Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1880-11-19
The Great Champagne Makers,
London World.

London World,l
Dom Perignon, Prior of the Abbey
Of H~autviliers, discovered a means Of
making a white wine from the dusky
grapes, and he invented the thin flute
like glass which held the foaming
liquor. 1t was known as YIN Peris.
non," and later, in the days of the
Regent, as "Vin day." and Voltaire,
the cynic and free-thinkers, tells us in
his letters that he consoled himself
during his stay at Ferney, with the
wine which had been invented by the
monks.
Oonnoisseurs declare that it is i'm
possible to make good champagne with.
out blending different wines together.
and the finest brands are made ofblack
and white grapes, with Verzenay TO
give vigor and body, Bouzy to CON
tribute the bouquet, Ay to tone down
the mixture and Cremant to give it
those sparkling, Dreaming qualities
which are so much appreciated. Like
the good people of Cognac, who buy
raw spirit in England and then send
it back again to London as Zine
Champagne the tradesmen of Rheims
are accused Of importing large quanti-
ties of efferyescing wines from Tou-
raine; and there is a shrewd suspicion
that some of the cheaper vintages are
grown on the hillsides at Saumur, and
| simply champagnisee at Rheims.
The moment chosen for bottling is
the month Of May, when every housa.
in the trade is as busy az busy can be
filling up the vacancies left in the bins
by the numerous demands which have
been made by the consumer. Stout
wire masks are used for visiting the
cellars at this season of the year, for,
although accidents are excessively
rare, bottles have now and then burst
with the force Of the gas, and frag-
ments Of the glass have been hurled
right and left, more than one man
bearing the marks Of cuts, clean as il
done with a sabre on his neck and
forehead. Each person is armed with
a candle, such as is used in the docks
in London, and then the vaults are
explored. They are cut deep in the
chalky soil, ahd some say they we're
made by the Romans in the days gone
by, but no one can tell for certain
what purpose they were intended to
serve before they were used for stor-
ing up the wine. There are the
bottles, tier upon tier, sugar
candied, branded and favored, seal
ed and capsuled up, labelled with
the name of the firm, and
ready to be packed in those wooden
cases which are being made in the
carpenters shop with far more care
aud attention than a pauper's coffin,
Each of the 10000 0 or 1000, 900 Of
bottles piled up have passed through
the ssnds Of about 100 persons.
Rheims is full of champagne manufac-
turers; it is the headquarters Of the
Widow CliquOt, of the Roederers, of
Mumm, Meet and Chqndon, Monte
bello and Perier, while the palace of
the Meets at Epernay vies in impor-
lance with that Of Madame Pommery
at Rheims. Some prefer one wine,
others another, but few persons who
have not visited the country can credit
that the glorious vintage is not exactly
what il pretends to be; that the creamy
effervescence so highly priced is moi
the work Of nature, but Of art, and
that the pure, unsophisticated vintage
which gladdened the heart and toned
down the %asperities Of Wenceslas. Of
Poland, was still vino, as different
from what is generally called cham
payne as chalk is from cheese.