A6RIC,
APPENDIX E TO THE BIENNIAL REPORT OF THE BOARD OF STATE
VITICULTURAL COMMISSIONERS FOR 1891-92.
WINE.
CLASSIFICATION-WINE TASTING-QUALITIES
AND DEFECTS.
BY
PROF. G. GBAZZI-SONCINI,
Director of the Royal School of Viticulture, Alba, Italy.
TRANSLATED 'BY
K. T.
Of the Agricultural Experiment Station (Viticultural Section), University of California,
Berkeley, California.
SACRAMENTO:
STATE OFFICE, : : : : : A. j. JOHNSTON, SUPT. STATE PRINTING.
1892.
Grip,
AGRIC. DEPT.
OFFICERS AND MEMBERS OF THE BOARD.
GEORGE WEST, President Stockton.
Commissioner for the San Joaquin District.
CHARLES BUNDSCHU, Vice-President San Francisco.
Commissioner for the San Francisco District.
ALLEN TOWLE, Treasurer Towles.
Commissioner for the El Dorado District.
J. DEBARTH SHORE ISan Gabriel.
Commissioner for the State at Large.
JOHN T. DOYLE -...San Francisco.
Commissioner for the State at Large.
ISAAC DETURK . Santa Rosa.
Commissioner for the Sonoma District.
E. C. PRIBER... Napa.
Commissioner for the Napa District.
R. D. STEPHENS Sacramento.
Commissioner for the Sacramento District.
E. C. BICHOWSKY San Gabriel.
Commissioner for the Los Angeles District.
WINFIELD SCOTT, Secretary San Francisco.
CLARENCE J. WETMORE, Chief Executive Viticultural and Health Officer. ...
__ Livermore and San Francisco.
Office of the Board:
317 PINE STREET, SAN FRANCISCO.
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
ROYAL SCHOOL OF VITICULTURE AND OENOLOGYJ
ALBA, PIEDMONT, ITALY, January, 1892. j
A preface should give an immediate idea of what the author has pro-
posed to do in writing his book. As Balbo rightly says in the preface
to one of his books:
" It is the duty of every writer to give the reader a terse and clear idea
of the work which he presents him. This sincerity benefits both: the
reader, because it puts him in the position of knowing whether or not
the book is likely to be of interest or utility to him; the writer, because,
whilst it may reduce the number of his readers, it insures him more
interested, attentive, and indulgent ones.
" The clearest and most sincere way of giving an explication of the
object of a book is to tell how it was written."
Thus I will explain, as well as possible in a few words, why I have
written this book, which treats especially of the classification, the qual-
ities, and the defects of wine.
When I commenced to give particular attention to viticulture and
cenology, I soon perceived that in oenology, and especially in that part
which regards classification, qualities, and defects, all authors were not
in accord in their use of terms to express the same characters. Thus, for
example, some would mean by "seve," a slight sweetness in the wine;
others by the same term would intend to express that character by
which a wine of good quality affects the mouth and olfactory organs
with a certain perfume, for a longer or shorter time after it has been
swallowed.
I will say nothing of the classification of wines according to dishes,
as wine to be drunk with oysters, fish, roast meat, etc., which shows a
marked tendency to become a veritable chaos. In this classification,
the work of Mr. Bertall, " La Vigne- Voyage Autour des Vins de France,"
is taken too literally.
How could one speak of the classification of wine, of its qualities, of
its defects, without giving some explanation of the mode and proper
conditions for tasting? It is for this reason that I have devoted a
chapter to the tasting of wine, a chapter, moreover, of great importance,
as it is by tasting, more than by chemical analysis, that we can best
judge of the constitution and future of a wine. Who is a better judge than
an experienced taster of the bad flavor produced in wine, for instance,
by the tartaric fermentation, which even in its incipiency he can detect
by a certain burnt taste, which, with the progress of the malady, grad-
ually develops into an insupportable bitterness? Among these gradations
of bitterness we do not find that slight pleasing bitterness peculiar to
certain wines, such as Barolo and Gattinara.
Chemical analysis gives us the principal components of wine, and
from the presence or absence of certain of these and from their propor-
tions, some judgment may be formed of the character of the wine. The
: ntf ATIT OF WINE TASTING.
taster alone is able to detect diseases at their incipiency, and, one might
almost say, before they have commenced, whilst the chemist can only
state the final consequence. In other words, one might say that whilst
the chemist is limited to making a diagnosis, the taster can make a
prognosis.
In the case of some defects of wine, I have not confined myself to a
simple definition or description. I have also added notes, brief in some
cases, more extended in others, on the determining causes and the
means of prevention or cure. I have done this, believing it would be
useful to the taster or the dealer, who is not always fully informed
on all the details of technical oenology. With this information for a
guide, he will be better able to judge of the relative gravity of this or
that defect, and the dealer especially will be able to judge of the utility
or inutility of attempting to cure a wine of a certain defect.
I have also tried wishing to be useful to the greatest possible num-
ber of readers not to neglect a secondary part, which has its impor-
tance in tending to make the consumer better appreciate the wine he
drinks. Profiting by the Consigli di un amatore di vini, I have indicated
the form of glass to be used with each kind of wine, how wines should
be presented and distributed during the repast, and how they should be
drunk. In this part, which I have called secondary, it is not to be
denied that fashion is the determining factor.
And now the reader may judge if I have succeeded in my intentions.
Even though his judgment should not be favorable, I shall consider
myself fortunate in being the first as far as I know to call attention,
in an extended manner, to this part of oenology, which in former
treatises on the subject has been but lightly touched upon.
G. GRAZZI-SONCINI.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, )
BERKELEY, GAL., September 16, 1892. j
Professor Grazzi-Soncini's book, which has been already translated
into French, fills a void in the literature of oenology. The part dealing
with the defects of wine, the diseases to which it is subject, and the
methods, when such exist, of remedying these diseases, will perhaps be of
the most practical value to the wine grower. The part which regards
tasting and classification, however, is worthy of careful reading, and
many hints may be drawn from it that will be of use towards the attain-
ment of that most desirable object: the production of constant types of
wines an object which is too little studied in California, but on which
our hopes of building up a trade in high-class wines very largely depends.
Many of the numerous terms which the French and Italians have
invented for the technical consideration of wine it is impossible or diffi-
cult to translate into English, and for this reason the translation neces-
sarily lacks some of the scientific precision and clearness of the original.
I have however attempted, wherever possible, to give the English equiv-
alent of the term used by the author, and have also given the French
term, in this way making a glossary in the three languages, which may
possibly be of use in developing a uniform set of technical terms on this
subject in our own language.
If this book should be of any use to the wine maker, and especially
if it should call the attention of non-wine-drinking people to some of
the uses and beauties of wine which they did not suspect, the translator
will feel amply repaid for his trouble.
F. T. BIOLETTI.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
By G GRAZZI-SONCINI.
INTRODUCTION.
Wine is simply the juice or must of the grape after it has undergone
the process of fermentation.* This may be considered as the most
natural and exact definition that can he given of it. It is the definition
accepted by the law.
On account of the prevalence of sophistications and the considerable
amount of wine that is now made from dried grapes and other saccha-
rine fruits, a more particularized definition of wine is now given ; it may
be formulated as follows:
By wine is understood that liquid which is obtained by the alcoholic
fermentation of the juice or must of fresh grapes. This must may be
fermented in contact or not with the pomace or solid portion of the
grapes, without, however, the addition of any extraneous substance or
even of substances chemically the same as those that the grapes them-
*Although as Gautier writes, "Wine is a very complex body, and so delicate that the
work of chemists, so far, has been but an outline of what there is to do in the study of
it," I think it will be useful, because it will give a more complete idea of the subject of
our remarks, to give a list of the principal components of grapes, or must, and of wine:
A. SOLID BODIES.
Stems: Lignose Tannin Albuminoids Organic salts and acids Mineral salts and
acids Chlorophyll Gummy matters Phosphates Potash, lime, magnesia, silica.
Skins: Cellulose (Enocyanin (Enorubin Tannin Cream of Tartar Catechin
Quercite (?) Waxy matters, ferment germs Etherous and aromatic principles Nitrog-
enous substances Phosphates Potash, lime, magnesia, iron, silica.
Pulp: Cellular parenchyma Nitrogenous substances Cream of tartar Gum, pectin,
dextrin (?) Gases, nitrogen, carbonic acid Divers salts.
Seeds: Lignose Fatty matters Nitrogenous substances Gum Starch Phosphates
Divers salts Tannin.
B. LIQUID BODIES.
Water Glucose Levulose Divers nitrogenous substances Saccharose, dulcite
Cream of tartar Tartrate of calcium Tartaric, malic, and racemic acids Halogen
acids (traces) Ammoniacal salts and organic derivatives Phosphates, sulphates,
nitrates Potash, lime, magnesia.
C. GASEOUS BODIES.
Carbonic anhydride Nitrogen Hydrogen sulphide.
ELEMENTS OF WINE (RED WINE).
Water Alcohols: ethylic, propylic, butylic (amylic?), caproic, oenanthilic, caprylic,
pelargonic, capric.
