The Russellville Democrat., 1880-08-05
4d#iA " as4 satt @ M SWIMMING MsCHAMPAGNE.
Something for Wine Drinkers to Reao
 How Men Appear in the yats. FlaQrs' E,,ropear yiuevartie

l |
 How Men Appear in the yats.
 s8& Flaggs European Vineyards
 "The sight near at hand of a stern
 round tower of other days sadmonished
 me. I was entering the domain of Chateau Ia Tour, one of the three reign
 ing houses ot Haut Medoc, by decree of
 the Bordeaux Chamber of Commerce
 and the suffrages of princely drinkers,
 the world over ranking number one in
 classification of select sixty, chosen from among the many thousand viqnoblos
 Of district where all is choice and fine. Surrounded by field of little low vines,
 as insignificant to look at as any of the
 others, stood handsome new chateau,
 with press-house, tore-houses, stables,
 etc., close by, while apart from all, and rising from'among the hop-o' any thumb
 trellis, was stately antique tower, giv- ing dignity, character, interest and name | to the place. A gentleman of distin-
 guished look, with two ladies, was walk
 ing toward the house as I drew near.
 l saluted him and asked permission to
 walk .aboth the property.~ @ aw ''If Monsieur will be good enough to wait moment the regisseur will be here
 and will conduct hi1n.pM &
 The regisseur or conductor coming up,
 l was presented and turned over to him. | He showed me the press-house. A pile of grapes already stemmed, was heaped in conical form on the pressoir, and five or six men, with trousers rolled. above | their hnees, were trotting about in circle, trampling the pile under foot, beginning at the outer circumference and gradually contracting their circuit | until they met in the middle and on top l 1f pied" (crushing with feet). There might don't think there, could be fouler. | The reoisseur made no apology for the sight, nor did the trotters seem the least | ashamed. Wherever 1 went that day, | except at the Averaus farm and Chateau Lafitte. this mode Of crushing was in practice. It is said no other so effectu- ally crushes the pulp without breaking the seed. In fact, that it is important for the quality of the wine that it be trod- I den out with naked feet. It is also said, and very truly. that soap and water will cleanse the feet as well as the hands. At one place I visited inquired of the workmen ifthey washed their feet be- fore tramping on the grapes, and was I told they did not. One of them enlight- sened my ignorance by explaining that wine had the power to fling of all i'm purities, so that it was of no sort of consequence how free they made with l it. No doubt there is good deal to be said on the other side of the question of Edirt-I confess what saw and heard l disturbed my old notion-at all events | the Medoc vintagers acted as if quite sure of their chemical deductions, and would walk with bare feet slap-dash through puddle and mud and mount the juicy heap with the assured tread of men firmly grounded in their principles. la At the 'Hospie,' 'at Bligny, in the pro- vince of Burgundy, the property of an endowed hospital, in Beaune, I found the arrangements excellent. -The-v -vats, which are constructed like those |, of Medoc, only lower and wider in pros portion to their height, hold about 1000 gallons each, Often it is necessary to resort to artificial heat in aid of the fer mentation, but 30 long as things work well in the vats nothing of the kind is needed. But there is another mode. of rousing up the slackening process, and at the same time bringing the skins and seeds which have settled to the bottom into contact with the new-made alcohol, so that the latter may combine we'll with the coloring matter they contain. This consists in stirring up the whole mass from bottom to top.s I Its is done twice during the process of fermentation. It needs good one hours work each time. Itis done by men. a It takes four men to do it well, all naked as Adam when he was good-and then they go in into the wine vat-~chin deepthey go in, and there, with feet and hands, fingers and toes, turn over, stir about and mix the liquid that was getting clear with the pomac that was depositing it. self, and SA "fse" @"1 t~ s@@F@s
 h Make the gruel thick and slab, .ese sla And like hell-broth. boil and bubble
 The nice, sweet Bordelais man only puts his foot in it, but the Burgundian goes the whole figure, It is done to give the wine full body. They call it ferment- ing on the skin. He who explained this to my astonished mind avowed it with simple frankness of a Feejee cannibal, who admits his fondness for what he calls Hong pork" But the Feejec peo. pie are only heathens. At the Hospice I first heard of this strange custom, but repeated inquiry afterward confirmed the story. Nor is the custom confined to Burgundy alone, or to France alone. Once, say they, 'our wines fermented on the skin only one or two days, and were light in color and taste; but the consumers of late years demand deeper color and richer taste, so in we go.' Stirring up with poles they tried, butthe warmth of ike human body was want ing, and the result, they say, was not good; besides, it was hard work"