REDOING ON WINES.

WITH all our vaunts about the improvements of the age, how little progress has been made in the really useful arts ! Some- thing, indeed, has been done towards clothing and transporting us. Mechanical science has been successfully applied to the art of lo- comotion : carriages are built with a due consideration both of weight and draught, so as to combine, in advertisement phrase- ology, the ne plus ultra of " speed and safety ;" horses, harness, roads, and coachmen, are trained or manufactured with the same object : steam enables us to defy the most fickle of elements, and keep time in 'spite of.wind and tide; 'with a distant prospect of its altogether superseding horse-flesh, and giving us power to cut through the air like birds, angels, or witches. In the manufac- tures of our looms, whether the raw material be flax or wool, or Silk or cotton, endless variety, exquisite fineness, gorgeous rich- ness, and unrivalled cheapness 'are displayed. Nay, even in the construction and furnishing of our houses, not only the actual but the possible wants of morals are foreseen and provided for, and the very weaknesses of nature made sources of pleasure. But amidst all this, What small and What late attention has been given to the true arts of living ! how little has the inward man been cared for! The science of cookery is at present a sealed book to the majority ; there is good reason for supposing that one-half of 'the nutritious power of Great Britain is wasted, from want of skill in its application. And where some ability is present, how has it been gotten? Not on the comprehensive principles of the phi- losopher,' but by the practice of the empiric. We learn from the work of Mr. REDDING, that the same observations hold good with respect to Wine-making. At present, but little progress has been made in the art, further than to weed it of impure practices. The aged connoisseur, who has been proudly boasting of his cellar and his vintages—who has perchance piqued himself on his own judg- ment, and on the bouquet and the save and the aroma spiritueux of his wines, may at once be told that he is labouring under a delu- sion; that unless a miracle should take place in agricultural and chemical science, he will never be able to chant the nano di- mitlis; and that a.dreught which shall combine in its highest per- fection the capabilities of the grape, of vinous fermentation, and of -skilful treatment, is reserved for a late posterity. Let him take it as a consolation or an aggravation, that his countrymen (perhaps himself) are in a still worse predicament—that they do not even en- joy existent blessings. The palate of an Englishman is vitiated. !' Accustomed," says Mr. REDOING, "to wines less 'delicate than intoxicating, and regardful rather of the quantity than quality of what he takes, his favourite beverage is chosen rather for strength than perfection of flavour." For this reason, the compound which he calls Port, is, even when neat as imported, a composition of va- rious wines and potent brandy, instead of the unmixed juice of the choicest grapes; and strange as it may seem to the student of the volume, it is only within these few years that its author "drank Port wine, as he believes, for the first time in his life," and then only by accident. Of inferior wines, it is needless to speak to the connoisseur; but is he prepared to hear that no such thing as Claret exists in nature? and that the pride, it may be, of his cellar, is a mixture of products? (P. 51, 52..) Or can he read such pas- sages as the following with regard to Burgundy, and live—in England ? There is very little of the first class of Burgundy exported front France. There are several reasons for this; and, among the foremost, the small quantity produced, which the French, who are choice in wines, know very well how to distinguish, but which foreign merchants very rarely do. As good a price can be obtained in France for the highest class of Burgundy, such as Romanee- Conti, of which only a dozen pieces are annually made, or for La Tache, as can be obtained anywhere. The first of these wines, being grown only upon about six acres of land, is not beyond the supply of the Paris market ; and to the second, grown upon a spot of ground under four, the same remark will apply. The genuine Chambertin is a scarce wine with the foreigner. The other wines sf the first class of Burgundy are therefore substituted for these to the stranger almost universally! This is, however, of less consequence, when it is considered that very few persons, except those of the best taste habitually acquainted with

them, can discover the difference.

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The most finished and perfect Burgundy, the French say, is deteriorated by so short a voyage as that across the Channel from Calais to Dover, including, of Course, the journey to the former place.

Of the ancient wines, or their manufacture, but little—or, to speak more correctly, . nothing—is known. We cannot tell with any certainty the produce of vine land in classical times ; we know not the quantity of wine any given amount of grapes would yield; and, notwithstanding the conjectures of pedantic or the fancies of bibacious commentators, we can form no judgment as to the flavour of the wines themselves, or pronounce an opinion even upon their colour. We can only conjecture that they were spoiled in the making. Whether from an unskilful mode of treating their vines, or an improper manner of fermenting the grape-juice, it was deemed necessary to introduce, foreign substances into the pro- ducts, to make them long-keeping. Some such villanous pro.. ceases are Still adopted in Cyprus and the East; where Mr. RED- DING supposes there "are wines at this day closely resembling the ancient:

