Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1882-12-22

Muly uccOnntS nnVe Dccn given rs 10
the processes of making grape juice into
champagne which do not quite, preferr-
ing to give the simple notes I took down
from word of mouth, as the senior partner
of firm, having forty years experience.
explained the subject. The long range
of cellars in this instance, those of Messrs.
Watcher & Co., were so many archways
or tunnels made in the chalk, unsupport-
ed by stone or brckwork, and at depth
of some forty feet, the temperature being
chilly to n most uncomfortable degree.
Cropping slowly, with candle at the end
of flat stick, for more than an hour, l
learned that-first, the pressed grape juice
becomes must which is put into casks,
where, by effervescence, this must be-
comes wine from which, Us the cask is not
air-tight, much carbonic acid gas is dis
persed n residunm is deposited in the
cask, and during the winter the wine is
clarified. In the cask, under the cold tenn
perature of the cellars, the wine re-
mains until May or June, and, of course,
preserves certain proportion of sugar.
The first bottling takes place i'll May or
June, and the residunm of sugar, in the
Theoretically -corked bottle, forms natur-
ally quantity of carbonic acid gas which
cannot escape and that is the sparkle of
fire that gives character to champagne.
Sometimes however, natural fermenta-
tion fails to give sufficient "sparkle"
through want of sugar, and in such
case certain quantity of diluted sugar
candy is added. The determination of
how much and how little addition is de-
sirable is special estimate that only ex-
perienced experts can make. But at this
stage champagne for the table is far from
being ready much more time and trouble
have to be bestowed.
The next migration of the bottles is
from the cellar to "upstairs, where, in
stores, above ground, and i'll temper
ature of 81 to 60, they are laid fiat, in or
der TO facilitate the deposition of sedi-
ment. AT this period, which lasts four
teen to twenty-one days, where the car
bonic acid gas is i'll excess. the usual
breakage is from six to ten percent, and
promenade among the stores is only
made safe by protecting the face with
mask.
Again the young champagne" is sent
down stairs. and placed horizontally in
the cellar-bins, soioum their two, three,
four, five or six years and proportionately
mature. At two years, say, for Germany,
four years for England country hay
matured are placed "sur-point' in
racks cut so that the nccls slant down
ward. Daily then throughout four to six
weeks skilled men give each bottle shake
and n twist, without removing It, in order
to drive all sediment downward on to the
cork. When such result is attained,
the wine in the body of the bottle is quite
clear, but the deposit next the cork has
to be discharged, and this is done by
holding the bottle downward, and releas-
ing the cork, which is shot out. with the
sediment behind it, by the pressure ofthe
vinous gas. Quickly and dextcrously the
bottle is then 'righted" and placed on its
base with but little less of wine. Immed-
lately such loss is repaired by the addi-
ton of old wine and diluted sugar candy
so blended as to make the whole bottle
"dry, extra dry" otc., as may be es-
pecially designed. Thus dosed the wine
becomes a "bottle of champagne 1t re-
ceivcs asecond corking, is tied with string,
and wired, and daintily dressed up and
decorated in the uniform of"the House,
and goes to market
At the date of my arrival in Epernay,
which is the great seat of the champagne
trade, even more so than are Rheims and
Avize, the weather had settled into cold
Scotch mlstness, that in the middle Of
October enforced idleness in the abandon
ed vineyard. Such days then l devoted
to visits of the vast underground stores,
i'll which may be seen enough vine, young
and middle-aged, as would keep the world
merry for two or three years for, if all
comers take about twenty millions of bot
ties in one year, the great wine houses
have already i'll theft cellars upward of
sixty millions. A large proportion of
these are worth five shillings n bottle and
thus an immense capital is employed.
Grape Juice is often worth ten to fifteen
shillngs per gallon, aud the cost Of con-
verting such wine into sparkling cham
page is heavy-much heavier than is COM
monty supposed. Sparkling wine can be
made everywhere, but it is only in the
special districts of some 800 to 1000
acres IN extent that grapes can be raised,
from which isdrawn the peerless wine that
firms OF repute distribute all over the
world-Australia and America, India and
China competing with Europe for Cham
pagne.- LOndOn Graphic.