Philip Schidrowitz

“ The climate is essentially of a moderate character; the winters are rarely very cold, and the summers are seldom of the intensely hot and dry nature which is characteristic of most southerly wine countries. There are large tracts of gently undulating or relatively flat country which is, inasmuch as it ensures effective exposal of the vines to the sun, of a type particularly suited to viticulture. There is almost everywhere an efficient supply of water, and lastly the character of the soil is in many parts an ideal one for the production of wine high in quality and abundant in quantity. ”

“ The must, as the expressed juice of the grape is termed, is now exposed to the process of fermentation, which consists essentially in the conversion of the sugar of the must into alcohol and various subsidiary products. The fermenting operations in wine-making differ radically from those obtaining in the case of beer or of spirits in that (if we except certain special cases) no yeast is added from without. Fermentation is induced spontaneously by the yeast cells which are always present in large numbers in the grape itself. ”

“ One method of assisting nature in wine-making, which is, in the opinion of the author, not justifiable if the resulting product is sold as wine or in such a manner as to indicate that it is natural wine, is the process termed “gallisizing,” so called from its inventor H. L. L. Gall, which has been largely practised, particularly on the Rhine. The process of Gall consists in adding sugar and water in sufficient quantity to establish the percentages of free acid and sugar which are characteristic of the best years in the must obtained in inferior years. ”

“ Médoc.—The most important subdivision of the Gironde district is that of the Médoc. It is here that the wine which is known to us as claret is produced in greatest excellence and variety. The Médoc consists of a tongue of land to the north of Bordeaux, bounded by the Garonne and Gironde on the east, and by the sea on the west and north. It is, roughly, 59 m. long by 6 to 10 m. broad. The soil varies considerably in nature, but consists mostly of gravel, quartz, limestone and sand on the surface, and of clay and alios beneath. ”

“ The Hebrews ascribed the art of wine-making to Noah. It is probable that the discovery that an intoxicating and pleasant beverage could be made from grape juice was purely accidental, and that it arose from observations made in connexion with crushed or bruised wild grapes, much as the manufacture of beer, or in its earliest form, mead, may be traced back to the accidental fermentation of wild honey. In ancient times the cultivation of the vine indicated a relatively settled and stable form of civilization, inasmuch as the vine requires a considerable maturation period. ”

“ It may here be stated that a rich soil such as is suitable for the growth of cereal crops or vegetables is not, as a rule, an ideal one for the production of fine wines. The ideal soil for vine-growing is that which possesses a sufficiency, but not an excess, of nutriment for the plant, and which is so constituted that it will afford good drainage. ”

“ Diseases of the Vine.—The vine is subject to a number of diseases some of which are due to micro-organisms (moulds, bacteria) , others to insect life. The most destructive of all these diseases is that of the phylloxera. The Phylloxera vastatrix is an insect belonging to the green fly tribe, which destroys the roots and leaves of the growing plant by forming galls and nodosities. Practically every wine-growing country has been afflicted with this disease at one time or another. ”

“ At the same time, there is no doubt that much of the wine produced in the United States is of very fair quality, and this is largely due to the fact that the Americans have been at great pains to introduce the latest scientific methods in regard to the vine and wine-making. Thus in parts of California, where high temperatures are liable to prevail during the vintage, the system—first employed in Algeria—of cooling the must during fermentation to the proper temperature by means of a series of pipes in which iced water circulates is now largely employed. ”

“ The chief red vines of the champagne district are the Plant-doré, Franc-Pineau and the Plant vert doré. The Plant gris, or Meunier, yields grapes of a somewhat inferior quality. The chief white vine is the Pineau, also known as Chardonay. The best qualities of wine are made almost exclusively from the black grapes. For this reason it is necessary that the process of collection, separation and pressing should proceed as quickly as possible at vintage time in order that the juice may not, through incipient fermentation, dissolve any of the colouring matter from the skins. ”

“ Consumption.—It is only natural that the consumption of wine should be greatest in the countries where it is produced on the largest scale, but the discrepancy between the consumption of different countries is little short of astonishing. ”

“ The age at which a wine is at its best is by no means so great as is popularly supposed. This age naturally depends upon the character of the wine and on the vintage. Highly alcoholic wines, such as port and sherry, will improve and remain good for a much longer period than relatively light wines, such as claret, champagne or Moselle. ”

“ It has been said that chemistry is of little avail in determining the value of a wine, and this is undoubtedly true as regards the bouquet and flavour, but there is no gainsaying the fact that many hundreds of analyses of the wines of the Gironde have shown that they are, as a class, distinctly different in the particulars referred to from wines of the claret type produced, for instance, in Spain, Australia or the Cape. The quality of the wines naturally varies considerably with the vintage ”

“ The young wine immediately after the cessation of the main fermentation is very differently constituted from the must from which it was derived. The sugar, as we have seen, has disappeared, and alcohol, glycerin and other substances have been formed. At the same time the acidity is markedly reduced. This reduction of acidity is partly due to the deposition of various salts of tartaric acid, which are less soluble in a dilute alcoholic medium than in water, and partly to the action of micro-organisms. Young wines differ very widely in their composition according to class and vintage. ”