The traveller in Greece cannot drink a smallrquantity of the modern wines there, without water, for the intense headache they excite owing to the infusion of resin, pitch, and similar ingredients ; and these were infused even in the Au- gustan age, in the dry as well as other wines. Sea-water, pitch, resin, pine- leaves, cypress, myrtle-berries, bitter almonds, tar, spikenard, myrrh, and other things were used, so that Dr. Henderson observes, " we cannot but be struck with the potency of the substances employed." These, it is evident, were pro- perly " mixed wines," in the sense mentioned among the Jews under that title. It is not to be marvelled at, that Augustus could only drink his pint at a sitting, even if mingled with honey. A modern wine thinker could hardly manage half as much of such a mixture, without sickness, any more than the Emperor. Such wines were little entitled to be called pure. There seems to have been, in all ages, a tendency to render the natural juice of the grape stimulant and lake i . rious to the constitution. The Persians infuse poppiesin their wine at the pre- sent day ; and the English generally give the preference to those wines which are unnaturally mixed with the largest quantity of the product of the still. Dr. Henderson seems so much aware of this in praising ancient wines, while agree- ing that no wine deserves to be drank which is not the unadulterated juice of the grape, that he palliates the practice, by observing in substance, that a taste in wine varies, and is at best an acquired one. ' This is hardly correct; a taste for pure wine is natural. A child will drink pure wine, but not wine and pitch —the last is an acquired taste.

With respect to modern times, the information is somewhat more exact; but the knowledge is still meagre. Of the circum stances which determine the properties of the grape, we only know that we know little. Like all beautiful and fragile and sought- after things, the vine is capricious and uncertain—the very co- quette of plants. Moselle is produced in latitude 51 North; Hock and Champagne but a degree or two more southerly ; Shiraz— the grape of which is exquisite, however it may be spoiled in the manutheture—is made in latitude 33 ; yet very many places be- tween these two degrees produce miserable wine, or none at all. Equally independent of the size or species of the grape is, appa- rently, the 'goodness of the wine. " Very celebrated wines are produced in vineyards where the Species of plant is by no means held in the first repute." There is a similar difference with regard to site and aspect : sometimes the most exquisite wine is produced in a flat country, sometimes on a slope, sometimes on the side of a mountain. In the more Northern wine-countries, it would a priori be supposed that a southern aspect would be preferable ; but this is not always the case, and the right aspect is yet somewhat ques- tionable. The proper soil is a still more doubtful matter. " The French, who understand the culture of the vine better than any other people, say that the art of adapting each particular species of vine to the soil most congenial for its culture, is yet in its in- fancy ;" where it is too likely to remain, as long as the Govern- ment levies a tax upon its product, and interferes with the indus- try of the vine-grower. :Whether,. under any circumstances, a perfect knowledge 'of this important point, on which the quality of the wine is supposed chiefly to depend, will be attained, would appear very doubtful. But if Chemistry should ever penetrate the mystery, what a prospect would be opened to mankind ! The vigils of the alchemist will not have been in vain ; his wildest dreams will at last be realized ; and the true elixir vita—im- proved Burgundy—will be the common beverage of humanity.

Such are these wines (Burgundies), the most perfect in the world; and yet the care taken of them by the maker, from the press to the bottle, is by no means equal to that taken of Champagne. Nature and the site, with the ob- servance of a very simple and common process, are all that are demanded to bring to its present perfection the first red wine in the world. The secret of the excellence of Burgundy depends Upon unknown qualities in the soil, which are developed only in particular places, often in the same vineyard, in all events, within a very narrow district. Whatever be the cause, France has in these wines a just cause, of boast, and a staple in which she will never be excelled. While much is doubtless owing to the climate and aspect, it is evident that the peculiar characteristics of Burgundy depend least upon the art or labour of man, since wines inferior in quality receive as much or more of his attention than those of Burgundy.

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Nothing is more remarkable or unaccountable than the difference of produc- tion in these fine wine districts. The most delicious wine is sometimes grown on one little spot only, in the midst of vineyards which produce no others but of the ordinary- quality; while in another place the product of a vineyard, in proportion to its surface, shall be incredibly small, yet of exquisite quality; at the same time, in the soil, aspect, treatment as to culture, and species of plant, there shall be no perceptible difference to the eye of the most experienced wine- grower.

