CONTENTS.

PREFACE.

Prices of grapes in California from 1876 to 1882, the Mission grape, v; annual shipments of wine and brandy from California, annual production of wine, acreage of vines, probable future production of wine, vi; objects of this book, want of works on the subject in English, method of vinification varies with kind of wine rather than with locality or climate, vii; climate of California and density of must similar to those of southern Europe, viii; comparison between California and European wines, viii-xiii; State Viticultural Commission, xiii; advice to grape growers, xiv; acknowledgments by the author, list of authorities, xv.

CHAPTER I.

GATHERING THE GRAPES—MATURITY.

Utensils for picking, number of pickers necessary, when to commence, 1; when to gather, successive gathering, 2; sorting the grapes, requisite degree of maturity, 3; signs of ripeness, gathering before complete maturity, 4; gathering after complete maturity, ripeness according to required strength, 5.

CHAPTER II.

MUST.

Composition, grape sugar, 6; must-scale, 7; testing for sugar, 8; correcting for temperature, 10; sugar and alcohol, alcohol in wine, 11.

CHAPTER III.

SUGARING AND WATERING MUST.

Sugaring, 13; nothing gained by adding sugar, 15; cost of glucose wine, 16; experiment with glucose, the use of glucose condemned, 17; watering, 18.

CHAPTER IV.

STEMMING AND CRUSHING.

Diversity of opinion on stemming, effect of stemming, proper practice, 20; to estimate tannin, stemmers, 21; how to remove the stems, crushing, methods of crushing, 22; aerating the must, crushers, 23; rapidity of operation, special practice, 24.

CHAPTER V.

FERMENTATION—ITS CAUSES.

Several different kinds of fermentation, alcoholic fermentation, the yeast plant, 25; functions of yeast, normal conditions of the life of yeast, 26; action of various chemical and physical agents, 28; viscous or mannitic fermentation, lactic fermentation, 29; acetic fermentation, 30; origin of ferments, 31; ALCOHOLIC FERMENTATION IN WINE MAKING: vinous or alcoholic fermentation, sugar, 32; alcohol by weight and by volume, 33; fermentation, its products, per cent., sugar to per cent. alcohol, different authors, 34; limits of sugar and spirit, 36; temperature, 37; fermenting houses, 38.

CHAPTER VI.

RED WINE.

Coloring matter, fermenting tanks or vats, filling the tanks, 39; open vats, closed vats, 40; the best practice, 41; hermetically sealed tanks, practice in the Médoc, stirring the pomace in the vat, 42; when to draw from the vat, 43; the objections to long vatting, in making fine wines, 44; how to know when to draw from the vat, method of drawing from the vat and filling the casks, 45; wine presses, 46; pressing and press wine, special practice for fine wines, TREATMENT OF RED WINES: insensible fermentation, 47; ulling or filling up, 48; summary of the rules for the treatment of new red wines, 50; treatment of old red wines, 51; summary of rules for the care of old red wines, 53.

CHAPTER VII.

WHITE WINE.

Made from both red and white grapes, differences between red and white wine, hygienic effect of red and white wine, 54; process of making, the barrels, filling the barrels during fermentation, 55; pressing and filling, different kinds of white wine, dry white wines, mellow white wines, 56; sweet white wines, grand white wines, 57; treatment of white wines, to keep sweet, 58; dry white wines, mellow white wines, 59; summary of rules, racking, 60.

CHAPTER VIII.

CASKS.

Different woods, oak wood, storing casks, 61; new casks, 62; old casks, rinsing chain, visitor to examine the inside of a cask, 63; empty casks, washing, sulphuring casks, condition to be examined, 64; flatness in the cask, acidity, mouldy casks, 65; rottenness, brandy casks, caution as to sulphuring, cask borers, 66; size of casks, 67.

CHAPTER IX.

SULPHURING. ARRESTING FERMENTATION.