Higher alcohols Glycerine Isobutyl Mannite Glucose Levulose Inosin Gum
Pectic matters Essential oils Furfurol Aldehyde Acetal.
Ethers: acetic, propionic, butyric, valerianic, caproic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic.
Acids: carbonic, acetic, propionic, butyric, caproic, oenanthylic, caprylic, capric, lauric,
myristic, tartaric, racemic, succinic, malic, taiinic, sulphuric, nitric, phosphoric, silicic,
chlorhydric, fluorhydric. These acids are either free or combined with the bases: potash,
soda, lime, magnesia, alumina, iron oxide, manganese, ammonia, volatile bases of the
pyridic series.
Albuminoids Coloring matters.
WINE AND THE ART OP WINE TASTING. 7
selves contain. The addition of the latter is considered by many as an
adulteration, because it changes the quantitative composition of the
must, and consequently of the wine.
'Who first made wine is not known. The history of its manufacture,
like that of many other fermented beverages, extends back into the
mists of ages; nothing, therefore, is known about its first use. Tradi-
tion and mythology give several accounts of its first appearance, but
they are of a very contradictory nature.
Of one thing we may be sure, and that is that from the first, man has
asked himself the question: Is wine a real benefit? A question that
has not yet, perhaps, been answered to the satisfaction of some.
Even at the present day it is not possible to give a satisfactory, defi-
nite reply to this demand, unless we look at it from an economical stand-
point, in which case there can be no doubt of its utility, as it is one of
the principal sources of national wealth in every country where the
grape can be grown.
We must therefore consider it from this point of view, otherwise its
real utility to man might be contested.
It is said that wine incites man to anger, licentiousness, murder, and
in general subjects him to a thousand depraving temptations.
" II vino e il veleno piu teribile per la societa. Ne i fulmine di Giove,
ne la spada di Marte, ne i bad di Venere hanno fatto tante vittime quanto
Bacco coi calici spumante." Bizzozero.
Alcohol, the moment it enters the cells and nervous filaments, revives
their functions and excites and stimulates their action; this state of
exaltation passed, however, if more alcohol is imbibed by the cells and
nerves a period of exhaustion supervenes. The presence of this foreign
body in the organism, tainting the blood and diffusing its vapors
through the substance of the brain, interferes with the chemical pro-
cesses of the body, augments the resistance to the nervous movements,
and engenders that particular kind of poisoning known under the name
of intoxication.
It was owing to wine that Ham was cursed and became the servant of
his brothers' servants. It was owing to wine that the ancient Persians,
Lacedemonians, Romans active, vigorous, and glorious by a thousand
splendid victories, as long as they possessed the virtue of sobriety
declined and fell when
Delia stoica incude
Spessa nel vin tempravasi
La rigida virtude.
But that was the abuse not the use of wine.
Every one should know that wine, drunk in moderation or with
temperance, favors and augments the secretion of the gastric juices and
so aids digestion; it excites the imagination, awakens the memory,
dispels care, restores the physical force, and renders the movements of
the body active and vigorous.
A proof of this, if one is needed, is furnished by the fact cited by all
writers on hygiene, that if in the war of 1870-71 the German army was
able to sustain the fatigues of the campaign and sieges, always remain-
ing in good health, it was because they were invading and conquering
a wine-producing country.
Bacchus is the "Dio salvatore." Plutarch, in the life of Caesar,
mentions that the whole army of. the General was once afflicted with a
8 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
disease which Caesar cured by allowing all the soldiers to get solemnly
drunk. From that day they all commenced to recover.
Certainly among the curative resources at the disposal of hygiene
and medicine there is none more frequently used than wine. We
always, as it were by instinct, say to a convalescent: "You should
drink wine."
Hippocrates says: " Wine is a liquid marvelously adapted to man, well
or ill, providing he take it at the proper time and in quantities suitable
to his constitution."
Liebig, too, is of the same opinion, for he writes: "Wine is unsur-
passed by any product, natural or artificial, as a restorer of the vital
forces when they are exhausted; it animates and revives the saddened
spirits, it serves as a corrective and antidote in all irregularities of the
animal economy, which it preserves from the passing ills to which inor-
ganic nature subjects it."
Wine considered from an alimentary point of view has its chief
importance in the union of alcohol with an acid liquid; the acid mod-
erates the too energetic action of the alcohol, especially its action on the
nervous system.
The tannin and coloring matter, when present in due proportion, exer-
cise a very favorable influence on the stomach by animating the energies
of the digestive functions.
The aroma, the bouquet, the " seve" of a wine are also useful, as many
facts tend to prove, among others, the fact that well-flavored substances
in general have a favorable influence on nutrition.
Wine has a density nearly equal to that of water, and is absorbed into
our system with much less rapidity than spirits; this fact is of great
importance to the animal economy, because the effects of wine are thus
felt for a longer time and without the danger accompanying the rapid
effects of brandy.
Wine is absorbed by our digestive organs without any change but
that of being mixed with the gastric juice. There is no need of the in-
tervention of the digestive ferments to facilitate the absorption of the
wine in its last office of nutrition. This explains its utility in certain
diseases.
The complexity of the organic matters that enter into the composition
of wine, which up to a certain point resembles that of the human body,
explains its restorative action in the case of individuals weakened by
anaemia or insufficient nourishment, etc.
Wine, then, is produced and drunk, and of all fermented beverages it
is the most healthful, and the one that most harmonizes with our organ-
ism. If nature had gifted man, as it has all other animals, with a surer
instinct in the choice of the food that was best suited to his constitution,
certainly without any hesitation among the first substances he would
have selected wine; however, having a less reliable instinct than he
might have, he has allowed himself to be greatly influenced by tradition
and imitation in the choice of his beverages.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
I.
CLASSIFICATION.
Of the numerous classifications that have been made, and that might
be made, of the various and diverse wines produced in the different wine-
growing regions, that is to be preferred which, up to a certain point, can
be considered as the most natural, by giving an immediate idea of the
principal characters presented by a certain wine or category of wines.
Carpene very justly considers the classing of wines according to
different dishes or repasts as misleading and hurtful to the trade; for,
as he well remarks in one of his articles, if this classification should be
carried out we should have tripe wine, cheese wine, macaroni wine, etc.
As every one knows, the order of wines and dishes through the repast
is influenced by fashion and caprice. To-morrow, perhaps fashion will
oblige us to imitate northern nations and Americans in our " cuisine,"
and then we will be obliged to drink champagne through the whole
dinner; thus champagne must be successively known as an oyster wine,
a soup wine, a roast wine, and heaven knows what else.
Not long since I was at a banquet, and by chance was placed next to
a certain high functionary who was to commence the series of toasts.
On the appearance of the roast our high functionary prepared himself.
"But how is this," he exclaimed to a neighbor, "do they not give us
champagne now?" "They serve the 'roast wine' now," replied the
other. "Roast wine," cried the surprised high functionary, "but at
court they serve champagne with the roast." Champagne was after-
wards brought, and then the eminent personage was able to get up and
make his toast, a very appropriate and happy one. I cannot say what
influence the " roast wine " may have had on it.
This classifying by dishes is certainly all wrong, but if we should
ask ourselves the question, as an amateur does in the wine taster's vade
mecum, " La vite ed il vino" "When should one drink wine?" the
answer most certainly would be, " Whilst eating." Without a good
selection of wines the most perfect bill of fare loses all its value.
High-class red wines should not be drunk before they have been eight
or ten years in bottle. Before that they may be rough, and not particu-
larly pleasant to the taste. Very fine white wines, too, should be well
aged, otherwise the sugar, of which they contain a certain amount, will
not have been all transformed into alcohol, and lessens their strength
and bouquet.
A natural, primary, and main division of the various wines may be
made with reference to their color, viz.:
WHITE AND RED WINES.
It should be stated here that this general division rests not only on the
color that the wine may have, or on the presence or absence of oenocy-
anin in its composition, but on other characteristics in which a white
wine differs greatly from a red.
10 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
This division is of no little hygienic importance, wines of different color
having as distinct effects on our constitution as wines of different age,
alcoholicity, or acidity.
White wines, as is well known, are obtained from white grapes, or
from red grapes which, instead of being crushed and fermented in a
mass, are pressed, and the must fermented separately; that is, not in
contact with the pomace or solid parts of the grapes.
I call attention to the fact that white wine can be made from red
grapes, because wines so made have exactly the same action on our
system as have white wines made from white grapes.
