The weekly Union times. [volume] (Union C.H., South Carolina) 1871-1894, 1878-08-09
TO MAKE sGuPP1RNoRa WINE.


are in making it from all other grapes
AND whoever hss Hussman's or Remelin's
work on wine making will find the direc-
tions therein as entirely applicable to the
scuppernong as they are to. the other Ameri-
can grapes Of which they more especially
treat.
But I write for those who are not caring
to learn the rational of the process and
who are not possessed Of saccharometers,
acidimeters, aud other requisites for sctea-
tifc wine making.
First. Be sure to use perfectly ripe
grapes, if possible to avoid those that are
not. This however, is not very easysto do,
as the scuppernoug does not by any means
ripen its crop, all at once. And even the
most careful hands will gather more 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.
grapes (Which is best done in mill having
wooden or stone rollers set ! of an inch
apart aud expressing the juice which must
be done in wooden press as the oxygeni-
cation or nIeIaiiv mill press impaire
the flavor of the wine. The juice (or must)
may be pressed ontiMMediately after hash
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 Jou9uet.)
Third Writers OH the grape, at the
North (where the scuppernong doesn't
grow speak disparagingly of it as wine
grape, because it is usual to add sugar to its
must in making wiue. They deprecato any
"doctoring" Gas 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 "bosh."-
Even with the best varieties Of the pitis
vinefyra and in the most favored wine dis
tricts of Europe additions are made to the
grape must and the wine improved thereby.
And as for our native American grapes tho
must of all of them, except perhaps the
Delaware, needs "doctoring" and is doctored
more than the scuppernong. believe that
from scuppernongs, all of which are dead
rspe, better wine can be made without
"doctoring," 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 to 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 "friness" requiring
not only sugar, but water to be added in
order to neutralize them. Not SO with the
perfectly ripe scuppernong, and even the
nnripe 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 a 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 ingress of air during
fermentation. Tho casks, ETC., should DO
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 refilling the others
and the must be kept quite full all the time
and the bungs tight.
Sixth. Some cold clear day in February
the wine should be racked off, j. O., the
clear wine drawn off from the settings or
''lees" into other clean casks, etc, which
must also &c made and kent ggite full uI!IIia}aad aaad
tight. 1t may nowS, ..-,or e'ed but win
improve with age for tgo land in
good cellar for several yShrs.)
The utmost cleanliness should be observed
in all the manipulations of wine making,
and it should be conducted where thore are
no bad odors prevalent, as wine is almost as
susceptible as milk to ext-aneous 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
it will be highly effervcscent when opened.
IS. j. MATTHEWS, IN oar Home Journal.
ONE AHEAD OF ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
July 3O.-A special from Springfield, Mo-,
states that number of deputy marshals