The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-08-09
TO MAKE souppxRNONa WINE.

And whoever hrs Hussman's or Remelin S
work on wine making will find tho direc-
tions therein rs entirely applicable to the
scuppernong Us they are TO- the other Ameri-
can grapes Of which they more especially
treat,
But write for those who are not caring
to learn the rational of the process aud
who are not possessed of saccharometers,
acidimeters, aud other requisites for scte"-
tifc wine making
First. Be sure to use perfectly ripe
grapes, if possible to avoid those that are
not. This however, is not very easy'to do,
as the scuppernoug does not by any means
ripen its crop, all at once. And even tho
most careful hands will gather moro or less
of partially ripe grapes while trying to
gather only the fully ripe ones; while care,
less hands will gather large proportion OF
green fruit if not closely watched.
Second. The next process is mashlnS the
grapes (Which is best done in mill having
wooden or stone rollers set of an inch
apart and expressing the juice which must
be done in wSSaen prsss as the oHysea
the flavor of the wine. The juice Cor must)
may be pressed d-ont.inalediately after mash
ing, or this operation can be deferred from
II to 2f hours, (the must and husks being
kept in covered vesseD till fermentation
has begun Leaving the must on the husks,
for awhile, gives the wine higher color
and more aroma Cor donquct)
Third Writers on the grape, at the
North (whsrc the scuppernong doesn't
grow speak disparagingly of it as wine
grape, because it is usual to add sugar to its
must in making wiuc. They deprecate any
"doctoriug" (as they call it) of the pure
must and say that a grape that will not
make wine without any additions to its must
is unfit for the purpose. Now let me assure
the uninitiated that this is all "Josh. y
Even with the best varieties Of the uttis
rinsfcyra and in the most favored wine dis
tricts of Europe additions are made to the
grape must and the wine improved thereby
Aud as for our native American grapes the
must of all of them, except perhaps the
Delaware, needs "doctoring' aud is doctored
more than the scuppcrnong believe that
from scuppernongs. all of which are dead
rspe, better wine can be made without
"doctorng," than can be made without it
from any other American grape, not of the
scuppernong family, unless it be the Della
ware But as there is most certain 10 be
more or less OF green or but partly ripe
scuppernongs gathered with the others, from
one to two pounds Of good white sugar
should be added to each gallon of its must.
Most other native grapes have an excess of
acid, Of tannin, and Of '.frincss" requiring
not only sugar, but water to be added in
order to neutralize them. Not so with the
perfectly ripe scuppcrnong, and even the
nnripc needs only slight addition of
sugar.
~ Fourth. The must is now poured into
clear casks. ETC., till they are full and the
long end Of ciphon inserted tightly in the
bung hole of each cask, ETC., with its shorter
end cmptying into dish of water. This
allows the escape of gass from the vessel
while preventing the ingrcss of air during
fermentation. Tho casks, etc, should bo
in situation of which the temperature will
be as low and equable as may be-a cellar
of course to be preferred-though it is a
mistake to suppose cellar an absolute pre-.
requisite to making very good wine.
Fifth. After active fermentation is over,
say in about month, it will be found that
the vessels lack considerable Of being full
when the contents of one of the smaller
ones Git is better to have them of graduated
szes) should be used for reilling the others
and the must be kept quite JuH all the time
and the bumgs tight.
Sixth. Some cold clear day in February
tho wine should be racked off, j. O., the
clear wine drawn off from the settings OF
''lees' into other clean casks, etc, which
must also DC made and kspt apitA b6ttit 6ttiiti viii
tight. 1t may "~-x&Sor or two (and in
improve with age for y&S. y. wv Sane ~
a good cellar for several ycArs.)
The utmost cleanliness should be observed
in all the manipulations of wine making
and it should be conducted where there are
no bad odors prevalent, as wine is almost as
susceptible rs milk to extrancous influences
The scuppernong is naturally sparkling
or champagne wine; requires no rock candy
ing or treatment with carbonic acid gass as
the catawba and others do when bottled
Bottle good scuppernong of almost any age
and cork and wire tight in month or two
1t will be highly effervcscent when opened.
--S. j. MATTHEWS, IN our Home Journal.
One AHEAD OF Observation-Disclosures,
July 30.-A special from Springfield, Mo,
States that number of deputy marshals
from N;osonr; ,p1 rkopo,o cono ppon