Certainly the following from Guyot is very true:
Wine which has been fermented in contact with the stems, skins, and seeds of the
grapes is very different from that which has been fermented separately. The latter wine
is white, the other red, and the antithesis, though expressed nere simply by the oppo-
sition of color, does not consist in the least in this difference of color, which is only an
accident. The real difference consists in the special and often opposite hygienic quali-
ties of these two kinds of wine. Nowadays they make red wines which have all the
hygienic properties of white wines, and it is possible to produce white wines which
would have all the hygienic properties of red. All that is necessary to obtain this last
result is to ferment the must of white grapes with the skins, seeds, and stems, in the
same way as red wine is treated; in this way all the effects are obtained of a rapid
decomposition and solution by maceration of the principles and products which are
not found in the juice of the grape. * *
I insist on the true distinction of wines obtained by the fermentation of the juice of
the grape completely isolated from its accessories, and those made by fermentation of
the juice, together with all, or at least part of the rest of the grape a distinction quite
independent of the color. Nothing is more alien or of less importance to the quality
of a wine than its color. It may be a sign an indication but it is never a quality of
itself. By the majority of consumers color is looked upon as a guarantee of the purity,
quality, and strength of the wine. It is on account of this considering color as a sign
of quality that unscrupulous dealers make use of it to commit innumerable frauds.
White wines are in general diffusible stimulants of the nervous system; if they are
light they act rapidly on the'physical organization, of which they intensify all the func-
tions. It seems that they escape just as quickly through the skin and mucous mem-
branes, and, above all, with the urine; their action, then, is of short duration.
Unlike white wines, red wines are tonic and persistent stimulants of the nerves, the
muscles, and the digestive organs. Their organic action being slower is more prolonged;
they do not unduly excite the perspiration nor the excretions, and their general action
is astringent, persistent, and concentrated.
Moreover, the common opinion, founded on daily experience, leaves no doubt of the
real difference, in their sensual and organic effects, between white wines and red.
Of equal importance are the following words of Dr. Gauber:
If one should divide the grapes gathered from a vineyard of the "Graves" of the
Gironde into two parts, and of one make white wine and of the other red, and then,
at the end of four years, make a careful tasting of these two wines which have been
carefully treated during these four years, what will be the result? Made from a raw
material apparently identical, will they be equally developed and equally mature? The
white wine will have aged the most.
Will they produce the same effect, the same degree of stimulation, on our organs? Let
us collect the sensations produced by one and the other in the order in which they are
produced.
1. A glass of white wine, well made and dry, the moment it enters the mouth develops
a bright and penetrating aroma, and leaves, in passing, an impression, agreeable it is
true, but fugitive and almost hot. Hardly has it reached the surface of the stomach
when it causes a feeling of warmth which, in less than ten minutes in the case of certain
healthy but impressionable constitutions, becomes very intense. Sometimes the action,
by sympathetic radiation, is reflected from the stomach to the head with the prompti-
tude of the electric fluid. Generally, after an hour or less, a sensation is felt as of a
pressure either on the two temples or around the whole head; the hand is instinctively
passed over the forehead as though to free it from some load. Sometimes a feeling of
painful fullness of the brain accompanies these effects. The irritation is communicated
from the gastric and nervous centers to the whole body. It shows itself by increased
warmth, often irregularly distributed, of the body (with irritable people the palm of the
hand often becomes unpleasantly hot and dry); by a need of movement, of displace-
ment rather than of exercise (with people of the disposition mentioned above this
need is shown by an internal agitation, by slight muscular tremblings accompanied by
shooting pains that strike, with the rapidity of lightning, different parts of the body).
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 11
At the end of two or three hours, more or less, according to the temperament and sus-
ceptibility of the individual, the irritation passes away and the taster finds himself in
the same condition as before, with or without a certain feeling of lassitude or sadness.
2. If the white wine is replaced by a red wine of the same vintage, and taken at a
proper temperature, it will leave in passing a distinct impression on the two senses of
smell and taste of a soft aroma; its fluidity in the mouth is less, and though it feels
more material, so to speak, it leaves a less intense feeling of dry heat. Its contact with
the stomach produces a softer and more gradual impression.
The organ is still warmed, but in a more vital manner, as it were. As to the svmpa-
thetic propagation of the stimulating action towards the head : it still takes place, but
without the nervous phenomena of pressure and pain; the brain is gently excited. Its
extension to the organs of the senses, if it takes place, is no longer betrayed by the need
of displacement and agitation, but bv a strengthened desire for exercise, which is very
different. The duration of the stimulation is more prolonged and ceases insensibly, so
that the most attentive observation cannot detect the exact time at which it ends.
Here is, we believe, the sufficient explanation of the difference of effect observed
between white wine and red wine the first (white wines of Graves), produced by fermen-
tation of the must separate from the pomace, contains about 4 to 6 per cent of extractive
matter and tannin; the second, 8 to 11 and 12 per cent of the same matters.
It is to this difference in the proportions of the rough and astringent matters of the
wines that we attribute their different effects.
In the red wines the pressure of the alcohol on the nervous system of the stomach is
softened by the interposition of more abundant tonic and extractive matters; the effect
is thus slow and successive. In white wines it is almost immediate, and therefore stronger
and less lasting.
Each of these large groups into which the various wines may be
divided is susceptible of three subdivisions, which are sufficiently
natural, as they give immediately some idea of the quality of a wine
which enters into any one of them.
These three subdivisions are the following:
1. Table wines.
2. Dessert or alcoholic wines.
3. Blending or cutting wines.
1. Table Wines.
These wines may be of higher or lower quality, according to the
locality in which they are produced, and to the care that is taken in
their making and after-treatment; they must not be sweet nor too alco-
holic; not aromatic nor possessed of too pronounced a bouquet, though
those of higher quality may be slightly aromatic; they must not be too
rich in color, too astringent, nor too acid; they ought not to be harsh nor of
too heavy body, that is, too rich in extractive matter.* A wine of this
group should be clean tasting, and should form an harmonious whole,
agreeable to the palate and stomach, so that it can be drunk with
pleasure. These wines are healthful, because they favor digestion, and
a certain quantity of them can be taken without producing intoxication
or other physical disturbance.
Concisely the characters of a typical table wine may be described as
follows:
Light but not poor in alcohol; not the slightest tendency to sweetness;
pleasing but light and delicate aroma and flavor; nothing excessive,
but complete harmony of all parts. A full and generous homogeneity;
limpidity; constancy of type. Though in the matter of dishes variety
* " In the middle of the seventeenth century England consumed the light wines of
France, and, as Gladstone says, they laughed and sang in those days in the British realm.
The wars between France and Great Britain breaking out, the French wines were pro-
hibited and in their stead the heavy wines of Spain and Portugal were imported ; they
still drank as much, continues Gladstone, but they sang no longer; to laughter succeeded
quarrels and base deeds." R. Dejermon.
12 WINE AND THE ART OP WINE TASTING.
is both useful and pleasing, it is different with wine where constant
uniformity of type is necessary.
As in this class of wines are comprehended all qualities from the
finest to the most ordinary, it is easily seen that other distinctions can
and must be made, in order that the wines, for example, of Barolo or
Chianti, shall be distinguished from wines produced in some less favor-
able locality.
The various wines that enter into the category under discussion can
be naturally and conveniently classified as follows:
A. Superfine, or high-class wines; the "Grands Vins" of the French.
B. Fine wines.
C. Fine common wines.
D. Common wines.
E. Low-grade wines.
This classification, as Polacci would say, has nothing imaginative
or strained about it, as it simply represents the wines that we really
have and of which we make use in commerce.
I will now try to give, not a definition, because the name of each class
is of itself a definition, and should give a fair conception of the dis-
tinction to be made between the several classes, but an idea regarding
the characteristics which have served in grading the wines which we
actually produce in Italy.
A. High-class Wines. These are wines which are produced in certain
spots, or rather which are obtained from certain varieties of grapes, grown
in especially favorable conditions of climate, and more particularly of
soil, compared with those of the circumjacent vineyards; wines which
also, it may be said, are the product of an almost infinite series of care-
ful treatments, beginning in the vineyard and continued through the
vintage and during the whole time, which is certainly not brief, of their
conservation; wines, in short, which unite in themselves all the char-
acteristics and qualities which should be found in a fine wine, united
with the greatest delicacy and fragrance of aroma and freshness on the
palate. An Italian wine which belongs to this class is the Chianti di
Brolio. Of the French wines of Bordeaux, or more precisely of the
Medoc, there are Chateau-Lafite and Chateau-la-Tour, the latter of
which is distinguished from the former by a slightly heavier body and
a more pronounced flavor and aroma.
B. Fine Wines. These are wines which approach very nearly to the
preceding class, but are, nevertheless, somewhat inferior to them, either
in delicacy of aroma or in some other quality; very often they lack or
are deficient in the freshness which distinguishes the first class. These
wines are very often the product of grapes grown in the neighborhood
of the vineyards producing the first-class wines which have given
renown to the locality, but they may be made from grapes grown in
other localities. To this second class belong, for example, those wines
of Chianti which resemble greatly in character the Chianti di Brolio,
but do not equal it. In the same way among the French wines of the
Medoc, Saint-Julien and Saint-Estephe approach but are not equal to
Chateau-Lafite.
It may very possibly be that some of the wines of Chianti exhibit
qualities which place them, so to speak, in rank with the Chianti di
Brolio; then from the second they must be promoted to the first class,
as is the case with Chateau-la-Tour, which,, though somewhat different, is
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 13
deemed worthy to stand in rank with Chateau-Lafite and the other two,
Chateaux-Margaux and Chateau-Haut-Brion, which together form the
four " grands vins," high-class wines of the Gironde.