Sulphuring casks, must and wine, sulphurous oxide or sulphur dioxide, the sulphurer or sulphur burner, 69; sulphur matches or bands, to sulphur a cask, 70; to sulphur wine, sulphuring should be avoided in certain cases, 71; arresting fermentation, unfermented must, prepared in two ways, 72; clarification and care of unfermented must, sulphur flavor, 73; other substances to arrest fermentation, burning alcohol, aqueous solution of sulphurous acid, bisulphite of lime, 74; salicylic acid, 75.

CHAPTER X.

AGING.—EFFECTS OF VARIOUS INFLUENCES.

General considerations, how new wine differs from old, development of bouquet and flavor, old wine, characteristics of, 76; color, aroma, flavor, influences which develop, also destroy, influence of the air, 77; variations of temperature, influence of heat, 78; aging by heat, 79; preserving wine by heat, 80; influence of cold, treatment of frozen wine, 81; influence of light, aging by sunlight, effect of motion of voyages, wines suitable for shipment, 82; shipping new wine, 83; other motions, aging by fining, aging generally, 84; wines which gain the most by aging processes, 85.

CHAPTER XI.

GENERAL TREATMENT—CELLARS.

Unfortified or table wines, deposits, lees, etc., 86; to prevent degeneration, CELLARS: temperature, 87; dampness, ventilation, evaporation, 88; other precautions, supports for casks and tuns, 89.

CHAPTER XII.

RACKING.

Object of, time for, conditions indispensable for a good racking, 91; new red wines, 92; old red wines, new white wines, first racking, subsequent rackings, 93; care to be observed, other precautions, 94; different methods of racking, implements for tipping the cask, 95; racking without contact with the air, pumps and siphons, 97.

CHAPTER XIII.

CLARIFICATION—FINING.

Objects of fining, different substances employed, gelatinous substances, 99; gelatine, its preparation, isinglass, fish glue, or ichthyocol, 100; albuminous substances, blood, milk, white of eggs, 101; clarifying powders, gum arabic, addition of salt, addition of alcohol, addition of tannin, preparation, 102; method of operation, implements for stirring, 103.

CHAPTER XIV.

SWEET WINES—FORTIFIED WINES.

Generally, to increase sugar in must, without fermentation, care required, 105; clarification, boiling must, left on the lees, 106; sweet muscat, pressing, marc of sweet wines, amount of alcohol to be added, density, furmint wine, 107; straw wine, PORT WINE in the Upper Douro: the must, lagars, etc., 108; treading, fermentation, Vizitelli’s description, 109; lodges or storehouses, mixing, port loses color in wood, alcoholic strength and loss by evaporation, 112; MADEIRA: making, casks, treatment, heating house, heating, 113; solera system, ullage, alcohol, 114; SHERRY: climate, vintage, crushing, gypsum, 115; pressing, 116; plastering, fermenting, adding spirit, 117; bodegas or storehouses, changes in the wine, fino, oloroso, basto, flowers, 118; sweet wine, vino dulce, color wine, vino de color, arrope, 119; mature wine, THE SOLERA SYSTEM: establishing a solera, 120; standard soleras and their foundation, 121; blending for shipment, 122; formulas, fining, 124.

CHAPTER XV.

DEFECTS AND DISEASES.

Divided into two classes, general considerations, 125; NATURAL DEFECTS: earthy flavor, its causes, 126; how prevented, treatment, 127; wild taste and grassy flavor, greenness, causes, 128; prevention, treatment, 129; roughness, causes, not a fault, disappears in time, how avoided, 130; how removed, bitterness, causes, how prevented, treatment, taste of the stems, 131; sourness, causes, how prevented, treatment, 132; alcoholic weakness, how avoided, treatment, 133; want of color, causes, how guarded against, treatment, dull, bluish, lead-colored wine and flavor of the lees, causes, 134; treatment, 135; putrid decomposition, causes, 136; how avoided, treatment, different defects together, ACQUIRED DEFECTS AND DISEASES: flat wines, flowers, causes, 137; prevention, 138; treatment, 139; sourness, acidity, pricked wine, causes, what wine liable to, 140; how prevented, treatment, 141; experiment before treatment, 142; Machard’s treatment, other methods, 144; cask flavor, barrel flavor, causes, 145; treatment, 146; mouldy flavor, causes, prevention and treatment, foreign flavors, 147; ropiness, causes, treatment, ropy wines in bottles, and other treatment, 148; acrity, treatment, bitterness, 149; treatment, two kinds according to Maumené, 150; fermentation, taste of the lees, yeasty flavor, 151; how prevented, treatment, degeneration, putrid fermentation, duration of different wines, 152; treatment, 153.

