Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1884-02-02
Wia6THtk..

Is, In TRUTH SO hafH It'd TQluire or so rare. as
that of wine. A palate RflaNrc can tell the ouali-
ty OF any PARTICULAR fbihsSf bottle; which can
pronounce whether aifaftisan 1920, an 1894
or an 1917, and whethef it G'Yeeling its age by
the decrease of it's body; what it is exactly that
distinguishes Chateau Lafitte from Chateau
MafgalX or wherein lies the merit of La
Rose OF 1874 or Leoville' Of 1870 is more ex-
ceptional than one might examine from dinner
table talk. Most men can say whether the wine
before them is fruit. or dry, and some of them.
if they dared, would prefer it in the former con-
dition; but in spite of all their vinous iargon,
it is not given to every one in good credit with
his wine merchant to say, until he looks at the
label. whether the Burgundy he is mbibnr ia
a Clos VougeOt at eighty-four shillings or a
Beaune at half the figure. Indeed, always ex-
cepting picture talk which carries off the nalm
for hollow verbiage, there are not many shams
OF the dinner table which are less sincere than
Whie talk. To see the British ratepayers, frank
ana honorable in every other relation of life.
discussing 4" glass of wine, is picture for the
satirst and sadness for the mOralst After
eating fish, flesh and fowl, and boiled. roast and
seasoned until the original taste has disappeared
and washed down with three or four different
wines they pretend to discuss the "bouuuet'
OF claret which. to appreciate, would require
a virgin palate and an acuteness of the gnsta
tory nerves that like the talent of the profes-
aonal tea-taster, is born with a man, not ac-
CURED. 1t is one OF those Alterations which
the Briton considers necessary to his good re-
pute in society, for he would as soon allow that
ne was lacking In this technical knowledge as
that he knew nothing about a horse or could
not drive gig.
Inc only criterion great many worthy people
have Of the character OF wine is that they paid
the best price for it, and it is to be allowed that
II the wine merchant knows his business, and is
ypn y,-ipn 49,
repute are, they have thereby done their duty
to themselves and to their guests The golden
rule In buying wine is to remember that there is
always market for the best brands. and that
there are no such thing as bargains In noted
vintaTes. Another maxim for the unintjated
is to drink only the native wine of any country
he may happen to be visiting. 1t is reasonably
sure to DE pure, and if the cheapest is selected
the chances are that it will also be the best, for
too many people are judges of this brand for the
dealer to attempt any tricks with it, 1t Is nOtO-
rious that the foreigner who asks for costly
Rhine wine at Coblentz or Cologne generally
gets only what happens to be handiest, though
the wet label is printed with any name, from
Johannesburg to Niersteiner
The reason for this is not hard to seek The
dealers know from long experience that out of
thousand men who talk wine, not one knows
anything about it. All that can be said is. that
II he drinks cheap wine-and majority of
people do not use the most costly-he will Dos
sby be Judge of the article. Hence Germany
is the great mart for the worst French clarets-
the canors 1udiciously weakened and palmed off
for the choice grOwths of medOc-and England
for the hooks, mOselles, madeiras, ports, sher-
rles. and clarets which are concocted in the
factories OF Hamburg and Berlin. Better,
therefore, drink Henri Quatre's ''bon vim du
surene,' though 1t be a trifle acrid, and even
swallow with wry face the dreimaEnerwein of
Gruneberger though according to the SiIesiau
ballad It takes three men to drink a glass of
it-one to swallow the liquor and two to keep
his courage up. But it is pure of its kind
Champagne offers even wider field for the
ingenuity of the dealer, since, as the public in
sist on running after one or two famous brands.
OF which there is only limited quantity pro-
duced, the temptation to palm of other manu-
whose only guide is the label, becomes too
frequently Irresistible. At all events, it Is not
often resisted.
The champagne district of the land of the
Ay, verzenay, Eperney, and Rheims vineyards
OF this not one half is exported, and VET Amer
lea Is said to use twice as much Of q wine which
processes to be French and has unquestionablv
French labels, ''fzzes," and is more or less ex-
nilarating AS matter Of tact the gooseberry
the Atlantic are responsible for much of the
cheaper champagnes," and-owing to the nat
ural sourness OF this "wine" requiring the addi-
ton OF syrup-for good deal of sweetened
oheTy WHICH Ii OeiOved OF W0manktnd. But
It does not necessarily follow that because q
champagne Is exported from the champagne coun-
try it Is the product Of any OF the world famous
for some Of the worst of q very bad
article comes from region where the best Of
q very good one Is prepared. Good champagne
Can never be cheap, for the labor necessary in
producing 1t and the loss incurred by the
bursting bottles Is so great that the price
must always range high. At the same time
there Is no wine which owes more to the skill OF
the maker and less to the quality of the grape
than this favorite beverage. 1t may, indeed, be
made out OF almost any grape, and If care is
taken the result will be sound wine though.
doubtless, not one possessed Of the delicate
aroma and tndescribable something" which
are more spoken Of than appreciated. Spark
ling Burgundy-the ''red champagne once 40
generally drunk-is now never heard of; and,
although few people dream of associating the
name with anything save effervescence, 'sstill"
champagne is preferable to the wine as we
ordinarily see 1t. Indeed, IT is mistake to
drink sparkling wine until the carb0nic acid has
partially disappeared, for then. if the quality Is
good, 1t Will be found to have retained it's body
and flavor, which before had been concealed By
the enervescence. Good champagne throws
down Its head rapidly, and then, though the
bubbles have disappeared. the aroma remains.
But II people will bllndly drink wine by the
label they deserve no pity, and are not likely
to receive much.