'C. Fine Common Wines. In this third category are placed those
wines which are intermediate between the fine wines and the common
wines. This class of wines can be produced in large quantities in Italy,
as there are numerous regions both in the hills and plains which pre-
sent the requisite favorable conditions.
The wines in question generally lack or are deficient in delicacy;
with time, and sometimes, too, with a little artificial aid, they acquire
some aroma which is not, however, always very delicate. These wines
form, or ought to form, the bulk of our export trade; but if we wish to do
a steady trade we must set ourselves diligently to make and properly
handle these wines. To do this the producers must abandon the idea
of making high-class wines, and confine themselves to wines of this
kind.
The wines of this class produced in Italy, especially by those who
have recourse to artificial additions, or who do not well understand the
processes of wine making, present a certain dryness to the taste which
is not exactly pleasing.
The taster will pronounce them sound wines without any particular
defect, but he is not quite satisfied. This may be owing to an artificial
aroma, or to the addition of alcohol; it may be caused by heating, or by
a too violent fermentation, to the grapes having been picked at the
wrong time, or to an injudicious correction of the must, or but as this
is not the place to try to account for it it will suffice to state the fact.
Such artificial aids, then, as the addition of drugs, the drying of the
grapes, heating, etc., should be abandoned, and instead a judicious choice
of vines, or a blending of grapes or wines substituted; in this way it
will be possible to deliver to the trade wines which have a sufficient
freshness of taste and frankness of flavor; they will be to a certain .
extent smooth and delicate, and will possess more or less of that fruity
taste so much liked by consumers.
D. Common Wines, or Wines of the Plains. This is a class of wines
of which it is not very easy to give a definition or to point out its exact
limits in Order that it may not be confused with the preceding or com-
prehended in the following class. To prove that this is a real difficulty
it will suffice to quote the eminent agriculturist, F. Re: "I have some-
times drunk wines made from grapes grown in a naturally clayey soil,
subjected to irrigation, which were very good, and some even which
seemed to be of superior excellence."
I should therefore state that all wines grown on level ground cannot
be classed as common wines; even on the plains, when the climate and
especially when the soil and the variety of grapes are particularly favor-
able, choice wines may be produced which are worthy to figure in the
preceding class.
The division or class of common wines comprises all those wines con-
sumed in the largest quantities, and which, because of the ease and
economy with which they are produced, can be sold at a low price, so that
they find steady consumers among the working classes, who consume,
after all, the greater part of the product of the vineyards.
These wines are most commonly the product of grapes grown on the
plain, either in vineyards or associated with other crops; this does not
14 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
exclude the possibility of producing such wines from grapes grown on
hills, and especially when the exposure is unfavorable, or when the
nature of the soil is unsuitable, or when, on account of the ignorance
of the grape grower, who prefers quantity to quality, he plants by pref-
erence those varieties which give an abundant crop of very inferior
grapes. Wines of this class have very poor keeping qualities, lasting
two years at the most, and in general in aging, with the exception of
those which are very rough and astringent, deteriorate instead of im-
proving.
These wines are sufficiently alcoholic, but owe their conservation less
to their alcohol than to their acids, among which, with many of them,
must be included carbonic acid. To their acids, also, they owe most of
their hygienic value, which is to aid in the digestion of the food con-
sumed by the laborers who drink them food which is naturally diffi-
cult of digestion, and rendered more so by its ill preparation.
These wines are more nutritious than are those of the preceding class,
containing, as they do, larger quantities of albuminoids, in which grapes
from the plains usually abound. The reason of the greater abundance
of nitrogenous matters in inferior grapes is the natural fertility of the
soil on which they have been grown, or the fact that this ground has
been manured with nitrogenous fertilizers, with the idea of increasing
the bearing of grapes or the production of wood and foliage.
These wines are naturally very variable, differing greatly according to
the conditions of soil, climate, and aspect under which they have been
produced. To further increase this variability man does his best, seem-
ing to take a delight in practicing methods of wine making that are
apparently ingeniously calculated to spoil the wine.
A wine of this class should be of easy digestion, and easily consumed
in moderate quantities, without affecting the head or the stomach. It
should be smooth, clean tasting, well fermented, with a certain amount
of flavor and acid, and should show none of the effects of secondary fer-
mentations to which these wines are so subject; finally, it should possess
a good, bright, but not deep, color.
I have said a wine of this class "should be" all this, because only too
often, on account of careless making or improper handling, they are
anything but healthful; they are, on the contrary, 'heavy and indigesti-
ble, causing, even when used sparingly, disturbances of the head and
stomach; they are heavy-bodied wines, and so thick as to be appropri-
ately called by some people, "vini carnosi;" their defects are usually
due to the vessels in which they have been made and kept, to bad fer-
mentation, or to the addition of substances which have been put in with
the intention of preserving the wine, or of masking its defects. They
are often costive and overcharged with tannin and coloring matter,
recalling, the moment they touch the palate, the flavor of ink. Their
color is generally unstable and dull.
E. Low-grade Wines. These wines occupy the lowest grade on the
osnological scale, that is to say, among natural wines. In drinking one
of these wines one asks himself if it is really a wine or not rather a
piquette or mixture of water and wine, with superabundance of the
former. Except color, these wines are deficient in all the elements
proper to wine. They must be consumed promptly during the winter,
or they cease to be wine. Generally, to render them drinkable at all,
they must be left for some time on their pomace, or on that of better
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 15
wines; or else they can be cut with other wines, or be given the treat-
ment usual in Tuscany, known as the " governo."
When these wines are sound they do very well for cutting with other
wines, thus making a blend which can be classed with the common
wines, or even sometimes with the third class, or fine common wines.
2. Dessert or Alcoholic Wines.
This class includes all those wines which the French call " vins de
luxe," and therefore champagnes and other sparkling wines, which, how-
ever, are, unlike most of this class, of relatively low alcoholic strength.
Sparkling wines are placed here because, as a rule, they are of high
cost, and therefore " vins de luxe." However, we are now producing
natural wines which are 1 afterwards artificially made sparkling, at a
much less cost; and this industry is assuming such proportions that it
cannot well be overlooked.
Apparatus of different kinds for the production of sparkling wines
have been known and used for a long time in France, Germany, and
Austria.
Latterly the practice of artificially making champagne from natural
dry wines has been extensively followed in Italy; this is due to the in-
vention of the apparatus of Carpene, which possesses above all previous
systems the advantages of simplicity and cheapness. This system has
rendered possible the production of good sparkling wines at a moderate
cost.
With this explanation regarding champagne, and the reason for plac-
ing it in this class, I pass to those wines more properly belonging to it,
and here give Polacci's definition of " vini di lusso."
These wines are nearly always alcoholic, more or less aromatic, and
are drunk, as a rule, aft&r dinner, on which account they are called by
foreigners dessert or after-dinner wines. They are, so to speak, concen-
trated, and are sipped from small glasses like cordials, for which reason
the French know them as " vins de liqueurs." We know them as " vini
di lusso," because they are certainly not necessary beverages, and from
their high cost are usually reserved for the tables of the rich.
The many and diverse wines of this class can be divided, or rather
united, under the following heads: Sweet Wines; Alcoholic Wines; Spark-
ling Wines.
In this class are wines so well known, and of such special character,
that it is difficult to class them together, and each is usually spoken of
by itself as almost forming a class apart; as with the wines in the first
class, the "grand vins," their qualities and peculiarities are so well
known that their names alone is a sufficient description; such wines are
Marsala, Lacrima Christi, Vernaccia di Sardegna, Malvasia di Lipari, etc.
3. Cutting Wines.
These wines are rich in alcohol, coloring matter, and body, but often
deficient in acid; they cannot be drunk alone, and the only reason for
producing them is that there are localities which produce wines which
are thin, poor in color, weak in alcohol, and generally lacking in those
qualities which wines of this class have in excess. A mixture of these
two kinds of wine, each of which alone is of little value, produce a wine
which is sustaining and nutritious, and especially suited to the needs
16 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
and means of the laboring classes. The better kinds of these wines
may even be blended to form a wine which might be placed among the
fine common wines, or third class, and not unworthy of the honor of
bottling.
At the present day the French wine merchants use large quantities
of cutting wines imported from Italy, Spain, and Dalmatia. Before the
invasion of the phylloxera, their blends were made with the wines of
Roussillon, Languedoc, Pyrenees-orientales, Aude, Gard, Tarn, etc., all
wines rich in coloring matter and alcohol, solid and heavy-bodied, and
at the same time smooth, delicate, and with a characteristic and per-
sistent aroma which is very pleasing.
Here is, for example, a blend or mixture of different wines formerly
much in vogue in France:
Wine of Roussillon 30 litres.
Wine of Narbonne 60 litres.
Wine of Cher 30 litres.
Wine of Poitou, blanc 60 litres.
Wine of Bourgogne 30 litres.
Wine of Pique-poule, at 15 per cent 15 litres.
Total 225 litres.
