1892 Drinks of the world

DRINKS.

85

is full bodied, as is that of Scharlachberg. Nierstein^ Laubenheim, and Oppenheim are good wines, but Dei- deskeimer \s considered superior to them. Hock^ is derived from Hochheim ; but nearly every town on the banks of the Rhine gives its name to some lauded vintage. The flavour of Hock is supposed to be improved by thin green glasses. Perhaps, says the judicious Redding, this is mere fancy. The Pala- tinate wines are cheaper Hocks. Moselles have a more- delicate perfume. The whole eastern bank of the Rhine to Lorich, called the Rheingau, about four- teen miles in extent, has been famous for its wine? for ages. Naturally, therefore, it was once the property of the Church. Here is Schloss- J ohannisberger, once nearly destroyed by General Hoche, where a leading Rhine wine is made. Steinberger takes the next rank to Johannisberger. Gr'dfenberg, also once ecclesiastical property, produces wine equal to Rudesheimery which is a wine of the first Rhine growths. Marcobrunner, Rothy Konigsbach are excellent drinks. Bacharack has lost its former celebrity. The conclusion to which a cele- 2 " Hock," says one of those wine circulars, which weary alike the postman and the public, " is the English name for the noble vintages of the Rhine, which afford models of what wine ought to be. Their purity is attested by their durability. They are almost imperishable. They increase appetite, they exhilarate without producing languor, and they purify the blood. The Germans say good Hock keeps off the doctor. Southey says it deserves to be called the Liquor of Life. And so Pindar would have called it, if he had ever tasted it" Nothing surely can be added to this description of its virtues. ^ A wine at Homburg, called Eriacher, at about one mark a bottle, is, says Dr. Charnock, frequently superior to the ordinary Niersteiner,