1857 The Bordeaux wine and liquor dealers' guide

42

A TREATISE ON

dealer, by the addition. of t pint of spirit coloring, a gallon of brandy, and a few drops of the essen– tial oil of bitter almonds dissolved in spirit ; the hole being well mixed and fined down. .Decanting.-'--This only refers to small quantities of wine, ready for consumption. In decantingwine, be careful not to shake or disturb the crust when moving it about or drawing the cork, particularly port wine. Never decant wine without a wine– strainer, with some fine cambric in it to prevent the crust and bits of cork going into the decanter. In decanting port wine do not drain it too near ; there are generally two thirdir of a wine-glass of thick· dregs in each bottle, which ought not to be put in. But in white wine, there is not much settling ; pour it out, however, very slowly, and raise the bottle up gradually ; it should never be decanted in a hurry. Be careful not to jostle the decanters against each other when moving them about, as they easily break, especially when full. .DecoWring.-The color of wines is precipitated by age and by exposure to the light. It is also Artifi– cially removed by the action of milk, lime-water, or fresh-burnt charcoal. Wine merchants avail them– selves of this property for the purpose of whitening wines that have acquired a brown color from the cask, or which are esteemed pale; and also for turn-

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