1928 Giggle Water by Charles S Warnock

134 GIGGLE WATER 273. TO REMEDY EXCESSIVE ACIDITY IN GERMAN WINE Simply add a little chalk. This mode of correcting the sourness of wine is perfectly harmless, whereas the per nicious practice of using white and vitrified lead for this purpose cannot be too much condemned. Lead in any form is a poison.

274. TO RESTORE SOUR WINE WITH POTASH To 25 gallons wine, add 4 ounces potash dissolved in a little water, and stir well with a stick for 10 minutes.

275. TO TEST WINES BEGINNING TO DECOMPOSE

Many persons are unaware of the difference between a wine that is beginning to decompose (called in French the Poux), and that in which the acetous fermentation has commenced. The Poux appears at the bottom of the bar rel, while acetification begins at the top. For the first stage of the Poux the wine becomes thick, and has a peculiar taste termed flat. For the second stage the wine becomes still more troubled, and has the taste of stagnant water. Finally, in the last stage, when the decomposition has reached its maximum, the wine becomes grayish and ap pears like muddy water. If some of the wine is put into a champagne glass and a pinch of tartaric acid is added, a red color will be produced, which will not be the case if the wine is in a state of acetous fermentation.