A French writer thus justly expresses himself: "After the invasion of
France by the phylloxera, commerce drew contributions from all wine-
producing regions; science was also brought to its aid; an immense
productive movement commenced, not only in France, but in foreign
countries, and now wines flow in from all parts, from Spain, Italy, Austria,
Greece, the Crimea, and even from Australia; wines of all kinds, which,
passing through the skillful hands of our merchants, there receive the
official seal, the inimitable touch, which serves them for passport to the
wine connoisseurs of the entire world." Further on we read: " In this
combination each region plays its role, and helps towards the final result
that we desire to obtain; from Italy the blend obtains strength, extract,
body; Spain supplies softness and fruitiness; our own wines add
piquancy, and economize on the price of production."
In whatever way the cutting is done, and whatever the combination
adopted, the following may be taken in general as the composition of
most blends:
One third wine of Italy;
One third wine of Spain;
One third " petits vins " of France, or wine made from dried grapes.
Cutting wines are then of no little importance to wine growing in
France, or rather to the French wine trade; why then, should they not
be as important to ours, especially now that the two are in competition?
Let us then produce cutting wines, but let them be well made and
sound. By such wines the Italian wine trade will be benefited as much
as is the French now.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 17
n.
TASTING.
The word " tasting " is not used with its ordinary signification when
referring to wine, but means, in that case, not only the testing of its
flavor by means of the gustatory organs, but also a careful examination
of the wine in other ways; of its appearance, of its bouquet, as well as
of its effect upon the palate; all of which is necessary before a final
judgment can be passed on its character, its qualities, and its defects.
Wine tasting is a somewhat difficult art, which cannot be acquired
without long practice, and then only by one who possesses a clear eye
and very delicate organs of taste and smell. When the last two organs
have the requisite sensibility, practice alone is necessary to give them
the skill needed in tasting a wine.
It is by frequent tasting, by making comparisons, by the examination
of good types, that this delicacy and sensibility of the palate is developed
which enables it to detect and appreciate the faintest aroma, flavor, or
bouquet, as well as the slightest defect.
Practically the tasting of a wine is, up to a certain point, of more
importance than its chemical analysis. Analysis shows us the principal
components of the wine and the proportions in which they are combined;
tasting tells us whether these components are in proper proportions to
form an harmonious whole, or are, some of them, in excessive or deficient
amounts; whether the wine has '* seve," bouquet, aroma; whether it is
mature or not; whether it should be racked or bottled; what its defects
are, its keeping qualities, etc.
Any one can say whether a wine pleases him or not, but only the
experienced taster can pronounce with any degree of certainty on the
real properties and character of a wine. A good wine may be pleasing
to-day and not so to-morrow, on account of slight exterior influences
which are dangerous to its stability but may be only transitory in their
effects, and the wine may recover and be as good as ever.
In order to make useful deductions it is of the highest importance, in
fact absolutely necessary, to be able to appreciate and reflect on the sen-
sations experienced in the tasting. It is not every one who can appre-
ciate the true import of what they perceive, but only those who have
trained themselves by long practice.
The experienced taster, when called upon to give his opinion, looks at
and attentively examines the wine. He then agitates it by shaking the
glass, and, when necessary, places his hand round the glass in such a
way as to warm the wine, thus favoring the volatilization of those mat-
ters which affect the olfactory organs; he then tastes it.
Sometimes the simple agitation of the wine by twirling the glass is
not sufficient, especially when the sparkling and bouquet are to be par-
ticularly noticed. In this case the wine must be more thoroughly
shaken, which is done by placing the palm of the left hand over the
mouth of the glass, and then striking the bottom of it forcibly against
2
18 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
the knee. This causes the wine to give off its odors, and in the case of
sparkling wines its carbonic acid, more freely. The method, writes
Ottavi, is not very polished or elegant, but accomplishes the purpose
very well.
As can be easily seen the wine taster should preserve his senses, that
is, those of smell and taste, with their utmost sensibility; this is only
done by avoiding excesses of all kinds, for these in course of time are
bound to diminish that sensibility, or to destroy it completely. Thus
he must abstain from all highly alcoholic beverages, from strongly
salted or flavored dishes, from tobacco in any form, and in general from
everything that acts too energetically on the organs of the above-
mentioned senses.
Physical indisposition, more especially affections of the nasal organs,
the mouth, or throat, diminish or destroy all sensibility of the senses of
taste and smell.
" Wine should not be tasted fasting, or it will taste weak and insipid;
nor after drinking wine; nor with a full stomach. Moreover, the taster
should not have eaten anything sour, salt, or bitter, nor anything which
might change his taste; but he should have eaten a little, but not yet
have digested it." Carlo Stefano.
The taster should not attempt to give his opinion of more than a
certain number of wines at a time, asafter having tasted a certain
number the senses become temporarily much impaired and incapable of
nice discrimination; nor should he judge of a wine after an abundant
repast, as the various flavors of highly seasoned or sweetened foods have
a great influence on the palate, and prevent it from judging a wine
critically.
It is a well-known fact that after eating sweet fruit a wine seems to
be rougher and harsher than it really is, whilst cheese, nuts, artichokes,
etc., make it appear smoother and more delicate.
With piquant cheese, like Parmigiano and Roquefort more especially,
which Grimod de la Reyniere has called "the tippler's biscuit," all
wines seem good, or at least much better than they really are. It is
also true that strong and badly tasting wines when drunk undiluted
destroy the sensibility of the palate; people habituated to these wines
end by being unable to find any taste in the fine wines of delicate flavor
which are the delight of the connoisseur.
Tasters who are accustomed only to high-class wines, when they taste
ordinary or low-class wines are apt to underrate them, if they do not
reject them as altogether valueless, though they may be sound and
clean tasting.
On the other hand, tasters accustomed to ordinary wines almost
always deem the prices paid for high-class wines excessive.
This suggests the importance of habit as a factor in the modifications
which the taste may undergo. It may easily happen that the prolonged
use of a substance may render the sense of taste obtuse, and that the
tongue may become " saturated," as Brillat-Savarin says in one of his
happy aphorisms. Thus, when the palate has become habituated to a
taste, that which at first was intolerable becomes often pleasing and
even necessary. Generally, however, habit educates the sense of taste
and renders it acute.
Sometimes a taster is called upon to give an opinion as to the character,
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 19
the good or bad qualities of a wine of a certain locality or of some par-
ticular producer or vineyard; in this case, even though he may be well
acquainted with the kind of wine, to be able to give his decision with
more confidence, he will carefully provide himself with a wine of the
same type as that which he is called upon to judge; he can thus receive
material aid by making a comparison.
Naturally, a taster who is used to the wines of a certain locality or
country will be more easily able to detect the slightest differences
between the wines of that locality, especially those differences in fine
wines which distinguish wines produced by different vineyards even in
the same locality, and when planted with the same varieties of grapes.
A taster should be very cautious in giving an opinion of a young
wine, or of one whose origin is unknown, and of pronouncing on its in-
trinsic worth; the youth of the wine will often mask defects, which,
later, become apparent.
When it is found necessary to taste several wines in succession, it is a
good practice to eat a little dry bread between each wine, or to rinse out
the mouth with a little fresh water, to neutralize the palate, so to speak.
It is always good to rinse out the mouth with fresh water before com-
mencing to taste.
Before commencing the tasting, or rather the final tasting that on
which is based the concluding judgment the wines should be sorted;
for example, if the wines are of the same kind, but of different ages, it
is best to begin by tasting the weakest, thinnest, or greenest wines,
reserving the maturer wines and those which are more 'aromatic, smooth,
or alcoholic for the last.
The same is true when there are many and diverse wines, as at an
exposition. In this case the tasting proper should be preceded by an
arranging of the various wines, a thing which is not done at all, or
badly done as a rule, much to the detriment of the exhibitors. This
selection should be based not on the labels on the bottles, or on the
statements of the exhibitors, but on a preliminary tasting; in this way
those who are to judge the wines will not be presented successively
with different type's of wine, with wines of different qualities and ages
together, and, as is unfortunately the case, sometimes with defective or
bad ones.
There are tasters who are ready at any time to pass judgment on a wine;
they will even taste directly after smoking. Their opinion, to say the
least, is of little value.
A good taster is not always in condition to exercise his art, and for
that reason must sometimes refuse to make a tasting when he does not
feel in a state to judge critically.
Here I may appropriately remark that the wine dealer often relies too
much on the lack of delicacy of taste on the part of the consumer. He
should remember that among his customers there is occasionally a con-
noisseur, or at least a fairly good taster, who can appreciate the wine at
its true worth, and whose opinion is followed by the majority of his other
customers.
A little advice is needed also by those who are called upon to judge
competing wines at exhibitions or elsewhere.
Without exaggeration, I may say that there is scarcely a person in
20 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
Italy, connected in any way with wine, who has not been called upon to
act as judge in competitions of this kind. I need not say how much
harm this has done our national wine industry; I will simply, with
Polacci, express the desire that we might see some day in Italy " una
vera magistratura enologica," a body of competent men to look after
these affairs.
