1933 Jack's Manual by J A Grohusko

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JACKSMANUAL

exactly,each day,brings its task,and nothing must be neglected, however futile this may appear to the uninitiated. The grapes are gathered and pressed in a manner peculiar to the district.The gathering takes place later than in the Medoc and lasts much longer, commencing at the end of September and terminating in the first half of November. The grapes are allowed to attain an extreme degree of ripeness; after taking a deep golden color,they finally, under the influence of the myco- derma Botrytis cinerea,become overripe,a state absolutely neces sary to insure the quality of the future wine. The berry subse- quendy becomes browned and roasted, the skin gets thin and cracks, and a sugary juice oozes from it. Little by little, each berry advances to this state until the whole bunch forms, so to speak, but one mass of juicy fruit. It may easily be imagined how fragile the grapes are when they get to this degree of ma turity, and how, whilst they gain if the weather remains fine, they are likely to suffer if it becomes rainy. The gathering is effected in small quantities at a time, and only as each bunch of grapes attains the advanced state de scribed above. Sometimes, and especially in the first growths, each berry is gathered separately and more or less quickly, according to the weather. When rainy, the operations are sus pended,to be resumed when it becomes dry again. It is easy to see that quantity here is sacrificed to quality, and that the expenses of wine-making, under such circumstances must necessarily be high. It often requires as many as six suc cessive pickings to gather one crop. The yield per acre may be roughly estimated at from two to four hogsheads, according to the vintage. Vintaged by ordinary methods, the wines would yield at least one third more. In the superior growths, there are three selections or tries." The first, comprising the berries which have dried somewhat after becoming overripe, yields what is known as vin de tete." The second selection comprises the berries in a somewhat less advanced state and yields a larger quantity. The third includes the remainder of the grapes, which,although ripe, have not at-