But though anomalies which cannot be explained 'exist in the vine—though nature does so much, and art so little—we must not conclude that wine is produced without care and labour. With our present lights, it seems impossible to improve, but it is exceedingly easy to spoil. From the time the plant be- comes capable of bearing, until its produce is actually in the so- cial glass, nature must be assisted, accidents guarded against, care taken, diseases prevented or cured, and constant watchful- ness given, else the wine is injured or lost. After the vine- yard is formed, the plants must be properly trained; in some cli- mates on trees, in others on trellis-work, in certain cases along rods or low trellises near the ground; on a sandy site and with a thick stalk they may be left to themselves. When all this is done, the soil must be laboured, but not too much; the roots must be carefully dressed or manured ; for which purpose various substances are used, only avoiding a very rich compost. The vines must also be carefully pruned; and if the quality of the grape be preferred to quantity, they should be deprived of a portion of their buds, which increases the size of the fruit. There is also an ope- ration called clipping to be performed, in order to improve its fla- your. This is done by taking off certain shoots above the joints ; and, like budding, it is a work of great care and judgment. All these processes relate to the vine. When the fruit appears, still greater attentions are requisite. In the North, and generally in humid seasons, the leaves of the vine must be removed to assist in ripening the fruit and preventing the quality from deteriorat- ing. In some countries recourse is had, in unfavourable weather, to annular inci sion, which hastens the maturity of the grape by ten or fifteen days. In the Calabrias and the South of Italy, on the other hand, the heat has to be guarded against, by shading the vines with fern-leaves, or by training the grapes under the leaves of the tree to which the vine is trailed. W hen all this la- bour has beea expended, various accidents--hail, frost, beasts, birds, and insects—have to be provided against by incessant watchfulness or art. The effects of a late frost are obviated by . . . . " an hour before sunrise burning litter among the vines, particularly on

the Rhine. Four persons are sufficient to smoke an arpent of vines, which they effect by torches of straw. They continue to operate until the sun shines on the plants. The melted frost falls off. It would seem, therefore, that the injury arose from the sun's action on the frost, and not from the cold. The expense is about a franc an arpent,* exclusive of the labour. Another mode is practised in Germany. Paiagelees,t or frost-guards, are used, made of cords of straw, hemp, or the rind or bark of trees. With the cord they surround their fruit- trees, letting the ends drop into a vessel of spring water. One vessel wilt do for all the trees of a large espalier. Cords must of course be joined together to surround a greater number of trees, and the two ends must be plunged into the vessel, placed four or five yards away from the trees in front. In Poland and Prussia this singular preservative is found to be effectual in sheltering fruit-trees of all kinds from late frosts. Hail is another enemy to the vine-grower. This is said to be completely obviated by the use of paragelees, which are now adopted on the Continent wherever hail is likely to do mischief; their construction is well known. Cold spring rains are equally injurious ; as it may he supposed wet summers cannot fail to prove. Fog and storms of wind are highly prejudi. cial. Then come the diseases of the plant itself, which a want of knowledge as to causes renders obscure, in all but their fatal effects."

When the grape has successfully passed through these various risks, and has reached maturity, the vintage begins. In France, the first wine country in the world, the important period of gather- ing is fixed, not by the proprietors of the vineyards, but by the Mayors of the communes ; who "issue the order for the vintage to commence "—(Do not sneer, reader, but remember the Malt and Soap and Glass regulations of ourown Excise!]—" the consequence of which is, that the vintage being seldom fixed in a proper manner, the fruit, after all, cannot be collected at once ; for while in oneplace it is matured, in another it is far short of the necessary degree of ripeness." This proper moment forgathering is known by various signs,—as the depth of the colour, the thickness and transparency of the skin, the woodiness of the stem, &c. The gathering is be- gun as soon as the morning-dew is dissipated, and continued with as much rapidity as possible, to terminate the pressing in a day. On the modes of gathering, selecting, transporting, and pressing the fruit, we cannot do better than quote some of Mr. REDDING s closest passages; observing, however, that the science of the con- noisseur has subdued the enthusiasm of the man, which might have soared a higher pitch when describing the joyous and revel- bringing vintage': This heaviness in our author is very probably traceable to the brandied, adulterated, and spirit-clogging wines he must have drunk during his initiation.

The fruit in some countries is cut off the plant with a knife. In France, the scissors is used ; by which the stems of the branches are rapidly severed. In ruder countries, the hand only is applied ; a mode injurious to the grape as well as to the vine. The most approved plan is to make three separate gatherings of the fruit. The first includes all the finest and ripest branches. The green rotten grapes, or such as have been eaten into by insects, are cleared from the bunches, which are then carefully carried home. The second gathering implies naturally a second pressing. The grapes are not quite as ripe as for the first. The last gathering and pressing consists of the inferior grapes. The gathered bunches are deposited as lightly as possible, to prevent the grapes from being bruised. All dry or spoiled grapes are cast aside where proper care is used, or fine and delicate wines are intended to be made. Each labourer places his gathering in an osier basket, or in a sort of wooden dosser, carried by a labourer with the least possible motion. In France' in the department of the Marne, the grapes are carried on horseback, covered with cloths. The grapes in some countries are plucked from the bunches; in others they are placed entire in the press, stems and all. The best grapes only are used for making the better kinds of wine. The astringent principle lodged in the stems is thought to be benefi- cial, and to impart to the wine a capacity of endurance or long keeping. When

i picked, it is only for red wine, and s generally done by the hand. White wine grapes are rarely picked from the clusters.

