Beverages and in Apparatus therefor.
Year: 1889

page_text: Beverages and in Apparatus therefor.
I WILHELM GERBEL of Korschach in the Republic of Switzerland Manufacturer
do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to
be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
This Invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of champagnes and other
effervescing or sparkling wines cider and other like beverages and it consists essentially
in the employment of a new ferment hereinafter described and in the construction and
arrangement of apparatus employed in manufacturing the wines or other beverages
with the employment of the said ferment.
The process consists in manufacturing effervescing beverages with wines or the
juice of fruits or the like in a clear condition ready for bottling with the addition of
the sugar required to furnish the carbonic acid resulting from the fermentation.
I have discovered that the stalks of grapes after the berries have been removed in
combination with the bark of the stems or stock of the vine constitute excellent ferment
bearers capable of producing a limpid or clear fermentation and are very superior to
the ferments heretofore employed or described such for example as lusks or skins of
grapes and currants, apple peel and woody fibres or potatoe peel, hop flower and
other fermenting agents.
The stalks of the bunches of grapes after the berries have been removed and which
I employ for producing a clear fermentation are thoroughly washed with water at the
temperature of about 30 degrees centigrade after which they are slightly dried by
exposure to the air or preferably in a centrifugal machine or hydro extractor.
The stalks are then sprinkled with sweetened wine, juices of fruit or the like in
order to enable their fermenting action to develope being afterwards exposed to the
air at a temperature of from 15 to 20 degrees centigrade until fermentation commences.
This treatment powerfully promotes fermentation. In order to obtain a complete
fermentation of the liquid containing from about 4 to 5
for effervesc-
ing wines for example the quantity of prepared stalks to be employed is equal to abou.
per
cent of
sugar

page_text: two per cent of the weight of liquid but a quantity of stalks equal to from 5 to 10
per cent may be employed without injuring the quality of effervescing wine if it be
desired to obtain a more rapid fermentation.
The advantage resulting from the employment of these stalks compared to other
ferments or bodies causing fermentation is that the stalks constitute a filtering and
drawing or sucking apparatus in themselves as indicated by their form there being at
the base of each part a great number of suckers or teats which possess the property of
attracting the particles of yeast that may be generated in the fermentation of the wine.
When after a time, the stalks become mucilaginous and their fermenting power is
consequently diminished they are replaced by unused stalks; those which become
mucilaginous are washed and may then be employed again.
In order to provide a supply of stalks for the entire year the required quantity is
collected during the vintage. These stalks are packed in a cask which is filled up
with wine or water with the addition of about per cent of sugar. By these means a
supply of excellent ferment is provided for all the year.
In manufacturing effervescing wines or beverages with wines cider or other
vegetable juices I employ apparatus such as that illustrated by way of example in the
accompanying drawings.
In this drawing B represents in section a cylindrical vessel which may be of any
suitable capacity, for example about 8 feet deep and capable of containing about
220 gallons (1,000 litres). This vessel is contained within an outer cylinder A of
sheet metal sufficiently strong to resist a pressure of eight atmospheres. The vessel B
is a cylinder of wood of less diameter than the cylinder A so that an annular
space C. of about one inch in width is formed between the vertical sides of the
cylinders A and B which are closed at the top by an iron lid or cover D provided with
a rubber packing ring and means for screwing it down so as form a tight joint. The
lower or inner surface of this cover is provided with a plate of glass cemented to the
cover and fitting accurately so as to hermetically close the wood vessel B. Inside the
latter there is a glass cylinder B₁ perforated with holes and provided with a lid being
employed to contain the ferment (stalks).
The vessel B constitutes the generating chamber in which the liquid to be
manufactured into effervescing wine or beverage receives by fermentation the required
quantity of carbonic acid.
The vessel B is capable of being connected with three cylindrical vessels F F F
the internal construction of which is similar to that of the cylindrical vessel A. The
dimensions of the vessels F F F are about half the dimensions of the vessel A and
the external connections being similarly arranged in all the vessels are marked with
the same letters of reference throughout, the letters on the vessels F F' and F2 being
distinguished by the addition of the numerals 1. 2 and 3 respectively.
The generating vessel A and the cylinder F are erected in a place where the
temperature can be kept at from about 15 to 25 degrees centigrade in order to obtain
a rapid and uniform fermentation. The vessels FF2 must be in a place where the
temperature is lower in order to facilitate the bottling of the effervescing wine or
beverage.
When the generating vessel B has been filled with wine for example and provided
with the ferment carrier or ferment the cover D is tightly closed and the annular
space C is filled with water through a cock d. When the water overflows at a cock f
at the upper part of the vessel the space C is known to be full and the cocks d and f
are then closed. A cock e is provided at the lower part of the chamber for drawing
off the water from the space C when required.
The wine is now left to ferment in the vessel B a cock p communicating with the
atmosphere being kept open until carbonic acid escapes this being known to be the
case when it extinguishes a lighted taper held to the opening.
A cock in a pipe leading to a manometer E and gauge glass b remains open in
order that the pressure of the escaping carbonic acid may act on the manometer E
and in the gauge glass which shows the level of the wine in the vessel B.

