1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

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IV.-THE VINES OF THE CHAMPAGNE AND TH"E SYSTEl\l OF CULTIVATION. The Vines chiefly of the Pineau Variety-The Pinet dore of Ay, the P lant vert dore, the Plant gris, and the Epinette- The Soil of the Vineyarcls– Close Mode of Plantation-'I'he 0peration of Provinage- The Stems of the Vines never more than Three Years Old-Fixing the Stakes to t he Vines-Manuring and General Cultivation-Spring Frosts in the Cham– pa,gne-Various Modes of Protecting the Vines against them- Dr. Guyot's sj~t;m-The Parasites that Prey upon the Vines. rich product; grand wine in mo,derate quantity. Four descrip– tions of vines are chiefly cult ivated, three of t hem yielding black grapes, and all belonging to th11 Pineau variety, from whi'ch the grand Burgundy wines are produced, and so styled from the clusters t aking the conical form of the pine. The first is the franc pineau, the plant dore of Ay, pro– ducing small round grapes, with thickish skins of a bluish black tint, and sweet and r efined in flavour. The next is the plant vert do1·e, more robust ancl more productive than IN the Champagne the old rule holds good-poor soil,