The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1886-07-18
SWEET WINES.
How They Are Made and How tho Law. An,e, Them

Except among experts there seems to he complete
ignorance about tho composition and methods OF
making sweet wines. AZ important legislation Ia
pending ne reproduce from tho report Of Senator
Jones, Of the Finance Committee, the Following I'm.
portant passages:
principles dnd processes fnroiced IN street.
irtne production. Alcohol IA product resulting
from tho fermentation OF liquids containing some
one OF the various kinds OF sugar, albumlno,is or
iermenesclble matter and water, acted upon by q
Substances Containing starch, such as potatoes,
wheat, corn, rye, etc, may be subjected To treat
mcnts ny which the starch In converted FIRST Into
what Ia chemically known as grape sugar, which IL
thcn subject to alcoholic fermcntatlon.
pSrns nc ci the seTmcn, germs OF
acid gas, the gas escaping unless confined.
Tss any S aGcsS Ga may he IN
quantity Of stgat contained therein. IL Is suif-
cien'ly accurate 10 say that llgud containing adper
n,.,n cent, % !" sugar S will after complete ctncn,a,cn
alcoh.l and carbonipatld Gas. Fpr this reason
tagc Gy means Of simple insiruneuts, which by
specific gravity show the percentage, OF sugar and
nctcrmlne when tho fruit Is sufficiently rlpc.
Knowing the saccharnc strength OF the Juice, or as
Y is called, the must, the wnc-maker knows what
Will be the alcoholic strength OF his wine, aud also
seS sue S9say Mne F i sH % ss d sss ns S s
containing 20 per cent. o. sugar VIII ptoddce wine
10 per cent. strong In absolute alcohol, and, II dis.
u.iVus %u sVlVltH ueHu-
ing distilled liduor containing 80 per cent, bS
volume, OF absolute alcohol
The Wine teaat will acl only under certain condl-
tons OF warmth, etc., aud may be obstrcied BY the
presence OF certain substances, ono OF which Ia an
excess Of alcohol Usually II IL found Impossible TO
obtain by direct fermentation more than b per cent
Of alcohol, often not more than ~ or ia per cent In
the original liquid, the excess Of sugar remaining
unfermcned. This is caused by the alcohol, which
SSea Se 81 SS sa
general.y stops action at per cent. Grape Juice,
therefore, having % per cent, Of sugar would gene
rally stop In fermentation when from 70 10 so per
cent. OF sugar has been converted Into alcohol,
leaving In the wine from to per cent of sugar In
ever, DO liable to slight changes OF condition during
causing clohdiness hhd 4 ferliienllhg taste with
hoc strength higher by me3ns OF an addition Of dis.
titled spirits efectuay prevents further turbance
bright In this condition 1t may even be suit
to the atmosphere without spelling. This addition
u called lortlca,lon, anil may vary In Quantity ac
wines and the condition OF change Of climate and
motion TO which commerce may subject them.
uaasna ssS' "s .. H slsd q % GfS .n
varies from = y pet 5 an tps' sspsssiss
necessity and commerce demanis 1t appears that
there may be some rare cases when even % per
cent 81 strength s required for exportal!cn as is
mlts foreign wines up to "a per cent 0ur American
producers say that with the privilege OF fertilization
id pn sy TO % es yaa sff5T's @ s
voyages and Hot climates not to exceed 20 per cent,
but that for safety In practical work, where 1t be-
comes q nice calculation to determine the exact
strength that Is being produced, they require ut least
two degrees OF margin to operate within, so as to
avoid unintentional violations OF law.
In the origin OF sweei-wlne production, such
wines were the natural result OF excessive saccha-
rne In The must, which could not be completely fer
sake Of preservation. Tie sweet wines Of l6ftdgal,
Malaga, ETC.. becaitie standafda ARTICLES df cdierce,
ALWAYS iSr,,dsa ~ a. dssSrsd the taste aid USE
porlant methods for arriving at siinilar results
where the natural sweetness Of grape Juice was not
In excess OF the amount that would ferment COM
the sugar Into alcohol, were followed, viz:
:. ~ The partial desccaion OF the fruit, so as to
increase the saccharine strength by the evaporation
OF some OF the watery parts-the practice as fol-
lowed with the Hungarian Tokayer wines and the
pfts de pdfie Of France.
(2l The arrest OF fermentation by the addition OF
distilled Spirits so as TO prevent all the sugar from
alcoholic conversion.
In California all Of these lsftl,iiaie ietiiods are
more or less practiced during the vintage In 1885 an
extraordinary degree OF heat ami drought 80 rapidly
developed sugar IN the fruit that In many cases. where
II was Intended to ferment dry wines, sweet wines
were produced from necessity. There were in
stances where even IS per cent OF sugar was found
In the must the fermentation generally stopping
with per cent. OF sugar unconverted. In year OF
large production such wines would be Overpr0duced
for domestic markets. AMI would become a loss TO
the producer II facilities for exportation were not
available. The ordinary saCcharine strength Of
grapes In portions OF California, where sweet wine
ts speciality varies from "a to 90 per cent, and the
practice Of arrcsting fermentation at tho proper
moment by adding spirits in vogue, In France and
other countries similarly condltioned when sweet
products are desired
When fortlfcaton ia used, as In the latter case,
u must be at the moment when the wlnenaker dis
menting juice. that there remains only the amount
Of sugar which he has determined TO preserve.
