Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1895-10-25
REAL CHAMPAGNE.
How the Genuine Article Is Pre-
pared.

People generally have false idea of
how champagne is made. In fact,
many have their own theories con-
cerning this wine 80 extensively drunk
in America, and each theory is more
or less erroneous. From Il treatise
upon champagne have culled inter
esting information, whose reliability |
can vouch, for it was prepared in the
province Of Champagne, where all the
celebrated houses and brands are es-
tablished. You probably suppose, as
/ have for number of years, that
champagne is made of white grapes.
Only very small part of the cham
pagne vineyard owners cultivate the
white grape, about one-fourth; the
rest yield red grapes. Grapes are
never pressed in tubs with the feet, as
is the custom with the Bordeaux and
Bourgogne wines. They are mashed
by means of fine presses; then the
skins are Immediately taken away, for
it is the skins that contain the color
ing material; the juice of the grape
when pressed into liquid is slightly
tinted, and it becomes white after the
first fermentation.
The grape harvests are made with
the greatest care in Champagne. Each
bunch is carefully detached from the
stalk, without the least crushing, chos-
en- in certain stage of ripeness, picked
with care, and every day the harvests
are crushed without delay in the
presses. The liquid obtained from the
first three dressings constitutes the
one of which the champagne is made.
The remaining juice pressed from the
pulp gives an inferior wine, which does
not deserve the name of champagne.
The grape juice is Immediately put
into the barrels that the purchasers
have sent, and is tested with particu-
lar care. 1t takes only few days for
this liquid to ferment and be trans
formed from sweet wine, or " mout,'
into an alcoholic, sourish liquid, which
now assumes the name of wine. AS
soon as the first days of winter appear
the wine is poured into other barrels
and delivered of the sediment that re-
mains in the bottom OF the first bar
rel; it has then become pure and lin
pid.
During the months of January and
February the wine merchant is busy
mixing the different wines from the
different vintages. Experience has
shown that to obtain u perfect wine
it il necessary to mix wines coming
from different localities in certain pro-
portions. The wine merchant for this
mixture must be guided by the quality
of grapes that the harvests have pro-
duced. Wines OF the same year may
be mixed, but habiiually n good wine
OF two or three years standing is
added to the years vintage, and then
a wine that can be considered Of the
same brand from year to year is OBJ
tained. When the composition Of
wines is homogeneous and harmon
ious, when the bouquet is obtained by
certain quantities of each wine, and
the head OF the establishment, after
tasting with nose and palate, has pro-
nounced it good, the wine is ready for
bottling.
Spring, when the sap begins to
work, is the time for bottling cham.
payne. The bottles are rinsed and
cleaned with scrupulous care, and
corking is done with special appara-
tus. Here an explanation is necessary
in reference to the quantity of froth
reserved for each bottle. For over a
century wine merchants offered large
rewards to any man who would invent
a way of bottling champagne which
would prevent the froth from explod-
ing and breaking innumerable bottles.
Up to 1886 about half Of the cham
payne was lost by breakage of bottles
and the explosions of corks. After
much study and innumerable assays
NJ. Francois, chemist, by means OF 8
gleuco-oenometer, and having part
of the alcohol evaporate, found the
means of measuring the amount o
sugar bottle could contain without
running the danger of exploding. l
by the means of the gleuco-oenometel
one finds that the wine has not suffi
cient natural sugar. a certain quantity
OF melted rock candy is added.
With the increase of temperature
and the natural ferment produced il
the time when sap gives renewed lil
to the grape plant, the natural suga
or that which has been added is trans
formed into alcohol and carbonic acid
This gas, because OF the alright cork
cannot escape, remains dissolved il
: the wine. and becomes the froth whel
, uncorked.
In this state champagne is extr
dry, it is almost undrinkable, and tim
, only corrects the acidity and bring
back its first qualities. 1t become
then necessary to restore the suga
$ that the wine had at first, and this
done in the following manner: Th
c fermentation which has develope
3 froth has produced sediment whic
| must be extracted, and the extractio