CHAPTER XVI.

WINE IN BOTTLES.

When ready for bottling, how long to remain in wood, 154; how prepared for bottling, the most favorable time for bottling, 155; bottles, 156; filling the bottles, 157; corks, 158; corking machines, 159; preparation of the corks, driving in corks, 160; sealing corks, sealing wax, applying the same, coloring same, 161; capsules, capsuling, piling bottles, 162; racks and bins for bottles, 164; treatment of wine in bottles, fermentation in bottles, 165; deposits and turbidity, 166; bitterness and acrity, ropiness, degeneration and putridity, 167; decantation, 168; operation, instrument, 169.

CHAPTER XVII.

CUTTING OR MIXING WINES.

Most French wines mixed, when necessary, effect of, 171; wines of same nature should be used, fine wines, 173; ordinary wines, must be allowed sufficient time, large quantities, new and old wine, green wines, 174; white and red wines, diseased wines, mixing grapes, precaution, 175.

CHAPTER XVIII.

WINE LEES, MARC, AND PIQUETTE.

Pomace and lees often placed in the still, WINE LEES: the lees should be cared for, quantity of wine in lees, constituents of dry lees, analysis, vary, 176; treatment of lees, 177; extraction of wine from the lees, 178; fining the wine from the lees, 179; red wine from lees, white wine from lees, pressing the sediment, 180; use of dry lees, MARC OR POMACE—PIQUETTE: unfermented marc of white wine or of red wine not entirely fermented, fermented marc of red wine, washing the marc, Pezeyre’s method, 183.

CHAPTER XIX.

THE COMPOSITION OF WINE.

Generally, 185; table of substances recognized, 186; alcohol, estimate of, 187; ethers, sugar, estimate of, 190; mannite, mucilage and mellowness, 191; pectose, pectin, fatty matter, glycerin, coloring matter, aldehydes, 192; acids, tartaric, malic, citric, pectic, tannic, carbonic, 193; acetic, lactic, valeric, succinic, total acids, the bouquet, artificial bouquet, 194; Maumené’s experiment, 195; different substances employed, iris, 196; strawberry, gillyflower or stockgilly, 197; vine flowers, mignonette, nutmeg, bitter almonds and fruit pits, sassafras, 198; other aromas, effects, 199.

CHAPTER XX.

GENERAL CHAPTER—MISCELLANEOUS.

Proportion of juice to marc, 200; proportion of wine to grapes, 201; wooden and metal utensils, 202; cleanliness, 203; different cellar utensils, 204, 205; USEFUL RULES: to ascertain the weight of a given number of gallons of a liquid, for reducing must, for sugaring must, 206; for fortifying and reducing wines, to reduce with water, 207; to reduce with weaker or fortify with stronger wine or alcohol, PLASTERING, 208; common practice in Spain and southern France, objects, chemical effects, 209; effects on health, 210; plastering sherry, quantity used, 212; by adding water, sherry flavor, 213.

APPENDIX.

Sugar tables: Table I, Balling’s degrees (per cent. sugar), corresponding degrees Baumé, and specific gravity at 63½° F., 215; Table II, Baumé’s degrees, corresponding degrees Balling (per cent. sugar), and specific gravity at 63½° F. 216; Table III, Baumé’s degrees and corresponding per cent. sugar, at 60° F. 217; Alcohol table, Table IV, showing per cent. by volume for every one-tenth per cent. from 0.1 to 30 per cent., corresponding per cent. by weight, and specific gravity, 218-19; Table V, showing amount of alcohol and acid in different California wines, 220-23.