Palm wine

“ All ranks of people here are passionately fond of palm wine, and drank of it to excess, whenever they had an opportunity, which often occurred, as great quantities of it are produced in the town and its neighbourhood. ”

“ The sugar is cane sugar, and is often prepared for itself. The richness of the juice is affected by the peculiarities of the species and of the tree, and its fermentability by the place of growth. The species used for wine are the oil-palm on the West Coast of Africa, the date-palm in northern Africa and India, the fan-palm and toddy-palm in India, the cocoa-palm in Ceylon and the islands of the Pacific, and the gommutti-palm in the Indian archipelago, the Moluccas, and the Philippines. ”

“ Allowed to rot in the stem, this meal gives birth to numerous fat worms, highly esteemed by Indian gourmands. Tapped near the base of the leaves, the trunk yields also an abundance of a sweet liquor, which, when fermented, forms one of the various kinds of palm-wines. Such are in substance some of the most useful products of this veritable tree of life, with which the existence of a rude people is as intimately connected, as that of civilized man is with the luxuries and comforts that surround his home. ”

“ To walk amid these upright, branching casks of purple wine, which retain and diffuse a sunset glow, tasting each one with your eye, instead of counting the pipes on a London dock, what a privilege! For Nature's vintage is not confined to the vine. Our poets have sung of wine, the product of a foreign plant which commonly they never saw, as if our own plants had no juice in them more than the singers. Indeed, this has been called by some the American Grape, and, though a native of America, its juices are used in some foreign countries to improve the color of the wine ”

“ The majority of the inhabitants are afoot: the feeble feminine half, baskets on arm, thread their way with the juveniles through the rows of vines planted half-way up the mountain, and all aglow with their autumnal glories of green and purple, crimson and yellow; while the sturdy masculine portion are mostly passing to and fro between the press-houses and the wine-shops. ”

“ The soil, which is of the customary calcareous formation, has a marked ruddy tinge, indicative of the presence of iron, to which the wine is in some degree indebted for its distinguishing characteristics—its delicacy, spirituousness, and pleasant bouquet. Vintagers were passing slowly in between the vines, and carts laden with grapes came rolling over the dusty roads. The mountain which rises behind the vineyards is scored up its sides and fringed with foliage at its summit, and a small stone bridge crosses the deep ravine formed by the swift-descending winter torrents. ”

“ The vine is a mysterious plant; it is so peculiarly sensitive that, like a musical instrument which produces harmony or discord at the hands of different performers, the produce of the same variety is affected by the soil upon which the plants are grown. Thus ten thousand young vines may be planted upon one mountain, all of the same stock; but various qualities of wine will be produced, each with a special peculiarity of flavour, according to the peculiarities of soil. ”

“ At five o'clock in the evening I again set off. The spectacle of yesterday evening was repeated, and at sunset the grasshoppers again began to sing. For about a league the journey lies between walls above which the grape-espaliers are visible. Other walls, which are not high enough, have been eked out with stones, thorns, etc., to prevent passengers from plucking off the grapes. Many owners sprinkle the foremost rows with lime, which renders the grapes uneatable, but does not hurt the wine, as the process of fermentation drives out the heterogeneous matter. ”

“ Up into the threads came the thousand stored sweetnesses of the earth, aspiring surely upward through devious, winding ways. The softness of leaves that had gone back to dust, the wine from fallen grapes that had dripped through the sand into the dark storehouse beneath, were only to be taken up again, for sap or fibre or bloom. ”

“ The vine delights in heat, and the grape only attains to perfection in a dry soil, struck by the rays of an ardent sun. When a rainy season induces a constant humidity in the ground, and maintains a damp and moist temperature in the atmosphere, the grape neither acquires saccharine principle nor flavour, and the wine made from it is weak and insipid. ”

