1919 Home made beverages

Wines and Wine Making

preservation. common- ly added to port before shipping it to England, as without this addition it generally passes into the acetous fermen- tation during the voyage. A little alcohol is also usually added to sherry before it leaves Spain. The addition of alcohol to wine injures its proper flavor, and hence it is chiefly made to port, sherry and other wines whose flavor is so strong as not to be easily injured. Even when alcohol is added to wines of the latter description they require to be kept for some time to recover their natural flavor. Bottling. — The secret of bottling wine with success con- sists in the exercise of care and cleanliness. The bottles should be sound, clean and dry, and free from the least mustiness or other odor. The corks should be of the best quality, and immediately before being placed in the bot- tles should be compressed by means of a cork squeezer, or of one of the numerous machines made for this purpose. For superior or very delicate wines the corks are some- times prepared by placing them in a copper or tub, cover- ing them with weights to keep them down, and then pouring over them boiling water, holding a little pearlash in solution. In this liquid they are allowed to remain for 24 hours, when they are well stirred about in the liquid, drained and reimmersed for a second 24 hours, in hot water, after which they are well washed and soaked in several successive portions of clean and warm rain water, drained, dried out of contact with dust, put into paper bags and hung up in a dry place for use. Many wine merchants, however, disapprove of this course and merely dip the corks in clean cold water before inserting them in the bottles. The wine should be clear and brilliant, and if it be not so, it must undergo the process of fining before being bottled. The bottles, corks and wine being ready, the utmost cleanliness and care should be exercised dur- ing the process. Great caution should also be observed to avoid shaking the cask, so as not to disturb the bottoms. The remaining portion that cannot be drawn off clear 161 In Portugal one-third of alcohol is