1919 Home made beverages

Wines and Wine Making

sweet, clean containers or utensils. The best method for cleaning barrels, utensils, etc., is to scald them with boiling, water several times and then rinse repeatedly with fresh cold water. Do not, under any circumstances, use a vinegar barrel. If a barrel is to be stored before using, it is well to sulphur it by suspending a little burning sulphur on a wire inside the bunghole until the burning sulphur is extin- guished. If a red wine is being made, the juice and crushed pulp are allowed to ferment together. For a white wine the pulp is pressed as dry as possible as soon as the grapes are crushed. This is usually accomplished by wrapping the pulp in cheesecloth and applying pressure by means of either a screw or a hand or power press. The fermentation is allowed to proceed as rapidly as possible. If the temperature of the crushed grapes is below 60° F., they should be warmed before fermentation. The best temperature for fermentation depends on the kind of wine. Light white wines should not exceed 75° or 80° F. Heavy red wines, where high extract and tannin are desired, may be allowed to reach 85° or 90° F. When the fermentation of the grapes for red wine has slackened, the young wine is pressed from the pulp as completely as possible, and run into a barrel until it is almost full. Plug with cotton and allow to remain until still. This will re- quire several weeks. The juice for the white wine is also put into a barrel and the fermentation allowed to proceed until still. During this initial fermentation much sediment or argols will settle to the bottom of the barrel. The still wine should be carefully siphoned off from this sediment after several months by means of a hose. The clear wine is then racked into a clean barrel, so that the barrel will be filled to the bung and about five gallons left over. The extra wine is put into a 5-gallon container, or bottled and used to "fill up" the shrinking contents of the barrel dur- ing its aging period. Always keep the barrel full, as air spaces are unhealthy for wine. Wine is better after an aging period in wood of 187