In making white wine it is desirable that the grapes should be bruised or shaken as little as possible on the way to the press ; for, when this happens, the colour will infallibly be disengaged from the skin, and the wine will be what is called "partridge eye," and not white. Red wines are bruised or trodden pre- vious to pressing, to disengage the colour from the skin, which is so much avoided in making the white wines. After treading, they are thrown into the vat, the colour disengages itself, and then the press is applied to the murk. At first the press is used gently, that the wine may not overflow. The pres- sure is then gradually increased, until the murk becomes moderately compressed. This is the first pressing. The grapes that did not sustain pressure being scattered over the edges of the heap, are now gathered up, the press relaxed, and being placed upon the murk, the press is tightened again. The wine from this is called of the second pressing. The edges of the whole mass are now squared down with a cutting instrument, so that the mass of fruit is reduced to the form of an immense oblong cake, upon which the cuttings of the edges are heaped, and the press worked again, which makes wine of the third pressing ; or, as the wine maker calls it, "wine of the first cutting." The pressing and cutting are repeated two or three times; and what liquid flows after, is called among the labourers wine of the second or third cuttings. The wine of the first pressing is always kept apart from the rest, especially when the season is hot, and the fruit ripe. It would be apt to take a red colour if mixed with wine of the second pressing, when it is designed to make white

• An arpent is one acre, one perch, English measure.

Paragelies, set paragreles; the latter are hail-guards, or conductors. of which men- tion is presently made. The paragelie would be worth trial in our British gardens. wine. There are seasons, however, when it is useful to mingle the first and second pressings. • The third must never be mixed with the two first. .

There is only one species of wine which is made without beating, treading; or pressing,—this is what they call in Spain "Lagrema." The grapes, melting- with ripeness, are suspended in bunches, and the wine is the; produce of the droppings. This can only be effected with the muscatel grape of the warm South. In this way the richest Malaga is made.

The cares of the vine-dressers have now ceased : the business of the manufacturers begins. But we are warned by the space al- ready occupied, not to enter on fresh ground. For the component parts of wine, upon the natural proportions of which its flavour depends—the fermentations it undergoes, and the care it requires during these curious processes—the diseases by which it may be attacked, and the modes in which they are alleviated or cured—to- gether with the various kinds of cellars, casks, and bottles, in whieh the different sorts of wines should be placed, and an account of several minute attentions to be paid and operations to be per- formed—we must refer to Mr. REDDING'S work. In it the reader will also find a classified arrangement of every wine-producing country, with a detailed account of their wines, statements* of' the modes of manufacture z.dopted in each, a vast body of statistical information on this important branch of commerce, and, in many cases, the original price of the various wines. The two last chap- ters contain advice to wine-drinkers, offering observations on the preserving, cellaring, and mellowing of wines, with an indignant

expose of the "adulteration and sophistication of wines." An appendix is added, embracing many tabular statements of vinous

facts,—such, for instance, as lists of the different classes of wines of the various countries, wine-measures of different nations, alcho- lie strength of wines and liquors, and accounts of imports and et-

ports. We should further say, that the work is elegantly printed; illustrated with some clever designs, and tastefully bound in a vine-leaf pattern cloth. Mr. REDDING'S work contains, as may be guessed, a vast fund of practical and curious information ; an immense number of mi-

nute facts, and the result (we should think) of Much' experience, inquiry, and reading. The style is generally clear, but without much force or elegance; and there are frequent repetitions, which a little care would have prevented. But the main fault is, too ponderous a gravity. The subject has failed to inspire the writer; or he deemed it too interesting and important to require the aid of ornament.

We recommend Mr. REDDING'S work to others; though it has conjured up melancholy associations in our own minds. We have risen from its perusal wiser yet sadder men. His facts have en- kindled within us something like the fire of prophecy : the vine, better than " eupbrasy and rue," has " purged our visual ray ;" and, looking down the long vista of future improvement, we catch dim and indistinct visions of a happier time, when a belt of twenty degrees encircling the globe shall be devoted to the scientific culture of the vine—when a reduction or a better distribution of taxes shall no longer confine the people of England to the wine of a few small districts; but increased civilization and industry, a 'better understanding of Free Trade, and the .faeility of transport arising from canals and railroads, shall procure for us (alas ! not for us, but our descendants) the luxurious productions of Europe and the world, in exchange for our own manufactures, and that at the cheapest rate—whilst new systems of education shall enlighten the mind, and still further improvements in medicine conquer disease, and delay or smooth the inevitable hour—and, last, but far from least, CHEMISTRY, having achieved her final goal, and put the finishing-hand to the arts of cookery, fermentation, and distillation, "deep as ever plummet sounded, may drown her books." Dreaming of these things—pondering over these dim imaginings—we reverse the fear of MILTON, and grieve that we have been born an age too early.