Hence there re- is no time for delay; he may even be
the middle OF the night.
The sweetness OF sweet wines varies according TO
commercial demands based on varying popular
tastes. Port wines are demanded sometimes with
land sometimes with 20 per cent OF sugar.
The quantity Of distilled spirits that must be used
~ Win the original saccharlne strength OF the
grape juice.
The following examples OF actual practice are
given to illustrate these varying necessities:
td) The grape Juice contains - per cent. of sugar
wanted, sweet wine with per cent. OF sugar un-
converted aud ~ per cent. of alcoholic strength.
sugar has been converted into per cent OF alcohol
add spirits sufficient to increase the strength to eel
which VIII represent IA per cent OF distilled alcohol
IN the wine when flushed, together with the per
cent. fermented.
owing to the Imperfecions OF original calculations,
the varying strength Of the spirits used and the
nice mathematical skill Involved In forlfyng 10 as
to produce result exactly intended, samples OF
the wines are subsequently distilled, md II found
not strong enough they arc again more accurately
fortified or blended with stronger wines. This M
isnng work In often the result of the demands OF
trade, when agents OF purchasers visit the Wineries
and must be accomplished durlnga period following
tne vintage; Many wine makers are uneducated
ana incapable OF exact work. These depend largely
upon the agents OF commercial houses TO Inform them
Of deficiencies. The period for fertilization begins,
therefore, with the time OF vintage OF the earliest
grapes In the warmcst pa 9 en- aud extends for some
time after the winemaklng has nnlshei In the lat
est; By close pressure the most skillfnl men In
Ixnn
OF August to the lst OF January, provided no other
method Of making sweet wines than those In vogue
there and In Europe were followed.
~ The grape juice contains, as before, ~ per
cent. sugar. wanted sweet wine with only pet cent.
sugar; In this case per cent. more OF the sugar
would be suffered to ferment, making the natural
wine per cent. stronger ana requiring . per cent
less added % alcohol, or only u per cent
,r W III Iae @ grape M juice contains 80 per cent sugar
menallon OF ~ per cent. Into II per cent. alcohol
and forlification with II per cent.
Ordinarily sweet wines. like ports, will carry about
per cent sugar, and require 10 10 ll per cent
strength OF alcohol by fortIncatious.
cent mhe % nernai % Teyenae ,aS on proof spirits So per
qulred TO fortify sweet wlnes10 to 12 per cent
would represent 70 TO per cent. of proof sprits
cents per each gallon Of wine made. Add TO this
tne cost OF the brandy III the proper nne new grape
% rs sssts Sss q q per res
cost o. fortiacaiion Of gallon Of port wine 40 cents,
exclusive OF the cost Of the wine, which has been
cuOu WiuCb VI culutilsTChl Graue
can be purchased In the south OF France and Spain
~ from 20 TO 90 cents por gallon, the spirits used In
them not paying tax when exported Hence Il is
apparent that American sweet wiucs, taxed for the
fortinca0n nj least 20 cents per gallon, could not
be exported and enter into successful competition
with similar foreign wines In such markets 40 Eng
land, Russia, Mexico, aud South America
FOIiGcdfiOn icHh free spirits FOR domestic
use.-When sweet wines are made by any OF the
legitimate usual methods, the producer has no
knowledge OF their ultimate destination. When
they are sold to the wholesale dealers they are kept
Tor maturing by age and a. they arrive for storage
they are necessarily mixed more or less, and all pos
sible traces OF record to the amount of splrits
used In fortlncaton must be lost. 1t is, therefore,
lmpracticable TO establish drawback for exporta.
original spirits used must be free OF tax.
Foreign wines are admitted up to ~ per cent of
alcoholic strength without tax on the spirits used In
fortlhcatl0n. Transportation from the Pacific coast
TO the Atlantic costs about 10 per gallon per
carload lots, and more for single packages. For
these reasons the producers claim that the tax on
fertilization should be removed as well for domestic
as for foreign markets.
The present production OF pure sweet wines IT, all
the States IL estimated al about 100000 gallons
representing fortlncati0n paying n tax OF not more
than t2OO,OOO The demand In this market cannot
rapidly Increase FOR this class OF wines, which are
claretH, hooks, etc.
Street iUfhes IN States other than California;
In vlne-growing States east OF the Rocky Mount
aims grapes do not acquire sufficient saccharine
strength TO make sweet wines according To the old
world and California methods. In these dstrcts an
Imitation sweet wine Ia made by adding sugar To dry
wines and f0rtfylng to prevent the sugar from fer.