1879 Facts About Champagne and Other Sparkling Wines

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P REPARATION OF C HAMPA GNE.

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f reatment of Champagne after it comes from the Wine-Press- Racking and Blending of the Wine-Deficiency and Excess of Effervescence- Strength and Form of Champagne Bottles- The "Tirage" or Bottling of the Wine– The Process of Gas-making commences-Inevitable Breakage follows– Wine Stacked in Piles-Formation of Sediment- Bottles . placed "sur pointe" and Daily Sh!J:ken-Effect of this occupation on t hose incessantly engaged in it-" Clawit'' and "Masks"-Champagne Cellars-Their Con– struction and .Aspect-Transforming the "vin brut" into Champagne– Disgorging and Liqueuring the Wine-The Corking, Stringing, Wiring, and Amalgamating- The Wine's Agitated Existence comes to an Eud– The Bottles have their Toilettes made-Champagne sets out on its bene– ficial P ilgrimag . THE special characteristic of champn,gne is that its manu– facture only just commences where that of other V(ines ordinarily ends. The must flows direct from the press into capacious reservoirs, whence it is drawn off into large vats, and after being allowed to clear, is transferred to casks h olding some forty-four gallons each . .Although the bulk of the new-made