“ It does not follow that a wine which shows a pretty bouquet in the primary stages will turn out well. On the contrary, it is frequently the case that the most successful wines in after years are those which at first show very little bouquet. The maturation of wine, whether it be in bottle or in cask, is an exceedingly interesting operation. The wines which remain for a long period in cask gradually lose alcohol and water by evaporation, and therefore become in time extremely concentrated as regards the solid and relatively non-volatile matters contained in them. ”

“ General Considerations.-Although the wine is cultivated in practically every part of the world possessing an appropriate climate and soil, from California in the West to Persia in the East, and from Germany in the North to the Cape of Good Hope and some of the South American republics in the South, yet, as is the case also with the cereal crops and many fruits and vegetables, the wines produced in countries possessing temperate climates are—when the vintage is successful—finer than those made in hot or semi-tropical regions. ”

“ Owing, however, to the fact that viticulture has made much progress in South America, in California, in Australia and particularly in Algeria, and also to the fact that the quality of these Midi wines has fallen off considerably since the phylloxera period, the outlet for them has become much reduced. These and other reasons, notably the manufacture of much fictitious wine with the aid of sugar (fortunately stopped by the rigid new wine laws) , led to the grave wine crisis, which almost amounted to a revolution in the Midi in the spring and summer of 1907. ”

“ The climate of the Alto Douro is very variable. Intense heat in summer is followed by severe cold in winter. The soil is a peculiar clay-schist, on or alternating with granite, and it is to the peculiar conditions of climate and soil that port owes its remarkable qualities of colour, body and high flavour. There appears to be no predominant and distinct type of vine, such as is the case in other viticultural districts, but a number of varieties, mostly yielding grapes of a medium size are common to the Douro vineyards. ”

“ The mannitic disease, which is due to high temperatures during fermentation and lack of acid in the must, is rarely of serious consequence in temperate countries. The micro-organism splits up the laevulose in the must, forming mannitol and different acids, particularly volatile acid. The wine becomes turbid and acquires a peculiarly bitter sweet taste, and if the disease goes further becomes quite undrinkable. ”

“ It is doubtful, therefore, whether the products of the British Empire will ever displace European wines in the United Kingdom on a really large scale, for they cannot compete at present as regards quality with the finer wines of Europe, nor, for the reason stated, with the lighter beverage wines. ”

“ The wines of the Rhine are grown in the most northerly latitude at which viticulture is successful in Europe, and consequently, when the seasons are not too unpropitious, they display the hardiness and distinction characteristic of northern products. ”

“ The soil of the Côte d'Or is chiefly limestone, with a little clay and sand. The vineyards producing the best wines are situated about half-way up the slopes, those at the top producing somewhat inferior, and those at the foot and in the plain ordinary growths. Practically all the best vineyards (which are grown on flat terraces on the slopes, and not on the slopes themselves) face south-west and so get the full benefit of the sun's rays. ”

“ The other micro-organisms naturally present in the must which is pitched with the pure culture are not without their influence on the result. If it were possible to sterilize the must prior to pitching with pure yeast no doubt better results might be obtained, but this appears to be out of the question inasmuch as the heating of the must which sterilization involves is not a practicable operation. After the main fermentation is finished, the young wine is transferred to casks or vats. ”

“ The latter is produced from the black Burgundy vine, the Pineau. In the Rheingau the predominant vine is the Riessling. This plant appears to be indigenous to the Rhine valley, and the finest wines are made exclusively from its grapes. In the hope of reproducing the characteristic of the Rhine wines, the Riessling has been planted in many young wine-producing countries, such as Australia, California and the Cape, and not entirely without success. It thrives best on rocky mountain slopes freely exposed to the sun, and requires a relatively high temperature to reach perfect maturity. ”

“ The white port is grown in vineyards which are not quite so favoured as regards position as the red port growths. White port is made from white grapes, and a peculiarity of its manufacture is that the must is frequently fermented in the presence of the skins, which is most unusual in the case of white wines. This gives a certain stringency to white port, which is characteristic of the wine. ”

“ The vinification of the Burgundy wines takes place in cuves of 500 to 2000 gallons capacity, and it has for very many years been the common practice in vintages in which the must is deficient in saccharine to ensure the stability of the wine by the addition of some sugar in the cuve. The first rackings generally take place in February or March, and the second in July. The practice of sugaring has ensured greater stability and keeping power to the wines, which formerly were frequently irregular in character and difficult to preserve. ”

“ Plastering.—In some countries, particularly in Italy, Spain and Portugal, it has been and still is a common practice to add a small quantity of gypsum to the fermenting must or to dust it over the grapes prior to pressing. It is said that wines treated in this manner mature more quickly, and that they are more stable and of better colour. It certainly appears to be the case that musts which are plastered rarely suffer from abnormal fermentation, and that the wines which result very rarely turn acid. ”

“ At the same time, there is no reason to believe that the finer European wines will be entirely displaced, inasmuch as these are characterized by qualities of delicacy and breed which cannot be reproduced at will. ”

“ The grapes are then not crushed, but are immediately pressed, and the juice alone is subjected to fermentation. As a rule, three wines are made in the principal vineyards in three successive periods. The first wine, which is termed the vin de tête, is generally the sweetest and finest, the next (called the milieu) being somewhat drier and the last (vin de queue) being the least valuable. ”

“ It has been found by experience also that wines which are normally constituted as regards the relative proportions of their various constituents, provided that the quantities of these do not fall below certain limits, are likely to develop well, whereas wines which, although perfectly sound, show an abnormal constitution, will rarely turn out successful. ”