Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-09-10
MUSTANti CRAZE WINE

VIII you kindly tell me through THE GA
zETTE how to keep mustang grape wine for
home use without the employment of either
sugar or alcohol If sugar must be used
what is the least proportion of sugar that
would keep Il Well! Please answer soon, as
the grape season is almost over and much
oblige 4 LADY READER.
Fort Worth, Texas.
Lack of information on our part as 70 the
per cent of saccharne matter contained in
the Juice of the mustang grape leaves your
question a somewhat difficult one to
answer. II may be possible that there is
sugar enough i'll the mustang grape to cut
off all need of adding sugar in wine-mak
ing, though we rather incline to the opinion
that there is not, considering the grapes in
the wild state, as gathered from the woods,
Juice of the scuppernong grape requires
one and half pounds OF good brown sugar
10 the gallon of Juice. to make first-class
wine. Notice that we osay brown sugar, =
for the white sugars are not apt to be near
SO sweet as the brown sugars-most of
them are more or less adulterated with gll-
cose or grape sugar
We think a pound and a half of sugar 10
the gallon Of juice would be entirely safe
for the mustang grape. Should this pro-
portion of sugar be too high you would soon
know it from the fact that the juice would
not ferment. Having discovered this
trouble, which would manifest itself within
a week, you could apply a remedy in the
addition of little water.
No alcohol is needed if you use sugar
the Office of the sugar is simply to make al
oehol. Without this alcohol the Juice or
must" as wine-makers cali it. would fer
ment too much and soon become vinegar.
The sugar must be added at once, so soon
US the Juice is pressed from the grape.
An unfermented wine is often made from
various varieties of the grape. To make it,
place the grapes in kettle of suitable size,
and add just water enough TO prevent them
from scorching when heat is applied. Boil
fifteen or twenty minutes and then remove
from the fire. All the grapes will be broken
by the boiling process. So soon as cool
enough to handle place in strong cotton
sack and squeeze out the juice. Strain the
juice and put into common beer bottles
when cool. Set the bottles in 4 vessel con-
tanning water at about their own tempera-
ture, and gradually bring up TO the boil.
Now take out the bottles, one at time,
and cork tightly as beer bottles are corked
No wiring is necessary, but it might be well
TO cover the heads OF the corks with sealing
wax
This is unfermented wine. Stored away
in cool place it will usually keep in
definitely. Il makes very nice and whole
some drink, and while people call it ''un-
fermented wine, it is really not wine at
all, but simply canned grape juice.
We cannot vouch for how the mustang
grape would serve the purpose of making
unfermented wine. 1t would make the
wine all right, no doubt, but there may ex-
ist possibility that the peculiar acrid juice
in the skins Of the species would be brought
out by the boiling, and would not prove
good in point of either flavor or effect in
the throat, when swallowed. You know,
of course, that this juice of the skins pro-
duces burning sensation in the throat if
swallowed when one is eating the grapes.
We don't know that anything of the kind
would attach to the unfermented wine.
neither do we know that it would not. OF
course practical test would soon settle the