Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1875-08-11


Making Vine from Natire Grapes
The following receipt for making
domestic wine from catawba or Isabella
grapes, used by G.. A. NicOlls, at Read
ing, Pa, in 1859 to 1869, is commended
by a gentleman who has tried il sue
cessfully. Its directions have the merit
rare in receipts, of being full and pre-
else: lt-
1. Select perfectly ripe punches, and
then carefully pick off the stems anG
remove all grapes which are not quite
ripe. .st al =
2. Squeeze the juice ont, either by
hand or press, strain through a hail
sieve, and pour it at once into clean
sweet barrel or keg, adding to the
vessel two gallons of water for every
gallon of juice made.
/ 3. At the same time put in fOul
pounds of sifted sugar per gallon OF
juice.
4. In adding the two gallons of water
stated in section let &c strain through
the pulp. skins, &c, Ofsthe residuum OF
the grapes after beiHg squeezed.
5. Fill the vessel full, up to the bung
hole, which cover with sand-bag, to
allow the fermentation to escape.
6. Watch the barrel daily, and clear
or scrape away the scum, which will be
thrown ont in large quantities.
z. As the wine falls below the bung,
fill up daily latter eloating away the
scum with sugar water. made with two
pounds of sugar to gallon of water.
g. The fermentation will continue
from three to six weeks, accoi ding to
the weather. When it has ceased,
poured into the bung hole about one
gill of brandy to the gallon of juice, TO
flow over the surface aud prevent its
souring: but the brandy may not be in
dispensable. Then bung the vessel up
tight.
9. During the cold weather, IN say
the following February, when the wine
is perfectly still and clear, draw it of
into any Otherclean vessels, then quickly
clean, scald and rinse thoroughly the
barrel In which the wine was made, and
return the wine to it, and draw ii of as
required for use.
10. If you wish to make very palata-
BILE champagne, have the champagne
bottles ready when you rack off the
wine as stated in section 3 put table
spoonful of common syrup In each
quart bottle; then fill with the wine
leaving about II inches clear below the
bottom of the cork, which fasten very
securely with strong twine, as the pres
sure of the fixed air to escape is very
great.
IL. The wine will improve by age
after the operation described In Sec
ton Q.
12. An old brandy or whisky barrel
is the best (see section p. Never use a
new barrel, as the wine will taste OF
the wood.
13. About fifteen pounds of grapes
will give one gallon of juice. The riper
the grapes the better the yield of the
juice. One gallon of grapes in punches
weighs about four and half pounds.
II. Keep the wine in the cellar, where
it will not be exposed to extremes of
temperature.
Is. An approximate estimate of the
quantities required for thirty gallon
barrel will be as follows:
To make Thirty Gallons of Wine
$50 lbs. grapes, yielding ten gallons
Juice: twenty gallons water strained
through the pulp residuum (see section
~; forty lbs. of sifted sugar,2s pints of
common brandy. See section 3.
If carefully made, the wine will be
wholesome and palatable, with flavor
like grape juice Madeira. Ii was pre-
ferred to all others at the Washington
hospitals during the war of lsel-6J, and
was reported to have been the means
of saving the lives of some of the
soldiers.