1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

187

The Spa?·kling Wines of Germany.

best years, and from vineyards of repute, together with nearly a million bottles of sparkling wines stored in his cellars at Eltville and on the road to Erbach, the aggregate length of which is some 3,400 feet. The sparkling wines repose in long eool vaulted galleries similar to many cellars in the Champagne, while the still wines are stored in capacious subterran·ean halls ·each 100 yards in length. For his higher-class sparkling hocks Herr Miil:rer derives his principal supplies from the Rheingau, partly from his ·Own vineyards at Eltville, Rauenthal, and Hattenheim, and p artly by purchases at Erbach, H allgarten, illstrich, Winkel, .Johannisberg, Geisenheim, and R i.idesheim ; while for his best .sparkling moselles, Berncastel, Graach, Treves, and the , Saar -districts are laid under contribution. The Palati~ate growths

·of Diirkheim, Deidesheim, Mussbach, H aardt, Rhodt, &c., serve :as the basis for the medium and cheaper sparkling hocks, and for sparkling moselles of a conesponding character such wines ·as Zeltinger, Rachtiger, Erdener, Aldegonder, Winninger, &c., are u sed. Ingelheim and H eidesheim furnish the wine from black grapes necessary in a subordinate degree to all sparkling hocks, and very freely had r ecourse to when it is desired to impart a ·champagne character to the wine, as is commonly the case when this is intended for consumption in Gei·many. H err Mi.iller -invariably presses t he black grapes himself, in order that the wine may be as light in colour as possible. As the house a.nnually lays down large stocks of vin briit it is under no necessity of