Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/668

* WINE. 570 WINE. 000 gallons. From 1757 to 1S33 and from 1843 to 1867 it was controlled by a monopoly which raised the price, but lowered the quality to such an extent that the demand decreased. New port is ordinarily fortified with alcohol to hasten the ripening and prolong fermentation, and is made to appear aged by the addition of jcropiffd, a so- lution of elderberries, raisins, molasses, and alco- hol. Grapes were introduced into the island af Madeira early in the fifteenth century, since when JIadeira vintages have been in great demand. An outbreak of 'oidiuni' early in the nineteenth cen- tury reduced the output from 2,770,000 gallons in 1813 to 3780 gallons in 18.55, and induced ex- tensive immigration to the West Indies. Since the latter date production has increased, a suc- cessful remedy for oidium having been found. A light, sweet, aromatic Madeira wine called Malmsey from Napoli di Malvasia, an island in the Grecian Archijiclago, the wines of which are widely known by this name, is made from fully ripe grapes partially dried on the vines and is produced in the Azores, the Canaries, Sardinia, Sicily, and Provence, as well as JIadeira. Spanish Wines. The favorable soil and cli- mate have made viticulture the most important agricultural industry of Spain, an industry which has repeatedly received governmental en- couragement. The wines are high in alcohol, color, and aroma, and have been extensively used for blending with French wines, especially of the Gironde district, the red wines of Tarragona Rioja being favorites for this purpose. Spain leads the world in the manufacture of fortified wines. The most famous, sherrj', a dry wine, made in Southern Spain between Port Saint- Mary (Puerto de Santa Maria) and Jerez, from which it is named, is so little forti- fied that it contains only 14 or 15 per cent, of alcohol. The grapes, having been al- lowed to ripen fully and to become partially dry before picking, are sold to large wineries, and not, as in other regions, worked up in small estab- lishments. After fortification the wine is ma- tured (baked) in hot rooms. Two classes of sherry deserve special mention, amontillado and manznnilla, the former, inland wines, subdivided into fino (the most delicate) and oloroso; the latter, lighter and drier wines, made on the coast. Mantilla, a wine resembling manzanilla, is made in the Province of Cordova. Other im- portant Spani.sh wines are 'tinto,' a sweet red wine from t he Rota district : Valde Penas ( red ) , from Central Spain; and Tarragona or 'Span- ish red,' from f^atalonia. Wine Mani'FACTURE. In the successful manu- facture of wine, great discretion, unremitting care, and large experience are essential. Climate, location, soil, vintage, and method of preparation profoundly inllusnee the character and composi- tion of wine, and it is exceedingly difficult to maintain the uniformity demanded by commerce. The manufacture of wine really begins with the growing of the grapes and ends only after the final racking of the finished product. The vine mu:it be intensively cultivated to replace the often un|)leasant natural odor of the fruit with an agreeable aroma. The grape obtained, the vintner must ascertain the variety of wine for which it is suited, and then study the method and details of fermentation which will give best results. Unless the fruit is ripe when harvested, it may need to be artificially ripened or fitted for ])ressing by exposure to sun or fire heat, by steam- ing, sweating, or freezing; unless ripe when pressed it will generally yield a small quantity of juioe, which must be further manipulated to avoid the production of wine of excessive acid- ity ; and unless f re» from dust it must be s]irnyed to prevent a taint of earth in the final product. In many of the wine-producing sections of Europe, even in Medoc, Graves, and Saint-Emi- lion, the wine-makers hesitate to adopt improved methods, because they fear that the quality of the ])roduct may be impaired. Here the 'euvier' or wine-house is often a one-roomed, one-storied building which serves for both pressing and fer- menting. Stemming, Crushing, and Pressing. Grapes whose tannin content is low, and especially fully mature or over-ripe grapes, are often pressed without stemming. The kind and quality of wine to be made also helps to decide whether or not stemming shall be performed. For high-grade wines the berries are often picked by hand; for ordinary grades, and particularly in old-fash- ioned practice, they are removed by wicker-work or galvanized iron combs or screens against which the clusters are worked by hand ; in modern prac- tice, prevalent in California and somewhat used in the Gironde, steam power stemmers are used, and some of these can stem more than 300 pounds of grapes a minute. For white wines the fruit is pressed (usually without stemming) and the juice fermented; for increasing the body and astringency it is crushed and allowed to ferment more or less before the must is removed for fur- ther fermentation; for red wines this is the usual practice, since it secures the required color from the skins in the solvent action of the alcohol formed during fermentation. According as a red or a white wine is desired the grapes in modern' establishments are transferred by an endless chain from the storage rooms to a steaming ma- chine or to an endless press. Sometimes a cen- trifugal machine is used for obtaining the juice from the crushed fruit. In some localities, how- ever, the ancient method of treading the grapes with clogs or sandals or kneading with wooden pestles is still in operation, the claims being that it secures an amount of saccharine matter equal to that obtained by the recent process without crushing the stems or the unripe berries. Usu- ally the 'first run.' the juice that flows naturally from the crushed grapes, is treated separately from the 'second nm,' which is pressed out. The exhausted pomace may be treated with water, sugar, etc.. for making inferior wines, brandy, or vinegar. In white-wine making the more perfect presses obtain from (>0 to 80 per cent, or even more of the juice of the fruit, depending largely upon the kind of grape, whether watery or pulpy; in red-wine making they often secure more than 85 per cent., the pulp and skins having been acted upon by fermentation prior to pressing. Fermentation. Since wine fermentation is due to yeasts found in the air and upon the skins of the fruit, (he addition of yeast to the must as in bei'r-making is unnecessary. Action starts in from 12 to 24 hours, depending upon the tempera- ture, and continues brisklv for about a week. Selected yeasts (pure cultures), which have been carefully investigated, have been found