The herald., 1896-07-05

species of grapes, that those grown on
one side of a hill may produce an en-
tirely different favored and bodied wine
from those grown on the opposite.
though their expressed juices be fer
mented in the same cellar and in pre-
cisely the same way For example, the
famous Stein wine, made from grapes
grown on the sunny side of the Fortress
rock at Wurzburg is of six times greater
commercial value than that made from
those grown on the other side, although
but few yards separate the vines
the difference being entirely due to as
pect and soil.
Although some French champagnes
are vastly superior to every other kind
of sparkling wine manufactured in Eu-
rope, this cannot be said of all; for there
are as great differences in French cham
pagnes as there are in English ales, and
in most instances from similar causes.
Just as two breweries at Burton-on-
Trent separated by nothing but brick
wall, send forth entirely different flaw
ored ale, in like manner two adjoining
champagne manufactures will produce
differently favored wines.
Various reasons for these differences.
both in ale and wine, might be given,
but here it is only the two main ones as
regards champagne that will be consid-
cred. These are fermentation and dos
age.
With respect to fermentation. AS al
ready explained, the temperature of the
cellars in which it is conducted has an
all important influence on the result, and
this is particularly noticeable in the bot
tie stage of fermentation, from its being
the period during which the vinous aro-
matte ethers are chiefly developed In
order to develop them in perfection It
is necessary that uniform temperature
be maintained during the whole process
no easy matter in changeable climate
like that of Europe. Indeed, so import
ant an agent is temperature, that one
might say that the secret of the fame of
the delicate bouquets of the champagnes
of Chalons, Epernay and Rheims spring
solely from the fact of their possessing
great chalk cliffs, in which have been ex
cavated vast cave cellars, capable of be-
ing maintained al a uniform tempera-
ture, not only during the entire day,
month or year, but year after year, no
matter how hot the summer or how cold
the winter may be.
IN THE CHALK CLIFF CAVES
These chalk cliff wine caves are mar
velous sight In them are millions of
champagne bottles, standing like regi-
ments of soldiers. row upon row, bat
talon behind battalion, as far as the
eye can reach. But the bottles are
placed with their bottoms uppermost,
in order that the dirty debris arising
from the fermentation may fall into
their necks, the more easily to be got rid
of at the period of degorgement. a pro-
cess by which the wine is rendered
clear and pure and ready to be placed on
the market.
The act of degorgement consists in the
removal of the cork. which, in conse-
quence of the sudden outrush of the pent
up carbonic acid gas. goes out with a
bang, along with all the dirty debris
that has become deposited in the neck
OF the bottle. The operation requires
great care and is performed by men
with masks on. as the bottles frequently
explode. 1t likewise requires great skill
in order that the whole of the debris may
be got rid of with a minimum loss of
wine and gas
When we visited the celebrated chalk
caves of Jacquesson ct Fills, in order to
see the system of champagne manufact-
ure, they contained between two and
three millions of bottles, and a few days
before there had been over four mill
lions in them. which fact of itself affords
some idea of the vastness of these cellar
excavations.
Until after its degorgement the bot
tied champagne is spoken of as vim
brut, meaning therebya harsh imma-
ture article. and brut(e) it might we'll
be called. for in its then state it is acid
enough and acrid enough to take the
skin from the mouth of crocodile. Con-
seduently 1t has to be submitted to soft
ening process called dosage, to suit the