We will now return to our tasting. The forenoon is the time best
adapted for wine tasting; the wines are of the proper temperature, a
temperature which varies for red wines between 54 and 60 F., and
for white wines between 50 and 54 F.; the taster is in good condition ,
and consequently the tasting may begin.
There should be no bad odors present, and the place in which the tast-
ing* takes place should be well lighted with diffused light, not obscurely
through a small and narrow window, nor too brightly by the direct rays
of the sun; it should be remote from all noise, where the taster can
remain quite undisturbed.
It is a fact admitted by physiologists that the senses exercise a mutual
influence on one another, so that anything that excites one sense has
the effect of increasing the acuteness of the other.
This reciprocal influence seems to be confirmed by the recent researches
of Dr. Albertini, who says that the defect of color-blindness is accompa-
nied by a corresponding deafness for certain sounds. Thus, those who
cannot perceive red cannot distinguish sol, while those who are color-
blind for green are unable to recognize re; to this lack of oral perception
is joined the inability to reproduce these notes with the vocal organs.
"The taster," writes Franck, "should be deaf and dumb; deaf, in order
that his judgment of the various qualities and defects revealed to him
by his senses may be undisturbed; dumb, in order to prevent the expres-
sion of a hasty or insufficiently considered opinion."
Every one has noticed how a gourmand will close his eyes in order
better to appreciate the delicate flavors of a substance, thus bringing his
mind to a proper state of attention by the absence of all other excite-
ment. This will explain the exclamation of the court parasite, who, dis-
gusted with his too turbulent table companions, cried: "Hush! You do
not understand what you are eating."
* Here the question asked in " Conseils d'un amateur: " How should wine be drunk?
might appropriately be answered. In our opinion, in order that the benefits of drinking
it may be enjoyed in their fullness, the first thing necessary is that the wine shall be
presented in the manner most pleasing to the eye and to the palate, for this impression
on the senses has a most important influence on the rest of our body. With this end
in view we should be scrupulously careful to have the wine at the exact degree of tem-
perature that the nature and quality of the wine demand for the proper development of
its flavor and bouquet, and then to make a judicious choice of the kind of glasses in which
it is to be served. For Bordeaux, Burgundy, Ghianti, Barolo, etc., the proper temperature
is that of the dining-room, where they should be placed for some hours before they are
to be consumed. White wines, sweet wines, etc., must be of the temperature of the cellar,
that is, supposing the cellar is very cool, otherwise it is necessary to cool the wine, either
by placing the bottles on ice, or by placing them in water containing a few lumps of ice,
but never in the ice, for that completely destroys the character of the wine. Champagne
is the only wine that may be put in ice, but even in this case discretion should be used,
and if the wine is put in ice for three or four hours before being used it will be found
sufficient, and the wine should then be served directly from the bottle. It is then a
great mistake to place wine in ice or in freezing mixtures, for a wine so treated destroys
the appetite and is injurious to the health.
The practice of pouring champagne into decanters containing ice cannot be too strongly
deprecated. In the first place, it is not wine you drink, but a mixture of champagne
and water; and secondly, the temperature is never right, as it cannot be regulated.
Let us add that ice should never be put into wine, for it destroys the bouquet and flavor
of the wine, and if it gives a momentary pleasure to the palate by a sense of coolness, it
also renders the digestion slow and laborious.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 21
The taster should be provided with a porcelain cup, or with the Bor-
delais silver cup, which, however, may be made smooth, and if so, the
bottom should be a little raised; this cup is especially applicable to
young or blending wines, as it is the best for observing the tint and
intensity of color and the degree of limpidity.
There are two kinds of Bordelais cups; one preferred by the sellers,
and the other by the buyers.
Naturally the seller tries to show off his wine to the best advantage;
for this purpose he prefers a cup with a raised bottom, bright, shining
hollows in the sides, and a large rim, on which the rays of light have a
pleasing effect.
The high rim and the yellowish tint that the maker gives to the silver
of the cup concur to improve the appearance of the wine. The buyer's
cup, on the contrary, is of silver of its natural color, and without the
exaggerated rim, and without anything that might modify the appear-
ance of the product to be examined.
In Bordeaux they prefer a cup almost without border, a kind of plain
saucer, having in the center a slight convexity. In this cup the wine
appears exactly as it is, without the slightest artificial alteration.
Lately the buyers of the Gironde have begun to use the twin cup
that is, two cups joined together with a hinge by means of which it is
possible to have two wines, which it is desired to compare, in almost the
same conditions with regard 4o light.
Besides the Bordelais cup he should have at his disposal glasses
of various forms, but all thin and homogeneous. Some should be
chalice-shaped, but not too long; some of the shape known as " Borde-
lais;" some cognac glasses, narrow at the mouth and widening below,
that is, truncate egg-shaped. By means of the latter, the bouquet, fra-
grance, and odors generally can be best perceived, especially when their
disengagement is aided by shaking.
Conical glasses, on account of their form, serve very well to judge of
the color of a wine, as according to the height in the glass where the
wine is examined, there will be a greater or less thickness for the rays
of light to traverse. Between the two extremes the differences of tint
(the gamut of color going from rose to red in the case of red wines, and
from white to golden in the case of white wines) is very interesting, and
may sometimes give very useful hints.
The different aspects under which a wine can be considered are so
numerous, there is such an almost infinite number of possible differences
in the various qualities and defects that have to be considered, that even
the most expert taster would find himself in great perplexity without a
proper and systematic arrangement of his sensations. To avoid this
perplexity he proceeds as follows:
He takes a glass containing a small quantity of the wine; raises it to
a level with his eyes, examining it carefully first at arm's length, and
afterwards more closely; raises and lowers the glass in order to view the
wine from above and from below. By inclining the glass and viewing it
in different positions, by giving the wine a rotary motion, making it rise
up the sides of the glass, he is assisted in his observations. In this way
the taster learns all that can be discerned by the organ of sight, namely:
the color or colors, the degree of limpidity, the disengagement of bubbles
of gas, and the degree of persistence with which they cling to the sides
of the glass.
Its appearance is, to a certain point, a sign of the condition of the
22 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
wine; from it the taster receives his first impressions and begins to form
his opinion; this opinion is as yet, however, very relative, and rests only
on probabilities, as a good wine may possibly wear the aspect of a bad
one.
" Limpidity and vivid color are favorable signs," writes Guyot, " but
they do not constitute high quality, though the contrary appearances
are real defects."
Thus, though the eye may be pleased, the nose and palate may not be.
The experienced taster will be able to tell, to a certain extent, whether
the color is natural and homogeneous, and so to a certain extent whether
it is artificial; in this latter case he will be able to make a probable
guess at the nature, vegetable or mineral, of the substances used to give
color to, or to enhance the color of, the wine.
The estimation of the color of wine is very important, especially with
cutting wines which are to be mixed with others to obtain the type
demanded by customers.
The eye having fulfilled its office, it is the turn of the olfactory organs.
The sense of smell resides in the ample nasal cavities, and more
especially in the pituitary, the mucous membrane which lines them.
Odors, or better, infinitesimal particles of substance, reach this membrane
by means of the external organs of the olfactory apparatus, that is, by
the nostrils; they may also enter by the internal nostrils, the two open-
ings which put the nasal cavities in communication with the larynx.
Physiologists admit that the sense of smell is not provoked only
during inspiration but also during expiration, though in the latter case
much more weakly. Thus, Franck tells us that it is during expiration
that we analyze the perfumes of wines.
Besides the expiratory movements that we execute, sometimes quickly
and intermittently, sometimes slowly, in order to place fresh portions of
air in contact with the mucous membrane, the cavities formed by the
folds of the mucous membrane are of great aid in the perception of
odors, as the air laden with odorous particles accumulates in them, and
thus prolongs the impression. The mucous membrane may be more or
less sensitive according to its relative state of dryness or humidity,
which, as I have shown, are much affected by colds in the head. When
too dry the cellules are almost indurated, and when too moist they are
separated from the air by a watery layer which prevents their regular
action.
As may be supposed from the foregoing, the sense of smell will receive
two impressions, or rather, will receive impressions at two different
times, the first before the wine is tasted, and the second when the tongue
and palate have almost finished their action; that is, when the taster
commences to swallow the wine.
The sensations received the second time are various and very different
from those received at first.
The first sensations are those caused by the readily volatile sub-
stances that the wine contains, and which are given off at the ordinary
temperature of the wine, and without other assistance than the shaking
and motion given to it by the hand of the taster.
The second series, which is perceived during or after swallowing the
wine, is caused by the substances which are volatilized by the increased
temperature due to the heat of the mouth and to the wine being well
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 23
"subdivided" by the tongue, and finally to the action of the juices
secreted by the various parts of the mouth.
The taster having thoroughly examined the appearance of the wine,
lifts the glass to a convenient distance and inhales the odors which are
given off, and which fill the upper part of the glass, sometimes shaking
or striking the glass to aid their giving off.
A wine may give off various odors, good or bad. I will treat of both
of these when I come to describe the qualities good and bad which a
wine may present.
Before proceeding further with the tasting it will be interesting to
repeat the observations of Guyot, and of Brillat-Savarin, the " modern
epicure/' regarding the colors and aromas of wines.
