1892 Drinks of the world

DRINKS.

97

hrmco of Modena ; — a wine grown on the estate of Baron Ricasoli, not thought so much of in Italy as in England ; and the Lacryma Christi of Naples. Most Italian wines are bottled in flasks, in the old Roman style, with oil ^ on the top, and wool over the oil. the Chianti of Tuscan Wine is first mentioned as a product of Funchal, the capital of Madeira, in the fifteenth century. In 1662, when Charles II. married the Infanta Catherine of Braganca, English merchants began to settle in Madeira. The principal varieties of Madeira are Malvasia, Bual, Sercial, Tint a, and Verdelho (the Verdea of Tuscany). In England, Madeira is now within the reach of all. At the beginning of this century, it was known only to connoisseurs. The *'fine rich old Boar' is fairly familar, and if we may trust the wine merchants, the '* Very Superior Old," variously described as full, soft, golden, delicate, and mellow% is gradually winning its way into public favour, since that same ''soft fulness," added to a delicious and yet pungent flavour, produces a drink '' altogether superior " to the best Sherry. Persia. The ancient, most famous wines of this country were those of Chorassan, Turan, and Mazanderan. These Madeira.

1 " Let no man," says the Talmud, " send his neighbour wine with oil upon its surface." Chulifi, fol. 94, col. i.