1869 Cooling Cups and Dainty drinks by William Terrington

33

IFincs of Italy.

the vines of Catalonia, some, such as Tarragona, when of good age, are excellent, red, good-bodied

much used

The produce of this district is

wines.

for “ blending ” with the wines of Oporto. The wines of Italy are very numerous, and are made principally for home consumption. The sparkling wines differ from those of other countries, being less effervescing. Of this class, Asti (red and white), Nebiola, Passeretta, rank first. The wines of Bologna are in general sparkling wines, known as Vino Crudoe. There are also some boiled wines, but they are not much known. The best red wines are Lambrusco, Barbera, Aleatico ; and of the white, Malvasia (vinto Santo), and the delicious Lachrymse Cliristi, which is grown at Mont Somma, near Vesuvius. This wine is both rare and choice. It is of a muscatel character, having an agreeable bouquet, and a sweet piquant taste. Tuscany is deemed better as a wine district than any other part of Italy. The mode of bottling in Florence has given rise to the term “ flask of wine these wine flasks being almost identical with those in which oil is imported, but they are made generally of larger size. Vermuth is a white wine, made aromatic with wormwood. This wine is much used as a stomachic. The best, which comes from Turin, is expensive. D