The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1880-07-22
Ha0ies' port(olio.
Something for WIne-DrinkerS to
Read-nOw Men Appear In
the World.

tower of other days admonished me was
entering the domain of Chateau la Tour,
one of the three ~reigning houses at Haut
Medoc, by decree of the Bordeaux chamber
of commerce and the sutfrages OF princely
drinkers, the world over ranking number
one in a classification of a select sixty,
chosen from among the many thousand
,ignobtts If a district where all is choice and
fine. Surrounded by a field OF little low
vines, as Insignificant to look at as any OF
the others, stood a handsome new chateau,
with press-room, store-hOuses, stables, etc.,
close by. while apart from all, and rising
from among the hop-o'-my thumb trellis,
Was a stately antique. tower, giving dignity,
character, interest and name to the place.
A gentleman of distinguished look, with two
ladies', was walking towards the house as L
dew near | saluted him and asked per-
mission to walk about the property. IF
Monsieur will be good enough to wait a mo-
ment, the regissem will be here and will
conduct him." The regtsseur, or conductor,
coming up, [ 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 p~ressOir, and
five or six men, with trowsers rolled above
the knees, were trottlng about In a circle,
tramping the pile under foot, beginning at
the outer circumference and gra 1ually con-
IjdSIiuS = iSu Uhoh ShSy AdN
middle and on top of the cone. This they
call 'touler a pied' crushing with teet).
There might be a cleaner way OF doing the
thing. [ don't think there could be a
fouler. The regisseur made no apology for
Che sight, nor did the trotters seem the
least ashamed. Wherever we went that
day, except at the Averous farm and Cha
teau LATTE, this mode of crushing was in
practice. 1t is said no other so effectually
..-lo. %ho p,lp vr,fbonf hrooEtnr tho Cood
In fact, that it is important for the gu lily
of the wine that it be trodden out with
naked feet. 1t is also said, and very truly,
that soap and water will cleanse the feet as
we'll as the hands. AT one place [ visited |
inquired of the workmen it they washed
their feet before tramping on the grapes,
and was told they did not. One Of them
enlightened my ignorance by explaining
that wine had the power to fling off all i'm
Quence how free they made with it. No
doubt there is a good deal to be said on the
other side of this question of dirt confess
that what / saw and heard disturbed my old
notion--at all events, the Medoc vintagers
acted as if quite sure Oft their chemical de-
auctions, and would walk with barefoot
slap-dash through puddle and mud and
mount the juicy heap with the assured tread
Of men firmly grounded in their principles.
AZ liz llOSpICc DIT DllSuy, Ill In pIO-
vince of Burgundy, the property of an en-
doWed hospital, in Beune, | found the ar
rangements excellent. The watts, which are
constructed like those of Medoc, only lower
and wider in proportion to their height,
hold about a thousand glllOns each. Often
it is necessary to resort to artificial heat In
aid of the fermentation, but so long as things
work we'll in the watts nothing of the kird is
needed. But there is another mode of
~o,r,o. 80 H. ,l,io~ ,~l -
the same time bringing the skins and seeds
which have settled to the bottom into con.
tact with the new made alcohol, to that the
later may combine we'll with the coloring
matter they contain. This consists in stir
ring up the whole mass from bottom to top.
1t IS done twice during the process of fer
mentation. 1t needs a good one hour
hard work each time. 1t is done by men.
It takes four men to do it well. As naked
as Adam when he was good-and they go
in-into the wine vat-chin deep they 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
pomace that was depositing itself, and
sMake the cruel thick and slab,
And like a hell broth boil and bubble"
The nice, sweet Borde,ais man only puts
his foot in it, but the ~Burgundian goes the
whole figure. 1t is done to give the wine a
full body. They call it fermenting on the
skin. He who explained this to my aston.
ished mind avowed it with the simple frank
ness of a Feeiee cannibal who admits hi.
sondness for what he calls long pork.
But the Feejee people are only heathens
At the Hospice first heard of this strang,
custom, but repeated inquiry afterward con
hrmed the story. Nor is the custom con
fined to Burgundy alone, or to France alone
Once say they, ''our wines termented OF
the skin only one or two days, and wer
light in color and taste but the consumer
Of late years demand a deeper color an
richer taste. SO in we CO. Stirring up wit
poles they tried, but the warmth of the hu
man body was wanting, and the result, the
say was not good besides, it was har
Eork."-From Bragg's European Em'
yard.
ITALIAN GIRLS THREADING WINE PREssl