The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-30

doubt. Let us go back TO our author for
facts and with him follow the vicissitudes
of the young. pure and innocent wine OF
France from the time II leaves its native
village, finds its way to the center OF com
merce for red wines bordeaux. Cette, Di-
jon, Bercy Chalons-sur- Marine. etc and
thence TO Paris, and the rest of the world.
Let US say that oR young wine has finish
ed the first stage of its journey round the
world and is arrived. say al Cette I'm the
department of the Herault. What is this
cetteT' asks our author and answers his
own question, "A canal with It's banks bor-
dered with storage rooms Here the sea de-
posits its low-priced wines Of the Mediter-
ranean llttoral wines heavy with alcohol
and deep in color and which will serve to
remonter this is the technical word to set
upD the weak wines of the French lands"
Remonter Is very comprehensive word
when applied to wines and the French
dealers treat their wines as literally as
does Tammany or any other politician
treat his constituents when election time
comes around. They set 'em up. and set
EN- up and set EN- up again. The wine
merchant like the politician, has many
various ways of setting EN- up" but for
the purposes OF this article ] shall refer
only to the three principal and best known
methods Of improving 60, the wines Of
France. These are the Coupage. the
Mouillage and the Platrage. Coupage is
the mixing with other wines or water,
ana is the first setting up. Mouillage is
the wetting down of the wine, which is
water work, pure and simple. Platrage is
the .piastering" of the wines with sui
phate OF lime-the plaster OF paris of
commerce-and Is intended to correct acid
ity. As the methods are practically the
same in the different centers Of the wine
commercial uno disco omnes--we will
-. ..Na
and take a front seat for the Grand Trans.
formation Scene.
The heaviest wines Of Spain, Portugal
Italy, Austro-Hungary are all utilized for
this first operation. but by far the most
used are the Spanish wines. Our author
gives the reason THE wine OF Spain is
Indispensable II teammates the depressed
lin spiriO corrects the surly (sour) and
sustains the weak. 1t is the regulator or
their energy. To what does II owe Its
tyrannical qualities2 To the alcohol " hich
Il contains" just so. II was found that
the alcoholic strength OF the Spanish
wines more than doubled that of the
French. This was a curious fact, ana,
more curious still. year after year, these
wines arrived in France with an unvary-
ing degree of strength that finally at
tracted the attention of the French au-
thorites. Surprise, curiosity investiga-
ton, indignation, protestation succeeded,
the one and the other, in regular order.
II was discovered that the sun and the
soil Of Spain were not so specially favor
ed by Providence as one might be led TO
suppose. Providence had nothing to do
with II. Investigation revealed the not
so very astounding fact that the Spanish
wines were not what one might call ex-
actly natural wines. They were dosed
with alcohol to the maximum degree au-
thorlzed by the excise for wines circulat-
ing in France.
The French wine is weak in it's natural
state. 1t must be strengthened The Span
ish wine is strong, but not strong enough.
1t must be made stronger. How? That
was the mystery the French authorities
unravelled. In 1887, for example, France
imported 100000 hectolitres "a hectolitre
equals % gallons) of Spanish wine, and In
the same year Spain imported 100000 hec-
tolitres of alcohol from Germany. The al
cohol Of commerce is like child that does
not know its own father II might be the
simple product Of the grape, and then.
again, 1t might not, with the accent on the
mot" The founding has many reputed
fathers-corn, rice and other grains, po-
tatoes, beet9, honey, starch, etc, all pro-
duce alcohol-alcohol that may be used
to strengthen the wines of France, which.
by the way. is not always TO be taken as
the juice either Of the pure and tender
grape mixtures" when the lions skin
falls short. we exc 1t out with the fox's."
When the harvest fails, wine can be made
of dried raisins, figs. locust beans, etc,
etc Thousands and thousands of boxes Of
poor quality raisins, figs and beans an
nually find their way to French territory
from eastern lands. but we will leave
them out Of the reckoning and confne our
selves to the wine of France. Nor will
we take to the water just yet. But my
friends of the clubs. you who have your
special fancies in brands OF wine, can you
believe that your Macon, your Libourne,
your Beaujolais all come out of the same
vat? That your Bordeaux and your Bur-
gundy are twin brothers. with their birth
marks slightly altered In the cradle? You
are not compelled to believe me If you do
not wish to. but Magma est veritas ct
praevalebit" Truth lies at the bottom Of
a well and knows great deal about the
wine business.
And now l viii give you one of our au-
thor's definitions of coupage. ITO take
mediocre or bad wines, wines artiicially
alcoholized or poor, unite them in the
bonds of a close carriage with the wine Of
Spain, and make a wine Of agreeable taste
and Of a nature TO give satisfaction TO the
consumer" And he adds: 1T is veritable
art that of mixing wines" | can easily
believe It when / see those rows of enor-
nous watts containing from 300 to 1000 hec-
tolitres, where repose so many different
wines l think, not without melancholy,
OF the days when my father would say to
me, Little one, we will take some wine
to-day" In that happy time the consumer
was not what he is now; he knew and APP
preclated wine; he had not a misguided
and depraved palate.
Monillage explains itself wetting down
Is a wetting down; IL may be little more
or a little less, but II Is always awetting.
There Is a simple equation which the wine
own satisfaction. at least. 1t is, two casks
Spanish wine plus one cask water equals
tire casks Bordeaux. That IL simple, too.
simple, in fact. for II leaves the French
wine out altogether, and It must be brought
into the reckoning Of what becomes of the
home products. Let us start again: One
cask Spanish wine equals two casks .Bor-
deaux That is a beginning and the pump