The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-08-08
Practical Wine Making.
From the Rural Southland.l


DR.. Stayman, in the Western Planter,
gives the following plain, common sense
directions for the manufacture of wine.
AS the season for wine making is at
hand, we cannot devote the same space
more profitably to our readers. As DR..
Stayman is both practical and scientific,
whenever he writes upon wine making
he may be regarded as entirely reliable:
If you have much wine to make, it is
best to use large casks, as it ferments
better in large bodies; but if you have
only q few hundred gallons to make,
good, clean whisky barrels will do.
Pick your grapes when perfectly ripe,
only i'll dry weather, and when the dew
is off, and as many at one time as will
fill cask; pick off all decayed and
green berries.
If you wish to make wine Of your
Concord grapes, in quantities Of a bar
rel or so, run your grapes through a
common hand cider mill, and press i'm
mediately, until the must begins to col
or, then remove the half pressed grapes,
and put them into an open barrel, and
so continue mashing and pressing, un-
til your cask is full of must. The half
pressed grapes or mash in the open bar
rel should be covered with blanket
and left standing from "a to As hours to
ferment, according to the state OF the
weather, then they should be thorOuh-
ly pressed and put into separate cask
to be made into red wine.
If large quantities are made into white
wine, the grapes may be put under a
strong press, without mashing, and
pressed. Many black grapes will make
white wine if made in this manner.
1,,Dh hy,+E TO N,I4 Of M
seed or racked stems into the must when
fermenting, to give the wine more tan
min, which will make it clear better.
If red wine is to bemade, run the grapes
through the mill, and put them into
open barrels or hOgsheads, and let them
ferment about two days before pres
sing. They should be covered while
fermenting. Fill your casks nearly
full and let them ferment over, which
will cast off much unnecessary mucila-
ginOus matter, but when this first VIC
lent fermenting is over, let the balance
Of the sediment settle in the barrel and
not work over. You can place sack OF
sand, or put the bung in loosely, while
it is thus working. AS soon as it is done
which you can readily ascertain by
placing you ear to the bung hole, ther
| drive the bung tight, and let it remain
until clear weather i'll December, ther
rack it off.
To produce a perfect fermentation
the temperature of the room should bt
| kept up to the the temperature of thu
musk in the cask while it is working
but after it is done it should be put int
a good cellar and kept there. The cask
should be full and bungs air tight. I
should have a second racking in March
and it should then be clear, if everything
should be properly done, but it should
not be bottled until the next fall; the1
will it be ready to sell.
By the "air treatment" it is claimed
that it can be made clear and perfect il
few months, and fit for bOttling
This may be the case, but we have no
seen it tried, and it has not come int
general use, however good it ma.
| be.
As some may wish to make unfer
mented wine, a few directions may no
be out of place. Press your grapes ant
let the must stand about six hours t.
settle some. Then draw off the clear
est and put into a boiler; heat it to tn
boiling point, and skim it. Then pu
it up into wine bottles, hot as you pu
up fruit, and seal air tight, while hOt
and keep it in a cellar. To keep tn
bottles from breaking, place q wet clot
several folds thick on the table and sc
the bottles on it while filing them wit
hot wine,