“ The vine, although a rank and healthy grower, is unproductive; seldom setting more than half a dozen berries on a bunch, and these are so sour, have such a hard pulp, with such a decided frost-grape taste and flavor, and are so deficient in juice, that no sensible man should think of making them into wine, much less call it, as its disseminator did, "the true port wine grape." ”

“ The leaves of the English vine (I do not mean to send you to the Canaries for a medicine) being boiled, makes a good lotion for sore mouths; being boiled with barley meal into a poultice, it cools inflammations of wounds; the dropping of the vine, when it is cut in the Spring, which country people call Tears, being boiled in a syrup, with sugar, and taken inwardly, is excellent to stay women’s longings after every thing they see, which is a disease many women with child are subject to. The decoction of Vine leaves in white wine doth the like. ”

“ The beauty of the crop, the merriment of the gatherers, the genial effects of the grape when it has gone through the usual process of conversion, gave, as is still the case in all wine-producing countries, a holiday character to the whole course of cultivation. All other important crops contribute in some way to supply the actual needs of life: the vine alone represents distinctly its enjoyments. ”

“ It is not only because the fruit of these vines, supported by trees, is, by their foliage, shaded from the rays of the sun, that they yield wine of as inferior description. It is the nature of the vine, to absorb moisture by its leaves, in much greater proportion than, by its roots; and this unmeasured foilage continues to supply a quantity of sap, which circulates without elaboration, and is rather employed in the formation of wood, and the grapes, consequently, contain an aqueous fluid, which it is impossible to convert into a wine of good quality. ”

“ To all palates the grape is delicious; it is not only one of the most palatable articles of diet, but is more highly medicinal than any other fruit. It is the natural source of pure wine. Pure wine made of grapes is only to be procured, in this country, by domestic manufacture. ”

“ In these, the vine grows freely, but this very strength of vegetation, as has been before observed, is essentially hurtful to the quality of the grape, which, with difficulty, attains to maturity, and produces a wine without strength or flavour. If, then, a rich soil is free and open, the vine planted in it flourishes vigorously, producing in abundance a wine, weak, watery, and destitute of perfume ”

“ Every body knows that no product of the arts varies so much as wine; that different countries, and sometimes the different provinces of the same country, produce different wines. These differences, no doubt, must be attributed chiefly to the climate in which the vineyard is situated—to its culture—the quantity of sugar contained in the [Pg 90] grape juice—the manufacture of the wine; or the mode of suffering its fermentation to be accomplished. If the grapes be gathered unripe, the wine abounds with acid; but if the fruit be gathered ripe, the wine will be rich. ”

“ There too hath he a faithful vineyard planted, whereof the one part is being dried by the heat, a sunny plot on level ground, while other grapes men are gathering, and yet others they are treading in the wine-press. In the foremost row are unripe grapes that cast the blossom, and others there be that are growing black to vintaging. ”

“ Notwithstanding—that a concurrence of so many favourable circumstances, with regard to soil, exposure, and seasons, is necessary to bring the grape to that degree of perfection which, with proper management, insures a good wine; the vine, in climates favourable for it, is a hardy plant. ”

“ There are wines still preserved of this year’s growth, nearly two hundred years ago; they have assumed the consistency of honey, with a rough taste; for such, in fact, is the nature of wines, that, when extremely old, it is impossible to drink them in a pure state; and they require to be mixed with water, as long keeping renders them intolerably bitter.1241 A very small quantity of the Opimian wine, mixed with them, will suffice for the seasoning of other wines. ”

“ It may be concluded, from what has been said, that the most favourable exposure of the vine is towards the south; and that an eastern, though inferior to a southern exposure, is preferable either to one to the west, or to the north; the vine which enjoys the greater portion of the sun's rays being that which, with equal soil and culture, will generally produce the best wine. ”

“ There is but a very small quantity of either grown on this spot of the first rate quality, or indeed of any value as a characteristic wine, for on the easternmost part of this situation there is a constant flow of water rushing from the summits of the rocks, that greatly deteriorates the value of the growths over which its influence extends. The practice of plucking the leaves of the vines to admit the genial heat of the sun to the fruit, as well as a free circulation of air, has been found most beneficial in bringing the fruit to perfection. ”

