1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

175

The Sparlcling Wines of Germa.ny.

'rilE AHR VALLEY.

a re mostly employed, although of late small transportable presses with iron screws, a,ncl of French manufacture, are coming into use. In order that the wine may be pale in colour, the grapes, which, like those of the Champagne, are of the pineau variety, are pressed as soon as possible after the gathering ; the pressure applied is, moreover, rapid and not too str ong, and the must is separated forthwith from the skins and stalks. On the other h and, the white grapes used in the making of Gerlilan sparkling wine, and which are almost exclusively of the far-famed riesling species, are treated precisely as when making still Rhine wine-that is, they are crushed in the vineyards by means of grape-mills, and after– wards pressed in the usual way. The must for sparkling wines, whether from black or white grapes, is run at once into casks to ferment . If possible it is conveyed in large casks known as sti.i.cks-immediately after the pressing, and before fermen– t ation begins-to the manufacturer's cellar s in town; but if this cannot be accomplished it remains in the cellars of the .district until the first fermentation is over, which is in December -0r J anu ary. It is then racked off its lees, and the produce of