" The aroma, like the color," writes Guyot. " is a favorable or an un-
favorable, an agreeable or a disagreeable sign; but wine is above all an
alimentary beverage; it is well that sight and smell should be satisfied,
but it would be puerile and ridiculous to give undue importance to the
satisfaction of these two senses, and to found the pretensions of a wine
to superiority exclusively on its pleasing effect on one or both of them.
" I make this remark expressly because there are many hosts who
have a troublesome habit of insisting that their guests shall continually
inhale the odors given off by their wine, and especially insist on their
smelling their empty glasses during a great part of the dinner, at the
risk of making them die of thirst.*
" The connoisseur, like the taster, knows perfectly well the importance
of the color and bouquet of a wine, but he knows also that their appre-
ciation should be immediately followed by the introduction of the liquid
into the anterior portion of the mouth.
" The color and the bouquet are two introductory notes of a gastro-
nomic theme. Alone they have but a relative value, and give but a
partial impression of the whole theme."
Brillat-Savarin, who is an authority in matters of taste, writes, in
his "Physiologic du Gout:"
" For my part I am not only persuaded that without the sense of
smell there is no complete tasting, but I am tempted to believe that taste
and smell constitute but one sense, of which the mouth is the labora-
tory and the nose the chimney; or to speak more literally, of which the
former serves to taste the tangible parts and the latter the gaseous."
Thus, for example, when we eat a peach, the first thing that strikes us
is its perfume; when we place it in the mouth we experience a sensation
of coolness and acidity which invites us to continue; but it is only
when the mouthful is swallowed, when it passes beneath the nasal cavi-
ties, that we perceive the perfume, and the peach completes the impres-
sion that it should produce. This will explain why the sensations which
are usually accredited to the sense of taste are in reality much more
complicated than is supposed, and that touch and smell contribute in
great part to the complex effect. It may be said that without smell
taste would be reduced to very little and its agreeable sensations much
enfeebled. Taste and smell combine with and complete each other, and
Thomson has very justly defined them as the instruments of a unique
* Here Guyot might safely add that these people who are so troublesomely importu-
nate are generally those who have recourse to the addition of artificial aromas to their
wines.
24 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
sense. It is a well-known fact that if the nose be held whilst tasting a
substance we perceive the fundamental tastes, such as sweetness, bitter-
ness, salt, and acid, but all the delicate flavors disappear completely.
We have now arrived at the sense of taste, or, as some call it, the
tasting proper. The sense of taste, with its somewhat complicated
apparatus, is the one which has the most important office to fulfill; by
it we decide whether the wine has the freshness, solidity, strength,
delicacy, etc., in short, the qualities required by the most critical taster.
The principal seat of the sense of taste is the tongue, although it
seems to have been proved that both the anterior face of the membrane
of the palate and the posterior part of the palate are capable of receiv-
ing gustatory impressions.
According to the illustrious Professor Lussana, the tip of the tongue
is distinguished by its ability to detect the finest gradations of flavor,
whilst the posterior part, on the other hand, is distinguished by the in-
tensity of its sensations, and is therefore more impressed by repugnant
flavors.
Different parts of the organs of taste receive different impressions
from the same sapid substance.
The action of sapid substances in contact with the tasting apparatus
is somewhat complex, and is physico-chemical rather than mechanical,
as formerly supposed.
For this reason the particular gustatory sensation due to any aliment-
ary substance is felt more keenly when the substance is kept for some
time in contact with the tasting membranes, as is the case, for instance,
in slow mastication.
This time, however, should not be too much prolonged in tasting
wine, or it becomes impossible to distinguish between the many and
diverse flavors which a wine presents.
The taster, having now critically examined the wine to the best of
his ability, by means of the eye and the exterior part of the organ of
smell, must pass quickly to the domain of the sense of taste.
To this end, he slightly lowers his head, carries the glass to his lips,
and introduces a sip of the wine into the anterior part of his mouth,
where the sense of taste receives its first impressions.
The taster retains the wine in this part of the mouth for a certain
time; and in order better to perceive the various flavors that affect this
part of the tasting apparatus, he divides and subdivides the wine with
the tip of his tongue, or as experts express it, he " breaks up " the wine,
in order to increase the surface of contact between the wine and the
gums, palate, and tip of the tongue.
As soon as the taster has received a distinct impression of all the
sensations caused by the wine in this part of the mouth that is, of
those due to sugar, acid, tannin, etc. he slowly raises his head, thus
allowing the wine to pass to the posterior part of the mouth, when he
takes a short breath and slightly gargles; at this stage of the operation
he will perceive any earthy, bitter, or mawkish taste, or any taste of
wood, cork, etc., that the wine may have; here he will also remark the
alcoholic strength or weakness of the wine. The wine is then, so to
speak, left to itself and passes into the larynx, the oesophagus, and on
into the stomach.
As the wine passes down the throat it gives off odors which, as has
been mentioned, ascend to the palate and the internal nasal ducts. The
WINE AND THE ART OP WJNE TASTING. 25
effect of these odors, and therefore of the qualities a*nd defects of the
wine, is intensified if the moment the wine is swallowed the mouth is
moved as though masticating something.
It has been attempted to measure the duration of certain sensations;
i. 6., those due to the aromas, bouquets, flavors, alcoholic strength, and
the various tastes of wine.
In general these sensations are perceived in the brief space of time of
3 seconds, and their duration varies from 10 to 20 seconds. After the
wine has been swallowed all the sensations disappear in about 7 or 8
seconds. In certain special cases the aromas leave a more lasting
impression; bad tastes persist longer than good ones. In some wines
the aroma can be perceived for 55 or 60 seconds.
The sensation due to astringency is of short duration in fine wines,
and is much less intense than in the case of wines made from immature
grapes, where it makes a violent impression on the lips and the sides of
the mouth, which lasts sometimes for 100 to 110 seconds.
Different bad tastes have different ways of showing themselves; some
are noticeable the moment the wine enters the mouth, while others are
not perceived till some seconds after the wine is swallowed.
Some moldy tastes do not manifest themselves for 7 or 8 seconds after
the wine has left the mouth, but persist for 100 or 140 seconds.
The "gout de ranee" is perceived in from 10 to 15 seconds, and lasts
for 50 or 60 seconds. The bitterness of some wines makes itself felt in
4 or 5 seconds, and persists for as much as 280 seconds.
In tasting, it should be kept in mind that certain qualities are liable
to variations, according to the condition and age of the wine. The deli-
cacy of a wine, for example, is almost totally hidden when the wine is
young; the more so the younger the wine. This is due to certain sub-
stances which are proper to new wines, but which, later, are deposited
and disappear from the composition of the wine.
Aromas are more or less intense, according to their origin and to the
very variable circumstances under which they are formed.
The sense of taste is the final judge, and from its sentence there is no
appeal. But how much careful consideration should be used before this
judgment is pronounced; what a multitude of sensations must be con-
sidered, on all of which this judgment must be based!
The tongue, the cheeks, the gums, the anterior and posterior palates,
the larynx, the nasal cavities, and to a certain extent the stomach, all
contribute their separate sensations, which must all be taken into
account. Besides these, the taster has also the sensations received by
the eye and the nose. With all this varied testimony to consider, he
should reflect deeply before delivering his verdict. For this reason, the
taster, during the tasting and the few moments following, truly solemn
moments, should be completely undisturbed by noise or otherwise.
A taster can sometimes conveniently express his verdict of quality by
means of numbers; usually those from 1 to 10 are used, and correspond
to the following expressions:
10 Perfect.
9 Almost perfect.
8 Quite good.
7 Relatively good.
6 Fair; sound, but not harmonious.
From 5 to indicate various defects, according to their gravity.
26 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
m.
QUALITIES AND DEFECTS OP "WINES.
The art of wine tasting, like every art or science, has a language of
its own, without which the taster could not properly express his criti-
cisms, nor compare his opinions with those of other tasters regarding the
same wine.
This renders it necessary to define or explain the various terms that
have been adopted by tasters to express the sensations experienced by
their senses of sight, smell, and taste, during the examination of a wine.
FOAM (Spuma, It.; Mousse, Fr.). When a wine is poured from one
vessel to another, or agitated in any way, there forms a more or less
abundant foam; that is, at the surface of the wine there are formed in
greater or less quantities collections of little gaseous bubbles.
FINE FOAM (Spuma di gr ana fine, It.; Mousse a perles fines, Fr.). The
foam due to the formation of very small bubbles.
COARSE FOAM (Spuma di grana grossa, It.; Mousse a grosses perles,
Fr.). When the bubbles are larger.
EVANESCENT FOAM (Spuma evanescente, It.; Mousse evanouissante,
Fr.). Said of that which disappears immediately, or almost as soon
as formed. As the old saying has it: " Vino die brucia la spuma " (a wine
that consumes its foam).
PERSISTENT FOAM (Spuma persistente, It.; Mousse persistante, Fr.).
When the foam lasts some time and disappears slowly.
