National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-05
CHAMPAGNE KAKERS.

The Champagne from which the wine takes
its name was an ancient province In France,
but of this only the prefectures Of Epernay
and Rheims produce good wine. The craps
generally grown for producing champagne IS
the black Burgundy, It being singular fact
that this wine, which Is perhaps the whitest Of
all wines, Is made from black grape. Only
about one fourth Of the grapes grown in the
Champagne district are converted into eder-
7escing wine. The rest are made most " Into
red wine by process similar to that employed
in Burgundy. The grapes ars picked early In the
morning, and carried In baskets to the roadside,
whore they are carefully assorted, all unripe
and unsound berries being cut out by scissors.
They are then packed In painters, which arc
placed on donkeys TO be carried home Here
they are emptied directly Into presses closely
resembling the cider press used in this eoun-
try. The wine running from the press when
the power Is hrSt applied Is considered the
best.
After It has stopped flowing the follower is
raised, tho edges OF tae cake ere cut on and
thrown into the middle and pressure again Ep-
piled. This Is repeated several times, but the
whole process must be completed before the
grapes commence TO ferment, because the
slightest fermentation during the pressing viii
extract the color from the h1sks- The must
runs into large watts, where 1t stands from
six to twenty hours, during which time is
throws up q froth and deposits other Impurities
in the bottom OF the casks. The must is care
fully drawn of from these into barrels, In
which it undergoes the first fermentation It
remains In these barrels until about the first OF
December. 1t is then clear and Is then drawn
of from the lees
The frst step In the manufacture Is TO mix
the products Of various vineyards so as TO pro
duee wine which shall resemble some par
tieular brand, such as q sillery, Epernay, or
any other that may be popular at the time.
The wine Is then fined BY islnglass; It takes
from an eighth OF an ounce TO quarter to
each barrel. This occupies about month IL
at the end or this time e Is not clear, &c Is
drawn OF from the Ices a1d fined again. The
wine during this process OF hning is also treated
with sulphur vapor in order to make Il a. pale
as possible. It u thea drawn OF, bottled and
corked. As soon as the bottles have been
corSed, they are carried into the cellars and
put into immense piles, some houses filing
every year several hundred thousand bottles.
As the temperature In the cellar increases with
the approach OF summer, the wine begins 70
ferment.
This Is the critical time With the manufae-
ture. Many bottles burst from the pressurs Of
the disengaged gases, but, II the breakage does
not exceed per cent. by the end Of August,
no particular measures arc taken; II, however,
it much exceeds this amount, the bottles must
DO uneorked and reeorked. This is a Danger
Gus condition, since oitentimes the bottles ex-
plode IN the hands Of the workmen. The con-
slant breaking Of bottles sounds Ike q success
sion Of pistol shots, but this entirely ceases By
the end of the summer. When the fermenta-
ton Is finished, the stacks Of bottles are over
hauled, all the broken bottles removed, and
those in good order are re-staeked. These are
then allowed 70 remain at rest until the yeast
has settled at the lower side Of the bottle. And
10 this state the wine remains until L Is ready
for sale.
It has yet to be cleared. For this purpose
ths bottles are placed neck dowuwards on long
! benches pierced With holes IN which the neoks
At. The deposit gradually settles upon the
cork. This Is then removed BY skiIlfully with
drawing the cork, aad allowing the froth
which escapes TO carry the yeast with Il. The
wine Is now ready for finishing. As above
prepared Il is dry and somewhat deficient In
favor; to impart sweetness and favor . certain
quantity Of lsquslir must be ADDED. This Is
prepared nom sugar and some very finely ma
vored old wine for the better qualities OF
champagne, but from brandy, wine and sugar
( for the moro common kinds; but every manu-
/ facturer has his particular recipes, and the
Rquslsr also varies with the country to which
the wine Is to be sent. Thus, England re-
dulres wine strong In alcohol and not too
sweet, willis in Russia . very sweet wine Is
After the R0usssr has been added the bottles
| are again eorked, the eorks tied down, the bot
| tiles washed and dried, labels attached, and the
corks covered with tinfoIl. The bottles are
then wrapped in paper, packed In boxes and
baskets, and are ready for market. There arc
| four varieties Of champagne: first, the non
efferveseent, which was the original wine Of the
champagne, and may be either red or white,
second, the creamy, or only slightly efIerVes-
cent; third, the effervesceut, which VIII expel
the cork with moderate report and gently
rise over the mouth Of the bottle; fourth, the
strongly efferveseent, which expels the cork
with loud report and Immediately overfoWs
4 the bottle, aud small quantity of which,
when poured out, will also fill the glass with
/ foam. These varieties are known Is R0R moss
ssur, ersDaGnt, nlOtSssisr, and grand D1OUsSslsr.
/ It Is as useless TO expect to get good cham
payne at half price as Il Is to buy gold or sill
I yer for half its value. The lowest price Ia
champagne Is about lis. per dozen, and good
quality can be bought there for about double
] this figure. The lowest quality would cost At
least Cos. per dozen in this country, and there
isno limit to the price for the best quality.