1933 Jack's Manual by J A Grohusko

INTRODUCTORY

II

loss from leakage and breakage is enormous,owing to the pres sure upon the bottle, and the diflSculty of transportation.

SAUTERNES

"Un rayon de soldi concentre dans un verre"(Biarnez) The region which produces the celebrated white wines uni versally known under the name of sauternes is situated on the left bank of the Garonne, about thirty-five kilometers south of Bordeaux,and includes the communes or parishes of Barsac, Bommes,Fargues, Sauternes, and Preignac and a part of Saint- Pierre-de-Mons. The country is hilly, admirably exposed to the rays of the sun, which explains, to a great extent, the degree of maturity the grapes attain. The soil is more or less sandy,argillo-silico-calcareous in some parts, argillo-calcareous (as at Barsac), or entirely argillaceous in others. There is no doubt that to this particularly favorable soil is due in a great measure the superiority of the Sauterne wines, which it. is impossible to equal anywhere else, however careful the vinification may be. But it is only just to add that the se lection of the vine plants, the extraordinary care bestowed on the culture of the vineyards, the special and expensive vinifica tion,contribute to insure perfection in bouquet,color,and finesse in a wine to which no other can be compared, for the simple reason that, of its kind, there exists nothing like it. The appearance of the vineyards in this region differs from that of the Medoc, inasmuch as the vines are high. The sur rounding country in which culture is more varied, is hilly and picturesque,the viewsfrom some of the heights — that,amongst others, on which Chateau Yquem is situated —extending miles over fertile scenery. It would take too much space to describe minutely the labor involved in cultivating these vineyards; each season, or, more