The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1884-03-04
TRICKS OF THE VINE TRADE.s
Watering the American Product..o
How the Native Article Is Trans.
Formed Into the Foreign.
brooklyn Eagle.

Brooklyn Eagle.
81 will tell you little personal experience
of my own. In the neighborhood of the
University buildings aud Washington square,
in New York city, there are number OF
French-ItaIi cafes attracted thither by the
large number of bachelors who lodge in the
vicinity. frequented one kept by an Italian.
The dinner, including a small bottle oil red
wine, cost 81. The dinner was very good
and the wine, which knew was American,
was somewhat thin. The proprietor and my
self being on excellent terms asked him one
evening with bold efirontery how much
water he put in his wine, and in burst OF
confidence, heightened by liberal indulgence
in his own wine, which, by the way, he al
ways drank pure himself, he told me that the
wine he furnished his guests was one-third
water--a diluton of his own-he could not
say how much the dealer had put in before it
reached him.
zone evening while was sitting near the
little pupitre whence the wine was brought
TO the tables, apale-faced young man with a
critical air entered aud seated himself near
the window. The room being of limited pro-
portions, all conversation, save that carried
was, therefore. without any desire to listen,
that heard tile Sswcomer, after looking
very sharply at the uulabled bottle of vim
ordinaire before him, and, thrusting it aside,
ask the proprietor if he would not fetch
him bottle of sound wine.
"What quality do you wishi" said the lat
ter.
est Julien was the reply
Certainly
"Ths answer was surprise to me, for i
knew the proprietor had no wine in the house
save that in dilutioD, as we might say, and
little pure Italian wine which he occasionally
offered to his most cherished guests. His
method, however, of supplying imported
wines of almost any description was simple
one, and had nothing whatever in common
with that old-fahsioned and expensive one OF
cu!tivating the grape, extracting the juice,
etc. From little box lie selected hand
some label with the legend st. Julien
Elouard Champlis Fills Bordeaux ct Rheims
This, which was gummed on one side, he
placed in a soup plate filed with water.
Then he took from another box gilded silver
foil cork covering, and taking up one of his
bottles of diluted wine he placed this dex-
terously over the cork pressing it neatly
down around the edges. Taking the bottle
up in his left hand he took the label from the
soup plate and stuck it securely on to the
bottle.
at was certainly neat Job, but Won
dered, as ! knew he would be expected to
pull tine cork how he would be able to ac-
| count for the absence of the popping noise
which in all cases accompanies the uncorking
Of good bottle of wine. But | moderated
his genius He supplied this as artistically
as he did the label and the cork. Taking the
| bottle to his customer in silver pail filed
with ice, he inquired if he should open it,
to which an affirmative reply being given,
he turned the cork-screw in brisky, leaned
his head and shoulders so as to completely
conceal his face aud, as the cork flew out,
he, by placing his tongue to his cheek, draw
ing in his breath and suddenly opening his
mouth, made noise which to the ear, even
where l sat, was almost the exact counter
part of that which is produced by drawing
very tightly-corked bottle. Yet the corl
in this bottle ike the corks in all the bottles
in this cafe, was SO loose that had it not had
a metallic label over it, it would havl
almost fallen out, The young man drank
the wine with evident relish and was charged
$3.50 extra, while those around him were
drinking the same wine without extra
| CHARGE
| Such instances o. that related above are by
no means rare. They occur every day in
New York and Brooklyn, and doubtless in
every other city in the country.