Read Ebook: The Wine Press and the Cellar: A Manual for the Wine-Maker and the Cellar-Man by Rixford Emmet H Emmet Hawkins

Font size: 10 px 15 px 20 px 25 px 30 px 35 px

Background color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Text color: BlackWhiteGrayLight GrayDark GrayDim Gray

Apply/Save settings

Ebook has 231 lines and 93093 words, and 5 pages

but it must be drawn from the vat as soon as signs of fermentation appear, and bubbles of carbonic acid rise to the surface. And to have the must clear, it must be closely watched, for as soon as fermentation sets in, it becomes turbid. The must should be freed from all fragments of stems, skins, seeds, etc., and should therefore be strained as it runs from the press.

Must treated in this manner may be kept for a long time if well clarified, and the cask is well sulphured at each racking, or a portion sulphured when it commences to ferment.

If it is only necessary to keep the must a short time, a portion only, say one-third, need be sulphured. In that case there will be less odor of sulphur, and it will soon pass away.

Machard says about 125 grammes to a tonneau, or 4 or 5 ounces to 250 gallons of wine.

It is said that 100 grammes will stop the fermentation of 1000 litres of must, when nearly completed; 800 grammes are necessary when in active fermentation; and 400 will preserve the wine when made.

But now the intelligence comes that salicylic acid has an injurious effect upon the teeth and bones, it having an affinity for calcareous salts , and the French Minister of Agriculture and Commerce, on the report of the Committee of Public Hygiene, recommends that the sale of articles of food adulterated with it be prohibited as injurious to the public health.

AGING--EFFECTS OF VARIOUS INFLUENCES.

So that when a wine is old, having been well cared for, it contains less coloring matter, vegetable and mineral salts, acids free and combined, tannin, ferments, mucilage, alcohol, etc., than when first fermented.

It must also be understood that certain influences which will greatly improve a strong, alcoholic, or a sweet wine, might in a short time entirely ruin a weaker one, or a dry wine.

Sweet wines, whose alcoholic strength exceeds 16 per cent., and which contain a good deal of sugar, are not so liable to be injured by the influence of the air. Not only does their high degree of spirit interfere with acetic and putrid fermentation, but an insensible alcoholic fermentation sometimes takes place, and the supply of alcohol is kept up. But in time, as the sugar disappears, the alcohol becomes enfeebled by evaporation, and then acetic fermentation sets in, as in the weaker wines.

In the sherry countries it is considered necessary that the wine should be exposed to the action of the air, and therefore the casks are not kept full, and flowers are considered a good sign. In a few instances, where the wines are strong enough to bear it, aging may be hastened by some exposure to the air, but great care must be taken that they are not left too long under its influence, or disorganization may ensue. It must, however, be laid down as an almost universal rule, that the casks must be kept full and well bunged.

He goes on to say that wines subjected to the action of heat in direct contact with the air, loss by evaporation a part of their alcohol; the oxygen deprives them of a part of their color, and if the influence is prolonged, they become weak and greatly deteriorated. Exposed to heat in imperfectly closed vessels, they deposit, and take the tawny flavor if their alcoholic strength exceeds 16 per cent.; but if feeble in spirit, and they remain long in this condition, the oxygen transforms a part of their alcohol into vinegar. In receptacles kept full and well stopped, they undergo but few constitutional changes, if the heat does not exceed 158? F.; but, nevertheless, a small part of their coloring matter is precipitated, and their taste is sensibly changed. A flavor of cooked wine is found, and a slight odor of the lees, no matter how quick the heating.

Whatever the kind of wine operated upon, care must be taken not to carry the heat too high, for it will decompose and precipitate certain principles in dissolution in the wine, and change its natural flavor. After cooling, voluminous deposits will be found, and the cooking will give the wine a disagreeable flavor and an odor of the residue of a still. The extreme limits of from 113? to 158? F. should not be exceeded, and the greater the heat the shorter should be the exposure to it.

It is a costly process to subject wine to a high artificial heat, and owing to the doubt which yet seems to attend the matter, but few are likely to go to the expense.

Mr. Boireau says that the liquid remaining acquires a flavor similar to that possessed by wines which have been heated; that fine wines of a delicate bouquet and flavor acquire a commoner flavor than those in their normal state.

Mr. Boireau, however, says that wines proper for exportation, and which will keep in tropical climates, where good cellars and good care are generally wanting, are those which possess naturally or by addition a high alcoholic title, a solid, but bright and handsome color, a clean taste, and perfect limpidity. Sweet, fortified wines best fulfil these conditions. He says that liqueur wines, for shipping to the tropics, should have at least 18 per cent. of pure alcohol; below that they ferment, their saccharine matter is transformed into alcohol, their strength diminishes, and they end by becoming pricked. Dry wines, to be sent to those countries, should have the same strength, unless the casks are kept full. He adds, however, that these remarks only apply to those wines which on their arrival do not receive the usual care, such as filling the casks, clarifying and racking, and are not kept in suitable places; and that a good firm wine of the south of France, which has naturally at least 12 per cent. of alcohol, can be shipped without fortifying.

The motion and the high temperature to which wines are subjected in transportation also cause a loss of color by precipitation, particularly if they lack tannin. Wines which are sufficiently strong in alcohol, but from lack of tannin want firmness and body, are liable to acidify. Therefore, wines too poor in tannin should not be shipped abroad. The greater part of the wines of the Gironde having plenty of tannin, can be safely shipped if fortified to 11 per cent., and the grand wines of less alcohol are safe if shipped in bottles.