page_text: A cock e in a branch pipe leading to the space C. is also left open in order that the
pressure which is gradually developed in the vessel B may act simultaneously on the
water in the space C so as to balance the internal and external pressures and prevent
bursting of the vessel B.
When the wine is impregnated with the required quantity of carbonic acid which is
the case when the manometer E indicates a pressure of say eight atmospheres, it is
ready to be drawn off into the vessels F¹ or F2. The time. required to bring it to this
condition is usually from about 8 to 10 days.
In the meantime the vessel or cylinder F (which is likewise provided with a glass
containing the ferment carrier or stalks) is filled with wine and the annular space
surrounding the inner chamber in this vessel is filled with water. The cocks and f
corresponding to the cocks d and on the vessel or cylinder A are closed and the
cocks pl and are opened as herein before described with reference to the cylinder A.
This vessel F serves as a supply or feed chamber for the vessel B.-The wine may
be subjected to a preliminary fermentation in the vessel F in order to accelerate the
process the fermentation being afterwards more quickly concluded in the vessel B.
The prepared liquid from the vessel B is cooled in the vessels F1 and F. In the
first place the annular space surrounding the inner cylinder in the vessel F is filled
with water and the inner cylinder is filled with carbonic acid produced by the
fermentation and supplied through a rubber tube communicating with a condenser N
and the same pressure is established in the vessel F' as is indicated by the manometer E
on the vessel B being indicated by a manometer E on the vessel F¹ (generally
about 8 atmospheres). This is effected by the aid of a pressure regulator M
communicating with the condenser N through a pipe , this condenser being always
charged with an excess of pressure equal to two atmospheres so as to enable the
apparatus to work under a constant and uniform pressure.
At the same time the same pressure as that in the vessel F is produced in the
generating vessel B being transmitted through the open cock a by the aid of a tube i.
By these means the two vessels Band F can be placed in communication being
under the same pressure. Two cocks g g³ are then opened and the wine is allowed to
flow very slowly through a glass tube & from the vessel B into the vessel F¹ for
example without frothing (this vessel being at a lower level) the compressed gas
returning at the same time to the generating chamber B.
When the vessel is full, the cocks are shut. The wine is now ready for bottling
but it is advisable to allow it to remain in the vessel F¹ for a few days before drawing
it off.
The refilling of the generating vessel B by supplying it with liquid from the vessel F
takes place by means of a pipe 4 in the same way as described with reference to the
filling of the vessel F from the vessel B. The pipes and being connected to the
cocks au respectively after which the cocks a a¹ and m are slowly opened and the two
vessels are placed in communication under the same pressure. The two cocks g glare
then opened between B and F and the liquid in the vessel F flows very gently through
the pipe or glass tube into the generating vessel B. The vessel F is afterwards
refilled so that fermentation may take place therein as before.
In addition to the carbonic acid generated in the vessel by the fermentation the
liquid may be further enriched by supplying it with compressed carbonic acid from
the condenser N through the pipe i leading to the vessel B. Any suitable number of
fermenting and generating vessels B and F may be employed according to the scale
on which the manufacture is conducted.
The apparatus for drawing off the wine or beverage from the vessel F or F2 into
bottles is performed in a similar manner to the filling of the vessels F F from the
vessel B. In order to proceed more quickly the wine may be drawn off into
small vessels constructed for the purpose.
H represents a bottle to be filled, the mouth of which is tightly pressed by
suitable mechanism G against a rubber ring provided under two cocks J. K. The
cock K controls the communication between the bottle and the pipe
to the regulator M.
leading

