Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-09-10

How the Grape. Are Grown aud tho Ma
ting Of the Wine.

How the Grapes Are Grown aud the Ma
ing of the Wine.
Condensed IRON All tho lear EsunA
The best clarets are grown in the distrtct
called the Medoc. which il divided into the Haat
Medoc and the Dss Medoc. and again snhdividei
into localities such a. nanillac, MargaaK. It,
Julien and 81. Estephe. Thee names are -
piled TO the growihs Of the respective Localities,
and 60 = good deal besides.
The Medoc Is long tongue Of land viii n
stretches north from Bordeaux between the -
and the rivers Garoune aud Giroude. Il {. us,
what can be called fertile soil. being Of a light
pebbly character. and it is noticeable that the
best wine Il produced where the earth Appesrs
the most sterile and in fact little better thea
stone heaps.
The vine fourishes best where the coil T. too
thin even 20 encourage weeds and where tie
bushes are stunted. The ryasoa g. tha, in 50 n
places the Earth retains the sun heat long after
sundovn. 80 that the work of fructihcatian
proceeds almost a. steadily by night by daF
The surface Of the Medoc Is composed OF saqa
aud pebbles SUPPOSED O. have been washed
down by the mountain torrents from the P,ra-
nees and deposited ayes MO- On she zaA tnare,R
When the casks filed with the rich ripe fru5t
reach the cellars-long stone bindings withoHt
hoors they are emf tied On To n horizontal lst-
nce work table. On this the grapes ATE ruhb.a
by n skilled workman in such a manner that ~.
fruit drops through into a trough beneath
whlie the stalks remain 10 bo thrown ava
Treatment differs, but, following the mast gee
eral process, the grapes which fall through the
lattice work are received ia trough which d
on n slightly inclined plnnr. with groove a
permit the rIice 20 ran freciv "a into a re-
ceiver Upon the bottom Of this trough lie
fruit II spread evealy aud then three OF -four
men With bare legs and feet begin 20 TREAD
down the grape. dancing 60 the sound Of !.
"a la 1..s.v 81.
thrown in.
This Is wine troadiag, aud. although ma
chimes have oitcn been introduced 60 suucF-
sede ~. aud are. IN fact. used in seme vine
sa-ds, the belief remains that a virtue exists IN
the human feet which 40 mere mechanioul
pressure can provide. This MAJ seem odd but
u Is readily eKplainRble. The weight Of "a.
human body IN hSihmic dance l. quite sufi
cient 20 crush the grapes. while the human foSa
Is rnniclentv heNible not L. crush thc seeds,
which contain an OIL injurious 10 the vine
IL Is held by some growers that crushing pro-
duces more rapid and equsble fermeiit atios
" the juice. although a lichier-calored Nina
Others maintain that il produces too much
sediment. and that IL Is better % throw he
unbroken grapes into the yat and 70 allow them
10 eNude their juice in = nsturni process OF fer
mentation. That process takes about a fort
night, by which time the skins and seeds viii
have settled at the bottom Of the vat; When
the grapes are trodden it j. onlV the iuice whici,
runs into the vat but after the men are done
dancing upon them the skins and uulp ara ruf
into mechanical press, where III rs.rnainins
juice l. squeezed out Of them aud made into
inferior wines.
Whether IL be the whole crane or the ,rodden
lniee winch Is put into the watts huge oHkeu
vessels standing in a ROW in the sheds -hesg
are hermetical!y sealed. with. perhap- a ,iuhot,
20 carry "ff the carbonic acid gas that NAV be
generated. Two weeks l. the usual time allowed
IN the watts. but the period varies and NAV ex-
tend TO four weeks.
We viii pass over the chemical process Of
Fermentation and come 20 the next industrial
process IN wine making. This lie the bArrelins
aud bottling
The barrels must be Of the best oak and the
best make, for bad barrel VIII spoll the best
wine that was ever made. They have 10 be
very carefully cleansed out, first with boiling
water and then with brandy. after which thes
are fumigated by means of bit Of lighted sui
phur at the end of rod run through the
bunghole. When thoroughly purified thew are
put IA row upon thick beams TO protect them
iron the damp floor. After being filed With
the new wine they have 60 be constantly
watched by the cellarman, who gauges reg
ularly the evaporation and replaces the exact
quantity eSaporated. This refilling IL very fire.
quent at first. but after a few months once .
fortnight sufices. The bungs also have 10 be
carefully watched and the linen round them
constantly changed. since any acid which the
cloth absorbs NAV be impaired 20 the VINE
BY the month Of March the fret tracking" On
drawing of of the new wine is done. That IL TO
say, the vine Is led of by siphon from the
hrst cask 10 a new one, which has been as care
fully cleaned and purified as the first The
siphon l. used so that the wine may rot come
into contact with the air. The process IL re-
I pested IN June and again in October and esch
drawing of should be clearer than lie prede-
cessnr. When the clarifying 10 not proceeding
as ~ should. from anyl cause, some makers
/ throw the whites OF half dozen egg. into the
cask, others use gelatin some other cAriiier,
but nothing which can in any way iniure ths
quality or color Of the wine.
Sometimes, if the fermentation In the va.s h.s
been imperfect. a second fermentation will take
place IN the casks the symptom Of which will
be the blowing out of the bung by the censra-
ton Of carbonic acid gas. When this happens
the wine 10 promptly drawn OF and PASSED
through pipes immersed In boiling water To-
another barrel This danger is incidental only
TO the first year. Second fermen tation rarely
occurs in the second wear; but in he second
year the wine is racked of three times again
At the end of the third wear the wine H. ready
for bottling. for il will not mature ary mons an
wood after that term. Some wines mature
much earlier. The bottling process Is sim,ae,
but very great care has 20 be exercised with the
corks. which soaked in brandy before being
forced by an ingenious machine into the necks
OF the bottles. The bottles are then sealed or
capsuled, and laid on their sides in the cellar
either to mature there or to be presently packed
into cases and shipped abroSd. This Is with re-
gard TO wine bottled nj the chateau" but. Of
course. the larger proportion of the clAret con-
sumed Is imported in the wood.