If, for want of care or suitable places, the wines work, enter into fermentation, their mellowness diminishes, and when neglected they become dry.

Those which remain too harsh should be fined with a strong dose of gelatine; continued agitation after this will make them smoother.

Fortified wines, dry or sweet, age very quickly, if subjected to agitation and afterwards to insolation, if followed by a complete clarification; but it is important to fortify them anew, for the alcohol evaporates, and below 15 per cent. they would sour instead of acquiring bouquet. It is also sometimes necessary to add sugar to sweet wines so treated.

GENERAL TREATMENT--CELLARS.

It is very important to taste them, and keep close watch over them by frequent visiting, in order to prevent secondary fermentations and their consequent injurious results, particularly in the case of mellow wines, which thereby transform into alcohol the mucilages and pectines which they contain, and lose their fruity flavor.

CELLARS.

What has been said in the preceding chapter naturally leads us to the subject of the proper place for storing wine after it has completed its active fermentation. Cellars proper are constructed entirely under ground, and should have vaulted roofs of masonry. If the cellar is under a building, the arch can safely come within two or three feet of the level of the ground, but if no building is over it to protect it from the heat of the sun, it should be four or five feet under ground. Many storehouses for wine are constructed partly above and partly below ground, and others again, entirely above. Undoubtedly those below ground are the best adapted for keeping wines which have arrived at maturity, and for those of little alcoholic strength, but when it is desired to rapidly develop and age an immature wine, it can be sooner accomplished in a place of a higher temperature, and there also can a strong wine be safely kept.

RACKING.

I have repeated nearly the language of the author quoted, at the expense of some repetition, because the rules are laid down by him more minutely than by the other authors who agree with him in general terms.

It is agreed that the most critical periods for wine on the lees are the different periods of the vegetation above mentioned, which vary somewhat in different climates, and they should therefore be racked before these epochs arrive.

The racking should always be performed before the weather becomes warm, for the elevation of the temperature will set the wine working, and the lees will become mixed with it. Ordinarily the most favorable time is the month of February.

A sulphur match ought always to be burned in the cask before wine, either red or white, is racked into it, for thus the germs of fermentation which may be in the cask will be rendered inactive by the sulphurous acid formed, and which will also absorb with avidity the oxygen, and thereby in two ways tend to prevent fermentation. The cask, however, should not be sulphured till well drained, or the water remaining will be impregnated with the gas, which is liable to give a disagreeable sulphur taste to the wine which will not disappear for some time. A cask which has been put away sulphured must for the same reason be washed before using; and in fact no cask should be used without washing.

The fork is used in the same way, being lengthened by means of the screw. Fig. 18 represents another contrivance for the same purpose.

If only one man is employed, a lever supported above the cask by two legs straddling it, and forming the fulcrum, the rear end provided with a hook which hooks under the chime, and the other end extending forward beyond the front, may be used . The workman, by bearing down on the lever, or by pulling the strap at the end, tips the cask forward. When the wine has nearly all run out, it should frequently be examined by holding a small quantity to the light in a small, thin glass, and as soon as the slightest appearance of lees presents itself, the operation should cease, and none of the muddy wine should be poured into the other cask. This method has its advantages, in that the first appearance of cloudiness can be detected, for the liquid is always under the eye of the operator, but it has the disadvantage of greatly exposing the wine to the air.

Another method which avoids the last objection, is to securely connect the faucet of the cask of wine with the faucet of the empty one, to open them both, and let the wine run from one to the other. If they are both on the same, or nearly the same level, a portion only will be transferred, and then the rest may be forced over by connecting the tube of a hand-bellows tightly with the bung-hole of the cask of wine, and blowing into it. This is easily done by attaching the bellows by means of a hose to a long, hollow, conical bung. As soon as the air is heard in the tube, close the faucet, and before removing it, bung the cask tight. The remaining wine is removed as in the first method.

Figs. 21 and 22 represent two forms of siphons. They may also consist simply of a bent tube.

Fig. 21 shows an exhausting tube attached, by which the air is sucked out with the mouth.

Fig. 23 shows a rotary force pump for transferring wine from one cask to another. Lever force pumps are also used for the same purpose.

CLARIFICATION--FINING.

If, after leaving the wine a suitable time, it still remains turbid and continues to deposit, it should be racked into a clean cask and fined again, adding tannin, if necessary.

SWEET WINES--FORTIFIED WINES.

In order that sweet and fortified wines may be kept in storehouses subject to great changes of temperature, in bottles upright, or in casks in ullage--in other words, under the conditions in which brandy can be kept, they must contain 18 or 20 per cent. of alcohol. They age sooner in casks than in bottles.

Small quantities of wine may be filtered through paper or flannel, in closed filters.

These wines should always be allowed to rest for a while, and then be racked before shipping, for it is rare that they do not make a deposit.

Where the grapes are trodden, it is probably necessary to separate the dry grapes from the rest, and crush them by themselves, in order that they may be well crushed; but if a good crusher is used, it would seem entirely unnecessary.

It must be remembered that he is writing for the cold climate of the Jura, where the grapes do not naturally acquire that degree of maturity necessary for sweet wines.

PORT WINE.

The following graphic description, which differs in no essential respect from that of Dr. Bleasdale, is from Vizitelli:

Fermenting house.

A pipe is 138 wine gallons, or 115 Imperial.

Tuns.

It will be noticed that Dr. Bleasdale says that the treading is repeated during active fermentation. Probably different practices prevail in different localities.

About 4 3/4 to 9 1/2 per cent--say 5 to 10.

MADEIRA.

Share on: WhatsApp @Hash Facebook Tweet