page_text: carbonic acid.
The cocks m K and a² being open, the bottle H is filled with compressed
The cocks J and 2 are then opened and the wine flows gently
through a pipe into the bottle H.
As the wine enters the bottle the carbonic acid contained in the latter passes
into the vessel F1 through the cock K and pipe . When the bottle is full it is
closed by a temporary cork which may be driven in by means of a suitable corking
machine.
sugar
This invention is employed with great advantage in the manufacture of champagnes
and other sparkling beverages. In the manufacture of champagne as heretofore
performed the new wine while still containing ferment and sugar is racked off and
allowed to ferment in bottles in order to generate the required carbonic acid.
According to my invention the new or old wines may be put in bottles with the
addition of my new ferment with the requisite quantity of
without becoming
turbid that is to say they are freed from their ferment and mucilaginous matter.
With this object the stalks are divided and brought to a fermentable condition
by moistening them with wine containing sugar. About one per cent of the weight
of the wine is introduced into each bottle which is corked up and left to ferment
in a temperature of between about 15 and 25 degrees centigrade. By the addition
of this ferment the fermentation is completely terminated in from about six to eight
weeks and the wine is clear.
The ferment forms a sediment which after two or three days can be easily thrown
down on the cork in the usual way the bottle being then ready to be manipulated
by the disgorger.
It is not necessary to tie the now ferment in a bag before placing it in the
bottle as in the case of other ferments.
The divided stalks when placed in the bottle spread out on the lower side of the
bottle when it is placed in a horizontal position and attract the yeast or mucilaginous
parts or deposits which may be formed. The subsequent treatment of the wine
may be the same as that heretofore employed.
The principal advantages of my process are as follows :--
a) a rapid and uniform fermentation of the wines is produced in about six weeks
thus enabling the wine to be delivered in a very short space of time.
b) sickness or deteriorations of the wine is avoided owing to the rapidity with
which the fermentation is caused to take place.
c) the operation of bottling is enabled to be performed at all seasons of the year.
The other advantages resulting from the saving in time and expense will be
appreciated by manufacturers without further explanation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
Invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. In the manufacture of effervescing wines cider and the like the employment
of washed grape stalks to produce fermentation without rendering the liquid turbid
the said stalks being soaked in a sweetened liquid to be fermented and exposed to
the action of air at a regulated temperature until fermentation commences all
substantially as herein before described.
2. In the manufacture of effervescing wines and beverages the employment of
vessels composed of an outer chamber made of sheet iron or copper and an inner
chamber made of wood in the form of a cylinder which is filled with wine or
liquid to be fermented and carbonic acid the annular space between the sides of
the inner and outer vessels being filled with water all substantially as hereinbefore
described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing.
3. The method of connecting the chambers referred to in the preceding claiming
clause so as to obtain the same pressure in the annular space between the chambers
and in the interior or central chamber all the vessels being capable of being connected
together under the pressure required for filling and emptying them substantially as
bereinbefore described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

page_text: 4. The apparatus for drawing off the wine into bottles. enabling the bottles to be
hermetically applied to the orifice of the filling cock so as to admit of the establishment
of an equilibrium of pressure in the bottle and in the filling vessel in order that the
wine may flow into the bottle without frothing and the carbonic acid may return or
pass into the filling vessel without waste substantially as hereinbefore described and
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
5. The employment of divided grape stalks as excitants of ferimentation in the
manufacture of effervescing or sparkling bottled wines or beverages whereby wines of
the champagne class for example are enabled to be manufactured in a condition fit
for delivery in about two or three months substantially as hereinbefore described.
Dated this 16th day of February 1889.