1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

179

The Sparkling Wines of Gm·many.

feet below the surface-a mere trifle when compared with the -depth of many vaults in the Champagne. .A:ny lower excava- -iion, however, would have been attended with danger, and as it is, when the Rhine ·rose to an unusual height in March, 1876, -the water percolated through the soil and inundated the lower cel– lars to a height of 5 feet. Above these vaults is a corresponding r ange of buildings of picturesque design ancl: substantial construc– -tion, divided like the cellars ~to three aisles, each 210 feet in length .and 23 feet broad. One of the arches of the fagade looking on to ·the courtyard is uecorated with a graceful and characteristic bas-relief, an engraving of which is subjoined .

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The cellars, containing 1,400 sti.i.cks, as they are t ermed, of still wines-the sti:i.ck being equal to 1,500 bottles-present a striking appearance with their long vistas of vaulted arcades, admirably built of brick, and illuminated by innumerable gas j ets, aided by powerful reflectors at the extremities of the three aisles. The capacious elliptical-headed casks, ranged side by side in uninterrupted sequence, contain the choicest German vinta.ges, including the grand wines of the Rheingau-Johannisberger, Steinberger, Riidesheimer, Rauenthaler, and the like ; the red growths of Assmanmihausen and.W alporzheim ; Deidesh eimers,