been picked over they should be put into a
tub AID crushed with a wooden pestle until
thoroughly broken to pieces. Let them
stand in this condition u hours, in cool
place, so as to allow the Juice time to dis
solve the sugar in the pulp adhering to the
seed. and which pressing will not remove.
At the end Of II hours the juice should be
pressed from the seed and pulp. This may
be done In any way most convenient, but
the less it is expo ed to the air the better,
as the Juice easily becomes acid
Only the juice Of berries gathered at the
same time must be mixed together, for 9th
erwise the fermentation will be unequal. -
The quantity Of sugar and water to be
added must now be determined and added
before fermentation begins, so that
nearly the whole Of the sugar may be con-
verted into alcohol by the fermentation
and not remain to act as ii ferment at some
future time. The fermentation may be
conducted IN two ways. The juice may be
put into any open mouth vessel and COW
cred with Il cloth to keep out Dust, &c. in
I,l-e lC.
top, allow it to remain perfectly quiet until
ferme has ceased. The crust should
not be broken or removed as it is
intended by nature as q protection to the
young wine to prevent its turning sour and,
also, to prevent the escape Of the alcohol
as it is formed. The common opinion that
it should be skinned off to prevent its
becoming mixed with the wine is wrong, as
it will not mix with the wine, bat soon after
fermentation ceases, will sink to the bottom.
The other way, and the one I think best, is
to put the juice, directly it is pressed,
Unto the barrel it is to remain in, filling the
barrel full and putting a safety tube into
the bung- hole-this is simply curved tube
made of tin or lead, with one arm longer
than the other The longest arm is fast
ened air-tight into the bung-Lolo OF the
barrel, the other arm is put into a pitcher
/ juice, which can be now left to itself to fer
ment without danger Of becoming acid or
sour, and needs no attention except to see
that the water in the pitcher does not eyap-
crate.
The fermentation may be known to have
ceased when the gass ceases to pass Off
through the tube or bubble up in the water
in the pitcher. 1t may be allowed to re-
main in this condition until December, or
it may be treated in the same manner as
the wine fermented in the first manner.
The Juice shoull not be fermented III diff
ferent vessels, for when altogether in one
vessel the fermentation il more regular
and the wine less apt to sour When
fermented IN small quantities the
least variations OF the weather will
affect it, When the fermentation has COM
menced it should proceed moderately fast
ana with great regularity. After the fer
mentatiOn has ceased, the wine is to be
drawn off into a clean barrel, filling the
barrel full and the bung driven in tight,
the bung should he log enough for the
lower end to remain In the wine, to prevent
it from drying and shrinking, and thus
allowing the air to get i'll the barrel, for by
keeping the air from the wine it will keep
sweet. Great care should be taken when
fermented in open vessels, to exclude the
,
for if allowed to remain IN contact with the
air it Will surely become vinegar. On a
clear day in December, it should be drawn
off in a clean barrel wine should never
be handled on damp day, as the damp
ness affects it injuriously. It shOuldsnow
remain perfectly quiet until Spring opens,
when it should be drawn off again in q Few
weeks it may be bottled. The barrel should
always be filed to the bung so as not to
allow any vacant space for the air to Oc-
cupy.
! The object in drawing off the vine so
often is to prevent it from fermenting again,
as the sediment in the barrel acts us great
and will start an acitOus fermentation, after
! Ill the sugar has been converted in Alec
hol, that is it will convert the Alcohol into
vinegar if allowed to remain.
/ If fermentation sets in, it can be check
ed at once by adding OF. sulphate lime to
gallon of VINE, or by burning a strip of
paper l inch vide and 5 or 6 long. that has
/ been dipped into melted brimstone and al
lowed to cool. A few gallons Of wine should
be drawn from the barrel so as to have q
vacant space for the sulphur match to burn
in, This should be lighted at one end, in
serted at the bung-hole, and the bung put
in so as to fasten the other end of the
match and prevent its dropping into the
wine, and also to prevent the escape of the
gas; after it has burnt out, shake the barrel
WE'LL so as to mix the gas and wine, return
I the wine taken ont and bung up tightly; af-
ter it has settled draw off into clean bar
/ rel.
| The greatest possible cleanliness is abso-
.lutely necessary, as very little will change
the fermentation from vinous to an aci-
tous one. The temperature of the room in
which the fermentation takes place should
be about 65 degrees Fahrenheit, for if less
the fermentation proceeds imperfectly. If
higher, alcohol escapes and weakens the
wine. By clean barrel is meant one that
! is free from all smell and communicates no
taste to water after standing in it some time
| It should be rinsed in lime water and then
in clear water before being used.
The average of the assays taken is in
| 1000 lbs juice:
Acid. ...................S pounds
! sugar ......... 10 pOunQS
And from this assay the proper quantity of
| ugar and water to be added to each gallon
of juice is
| ouSsdI: o. ounces.