“ To make Wines scent well, and give them a curious Flavour.
Take two ounces of powder of sulphur, half an ounce of calamus, incorporate them well together, and put them into a pint and an half of orange water; let them steep in it a considerable time, and then drawing off the water, melt the sulphur and calamus in an iron pan, and dip in it as many rags as will soak it up, which put into the cask; then rack your wine, and put in a pint of rose water, and stopping the hogshead, roll it up and down half an hour, after which let it continue still two days ”

“ And again on the slopes, in full blaze and glare of the sun, do men grow the celebrated Malmsey, and the grapes whence proceed this notorious wine must needs be over-ripe and all but shrivelled, so that the juice expressed therefrom may be of an exceeding fragrance and superabundant richness. ”

“ Of a contrary nature is the vine known as the “argeica,” and by Virgil called “argitis:”1170 it makes the ground all the more1171 productive, and is remarkably 229stout in its resistance to rain and the effects of old age, though it will hardly produce wine every year; it is remarkable for the abundant crops which it bears, though the grapes are held but in small esteem for eating. The vine known as the “metica” lasts well for years, and offers a successful resistance to all changes of weather; the grape is black, and the wine assumes a tawny hue when old. ”

“ The vineyards are numerous and fertile. Those near the river Maule yield a grape of a very superior taste, from which a large supply of wine is produced for home consumption and for the Lima market, where any quantity is acceptable and finds a ready sale. ”

“ In the Case of Dry Wines, whose sugar has all been transformed, the same attentions are to be bestowed as in the case of new red wines, and the rules laid down are referred to. (See Red Wine.)
Mellow White Wines, that is, those which retain a portion of their sweetness after the tumultuous fermentation, particularly if they do not carry 15 per cent. of alcohol, require the greatest amount of care in order to preserve their mellowness in aging; for if left to themselves they will again enter into fermentation, and become dry. ”

“ Wine multiplies itself into many forms, which appear to be distinct; it is new, it is old; it is sweet, it is sour; it is sharp, it is soft; it is sparkling, it is still; water is ever the same. Wine must be petted and cherished, stored up in special skins and special caves, styled by particular names, praised under special titles, and heartily liked or disliked, like a child of passion ”

“ This grape, under proper treatment, has proved very productive with me, and will make a wine of very high quality. The bunches and berries are small, it is true; but not much more so than the Delaware; it also sets its fruit well, and as it is hardy, healthy, and a strong grower, it promises to be one of our leading wine grapes. Bunches small, but compact, shouldered; berry small; white at the East; pale flesh-color here; round, sweet, and without pulp; skin very thin. Requires long pruning on spurs, to bring out its fruitfulness. ”

“ It is well known that the costly experiments of a century at the Cape of Good Hope have verified the fact that the vine is the slave of certain conditions of soil, which impart to this extremely delicate and sensitive plant a special flavour that is incorporated with the wine, and can never be eradicated. ”

“ The vine, which grows to a height of 3 ft., begins to yield in seven years and lasts for over a century. From the grape, which has a pleasant bitter-sweet taste, a wine is also extracted, which is said to excel all others in flavour, fire and strength. ”

“ They also make the strongest wine in the world and the most luscious, but very thick as all strong and sweet wines usually are. This incomparable Grape grows only upon the young branches, which they never water. ”

“ In many districts, also, where, from other causes, the wine is, at the best, of an indifferent quality, they are planted solely on account of their fruit. The least dangerous, are the peach and the olive. ”

“ Some very respectable authors, whose experience has been confined to the colder wine making regions, tell us that in all cases the grapes should be allowed to remain on the vine as long as they gain in sugar, and that in order to correct the excess that they would thus in many cases acquire, they recommend that the must be reduced by water. ”