Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/426

 414 FRANCE (WINES OF) holding 44 gallons each, and there left to fer- ment. The residue of the grapes left in the press after the first drawings is used for making a common red wine. About the beginning of December the wine, being then clear, is drawn from the lees, and the mixing of various growths, the first important operation in the production of champagne, commences. This process re- quires great skill and judgment, for upon its successful performance the flavor and body of the wine in great measure depend. Cham- pagne is seldom the product of a single vine- yard, but is a combination of a number of growths. In this respect it holds a peculiar position among French wines. The growths having been mixed in large vats in the pro- portions determined upon by the manufacturer, the combination is again drawn into barrels, where it is fined, after which it is allowed to rest until the spring. Up to this time the wines are rarely tampered with by the introduction of sugar or brandy ; but in unfavorable seasons the former substance is sometimes necessary to enable them to undergo the operation of a second fermentation, without which it is im- possible to make them sparkle (mousser). Next comes the operation of bottling, which com- mences in April and continues until June. The liquid is now of a uniform amber color, and, if of good quality, will be not unpalatable. The bottles, which are the same as those from which the wine is drunk when finally prepared for drinking, are filled to within an inch or so of their mouths and then corked. The corks having been fastened down securely with string and wire, or by the more recent method with clasps, the bottles are conveyed into cellars or caves and laid carefully on their sides. The secondary fermentation ordinarily commences in June and continues during the summer, pending which, especially when the grapes be- gin to ripen, or in stormy weather, a loss esti- mated at from 10 to 15 per cent., and some- times reaching 25 per cent., is sustained by the bursting of the bottles and the consequent es- cape of the liquor. When the fermentation is finished and the breakage has nearly ceased, the stacks of bottles are overhauled, and those bottles in good condition are restacked. After a lapse of 18 months, during which the wine is allowed to lie at rest, it is shaken at intervals for several weeks, until a thick deposit is found in the neck of each bottle, which is removed by the process of disgorging. The cork is dis- charged with a loud report, and the froth, which immediately rises and is partly project- ed, carries with it all the impurity collected in the neck. Champagne prepared in this manner is quite dry, containing no sugar what- ever perceptible to the taste. But a further operation is necessary in order to prepare it for exportation or commerce. This consists in adding to each bottle a certain percentage of melted rock candy mixed with brandy or some finely flavored wine. The amount introduced varies according to the country in which the wine is to be consumed, England using the min- imum and Russia the maximum. The bottles are then recorked, and secured by strings and wire or clasps, and the air is excluded by cov- ering the necks with tin foil or sealing wax. The wine is now between two and three years old and ready for use. Of the bottled wines pro- duced in Champagne four varieties are known to commerce: 1, champagne non-moitsseux, or still champagne, that is, wine which has been fully fermented, fined, bottled in the usual manner of inousseux wines, and allowed to rest a long time ; 2, champagne cremant, which forms a slight cream of effervescent bubbles upon its surface when poured into a glass ; 3, champagne mousseux, which upon being opened projects the cork with an audible report, and rises gently over the mouth of the bottle ; and 4, champagne grand momseux, which projects the cork with a loud report and immediately overflows from the bottle. The prices of champagne vary at the place of manufacture from $4 the dozen bottles to $18 or $20, but $10 will give the consumer a sound wine of excellent quality. Of the 25,000,000 bottles or upward annually produced, one sixth part goes to the United States; England, Russia, and the East Indies consume each about the same quantity ; and the remainder is distributed among other European countries. Most of the wine sent to the United States purports to come from Rheims, although in fact it is the product of vineyards scattered throughout the arrondissements of Rheims and Epernay ; and its reputation rests upon the names of its manufacturers rather than upon the locality where it is produced. As a remedial agent, champagne, though a factitious product, is highly esteemed for its diuretic and strength- ening properties. It comforts and rests the stomach, and is a recognized antidote to nausea, To the wine districts above described it is necessary to add but a few others. The department of Dordogne, the ancient prov- ince of Pe"rigord, which lies E. of the Bordelais, yields red and white wines, of which the for- mer resemble St. Emilion, while the latter partake partly of the qualities of Frontignac and partly of those of Barsac. Bordeaux is the principal receptacle for the wines of this dis- trict. The department of Yienne, formerly Haut-Poitou, produces about 12,000,000 gal- lons of mediocre quality. The departments of Lot and Lot-et- Garonne, lying S. of Dordogne, form an extensive wine-producing district, of which Cahors is the central point. The wines are white, rose-colored, and black, and much of the last named variety is sent to Bordeaux to strengthen and color light wines. The Ca- hors wines have little bouquet, but are strong in body, and the dark varieties will keep 50 years in the bottle. The department of Cha- rente, lying N. of Dordogne, and through which flows the river Charente, is largely de- voted to the culture of the vine. The wines are used for distillation immediately after the