Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-03-09

FEsTooNED WITH A BEAUTIFUL FUNGUS,
Which, white as snow at first, grows to be
a soft gray, giving beauty to these
gloomy vaults not looked for. This fun
gus we are told comes from the eyapora-
tons of the wines, and some of it shows a
brilliant red color which might be drops
of pure claret. 1t is the compensation"
the man says, but where the COMPENSATION
comes in or to whom it goes ! do not
know. Surely wine storers, who pay five
pence per cask per week, and the duty be-
sides, would scarcely call this fungus,
beautiful as it is, an equivalent for their
loss by evaporation and tapping. ] think
the man meant condensation, but he said
not; perhaps, though, tits a word in use
among cellarers. Each cask or set of
casks has marks upon it denoting the owner,
kind OF wine and time of putting in cellar.
These are all kept in arecord-book, with
the marks indicating the position in the
vaults, a necessity in SO large place.
THE CAUSE OF FUNGUS
Growth on the walls seems to be point of
disagreement with all the cellar-keepers.
First, it was the evaporation from the
wine; second, it was caused by the wood
dust, and third, we were told it was made
by spider. Each one of these men de-
rided the others theories; but all agreed
on the point that the more alcohol there
was in the wine the less fungus was found,
while where brandies are stored the walls
remain clean, and brandy placed in an old
wine vault destroys the fungus. The tenn
perature of the cellars remain the same
throughout the year. Two fine port wines
were given us in one e lar-the first Of a
light color, more like sherry, and most
| (rather too) delicate in flavor, was said to
be the best; the other was deep in color,
had more body, and
WAS LIKE OURS IN CALIFORNIA
Tasting of the fruit, and rich. Judges of
wine consider the former infinitely supe-
rior, but for the common taste port wine
mist taste of port wine, and not OF some
thing else Both these wines were from
Portugal. In a separate cellar where
little of daylight showed through the
bars, were two casks of California wine, a
claret, one Of the casks being Zinfandel.
1t was very welcome greeting from home
that came to my lips from this dusty cask.
and its perfume brought up a vision of
that sunny country for which daily long
amid this fog and gloom, and | looked
upon the
OLD MAN WITH THE RUSTY GIMLET,
As if he were a necromancer. shall always
came to me from the other side of the
world. 1t was better than Hawthorne's
Sunlight of Monte Benz" Perhaps it
was the scene, but think not; the crooked
old man became like Goethe's Mephisto,
and wherever he tapped with his charmed
gimlet, out poured the streams of red life,
and everyone was good and happy, and
January became June, but we came away
leaving the good, old fellow where he had
been for twenty-five years, and climbed up
and out into the cold world, which had
been all this time grooming above us.
Not far from here were the rum vaults,
where, to avoid danger of possible explo-
sion from
THE LIGHTS IGNITING THE FUMES,
We carried safety lamps. These cellars
were of vast extent and entirely free from
the fungus. Far along the paths which
seemed interminable, could be seen the
lamps of the workmen The keepers of
the vaults know the men by the manner OF
carrying their lights, each man having
some peculiar way of which even he him
self is unfamiliar. At the brandy vaults,
where we took our night-cap," bottle
Of liquid gold was given us to taste; it
was brandy, but not the brandy | had
known. II was smooth as oil and went
down like a benediction-a benediction so
lasting in its beneicent effect that grimy
London seemed paradise for days follow
ing. CHARLES A. GUNNIsoN.