Persistent foam, as a rule, is characteristic of a wine poor in alcohol;
of a wine at a low temperature, or of a wine in need of racking, or, it
may be, of a wine which is undergoing a slow fermentation, which may
be either the normal and necessary alcoholic fermentation, or may be
what is known as a secondary fermentation, in which case the wine is a
prey to some malady tartaric fermentation, for example.
The foam may also be persistent on account of effervescence, that is,
the continued giving off of carbonic acid, which is dissolved in the wine,
and which in escaping on the decrease of pressure forms little bubbles
which renew the foam.
In the first cases cited above, the foam is usually limited to a more or
less imperfect crown or ring of bubbles which form around the edge of
the glass; or if the wine contains more than the usual amount of car-
bonic acid a bubble of gas will now and then be formed and rise to the
surface.
When some disease is the cause of the persistent foam, especially if it
be that known as " subbollimento, cercone, or vino girato" (vin tourne of
the French), the circle formed is called "unghia" (nail), from which
the expression " il vino fa Vunghia nel bicchiere." [This disease of turned
wine is due to the filiform ferment, which destroys the tartar of the
wine. Trans.]
In the last case, when the persistent foam is due to effervescence,
which may be of various intensities, several distinctions are made, of
which the following are the principal:
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 27
SHARP, PUNGENT (Frizzante, Piccante, Wine vjhich has the Pinzo, It.;
Mordant, Piquant, Fr.). In this case there is a somewhat abundant
giving off of bubbles of carbonic acid when the wine is agitated, and
even after, which tend to cling to the sides of the glass. Some one has
written of a wine of this kind that "nel berlo bacid e morde" (it kisses
and bites); it makes itself felt as a smarting or pricking on the palate.
" Sorb forse pill frizzante
Pili razente e piU piccante." Redi.
This pricking is caused by the presence of a larger amount of carbonic
acid than is normal to the temperature and pressure.
The Tuscan usage of "governo" imparts this character to a wine.
" When the violent fermentation is over, throw in two handfuls of
dried grapes to each vat; this will make the wine clearer and more
piquant." Davanzati.
However, Polacci rightly says: "For us a wine governato is always a
defective wine."
FOAMING (Spumeggiante, It.; Ecumant, Fr.). This is said of wines
which contain so much gas that when they are agitated bubbles are
given off copiously, enough to form a layer of foam over the whole sur-
face of the liquid. In the words of Redi:
" Che nei vetri zampilla,
Salta, spumeggia, e brilla."
Wines which are bottled young, before they are well defecated, or
which contain sugar when bottled, easily become " spumeggiante " when
kept in a cool place.
SPARKLING (Spumante, Mussante, It.; Mousseux, Fr.). This is said of
win.es which, after pouring into a glass, give off from every part an
abundant supply of bubbles of carbonic acid, or foam, which collects
at the surface and is continuously renewed for some time. The wine
bubbles, and as is commonly said, pearls the surface.
In sparkling wines, the carbonic acid is in solution at a relatively
high pressure.
In these wines, after the first violent ebullition of gas, there is what
is known as the "fontanella," sparkling, which is due to a continuous
development of very small bubbles of gas, which, starting from certain
points at the sides or bottom of the glass, rise like little chains of beads
to the surface, where they cause the phenomenon known as pearling.
Of sparkling wines there are three grades, based upon the amount of
foaming, or rather on the amount of carbonic acid which is given off,
and on the length of time during which the foaming continues.* These
grades are:
CREAMING, GENTLY SPARKLING (Mezzo spumante, It.; Cremant, Fr.).
These are wines in which only a slight layer of foam forms, and which
give off but a moderate amount of gas; that is, effervesce very slightly.
The pressure exerted by these wines on the interior of the bottles is
less than three atmospheres.
ORDINARY "SPARKLING, OR MEDIUM PRESSURE (Spumante, bella spuma,
It.; Mousseux ordinaires, Fr.). In these wines there is sufficient gas to
cause the foam to flow from the bottle the moment it is uncorked. The
*The French have a fourth grade, which they call Tissane, and which includes second
and third-rate wines, which are, however, fairly drinkable.
28 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
pressure in this case varies from three to three and one half atmos-
pheres.
STRONGLY EFFERVESCENT (Molto spumante, Spuma forte, It.; Grand
mousseux, Fr.). In these the cork is forcibly ejected from the bottle
when unwired, and the wine is sufficiently charged with gas to be ex-
pelled from the bottle by its own pressure.
In these wines the pressure approaches or surpasses four atmospheres.
The maximum pressure that bottles will stand, without great danger, is
about six atmospheres.*
Either too low or too high a pressure is a serious defect in sparkling
wines. If the pressure is too low they do not effervesce; if, on the other
hand, the pressure is too great, as in the case of bottles which the French
call " recouleuses," there is a ruinous percentage of broken bottles, or if
the bottles do not burst the cork is driven out, and most of the wine lost.
The carbonic acid which is dissolved in these wines, is produced by
the fermentation of added sugar, or of a portion of that which the must
contained.
As already stated, wines which have been fermented dry, and not
with a view of making them sparkling, can be rendered so afterwards by
being charged, at a high pressure and low temperature, with carbonic
acid. On this is based the system of Carpene, a system now much used
both in Italy and abroad.
Sparkling wines may be:
SWEET (Dolci, It.; Doux, Fr.). When the sweetness is decided and
due to a large addition of syrup.
DRY (very slightly sweet) (Semidolci, Dolcigni, It.; Doucedtres, Fr.).
When the sweetness is slight or hardly noticeable.
EXTRA DRY (Secchi, Asciutti, It.; Sees, Fr.). Which the English
taste calls for; when there is no trace of a taste of sweetness.
In various red wines the foam may present different colors, as:
WHITE (Bianca, It.; Blanche, Fr.). The case usually with old wines.
There are, also, in some localities, young red wines of which the foam is
white or whitish.
ROSE (Rosea, It.; Rosee, Fr.). This is the case with lightly colored
young wines, and is characteristic, it may be said, of mature wines.
RED, RUBY (Rossa, Rossa rubino, Vermiglia, It.; Rouge, Vermeille, Fr.).
The color of the foam of heavy-bodied, deeply colored young wines.
ORANGE RED (Rossa granato, It.; Rouge grenat, Fr.). This is a deep
vinous red, resembling the color of pomegranates, and is often seen in
cutting wines, or those blended with them.
BLUISH (Turchiniccia, Bleuastra, It.; Bleudtre, Fr.). Seen in wines
poor in acid; as in some cutting wines which possess only from 3 to 4
per cent in acid.
BRIGHT, CLEAR (Viva, Brillante, Smagliante, It.; Vive, Brillante, Fr.).
When the foam has a clear, crystalline appearance; this is generally
seen in generous, young wines of full acidity.
DULL, DEAD (Poco viva, Morta, It.; Morte, Fr.). The opposite of the
*As a rule, authors give higher figures for the pressure of the various kinds of cham-
pagne than 1 have indicated, but the fact is, that my figures, if not too low, are certainly
not too high. Of this, I am assured by Professor Carpene, who, in his experiments with
sparkling wines, had occasion to test the pressures of many wines from the best accred-
ited foreign and domestic houses.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
29
foregoing; indicates a diseased or decrepit wine, or one in need of
racking.
After the foam is disposed of, the taster remarks on the degree of
limpidity which the wine presents; a wine is said to be:
CLEAR (Limpido, It.; Limpide, Fr.). When it is transparent and with-
out cloudiness; or what Columella calls "vinum defaecatum quam lim-
pidissimum."
BRIGHT, BRILLIANT (Brillante, Diafano,Lucido, Smagliante, It.',Brillant,
Lucide, Luisant, Fr.). These terms are used to express a perfect and, as
it were, crystalline transparency. This is the condition of wines that
have been well clarified or filtered.
It may be noted here that clarification, unlike nitration, slightly
modifies the composition of wine, as is proved by the quantitative deter-
mination of Professor Carpene, relative to wines that had been treated
with white of egg. Following are the results of these determinations:
Tannin.
OSnocyanin.
Extractive
Subtances.
Ash.
Wine of 1873, unclarified _
0.91
0.42
21.39
312
Wine of 1873, clarified __
0.41
0.24
19.91
306
Wine of 1874, unclarified
1.15
0.82
24.22
280
Wine of 1874, clarified
0.57
0.44
2017
279
The quantity of albumen employed was about 100 c.c. per hectolitre
(1 per m., or 1 pint to 125 gallons), which is a usual dose.
CLOUDY, DULL ( Vellato, Appannato, It.; Voile, Fr.). This is said of
wines that are not quite clear, that show a slight cloud or dimness, due
to the presence in them of substances in suspense in a very fine state of
subdivision. This is noticed, for example, in wines recently racked,
especially when, during the operation, they have been much exposed to
the air and drawn into well-sulphured barrels.
This slight defect, which is easily cured, is also frequently found in
wines made from grapes grown on rich soil, and also in wines which,
being poor in acid, have not undergone a complete fermentation.
Wines, of course, may possess different degrees of cloudiness, which
are generally expressed by the terms cloudy, slightly cloudy, nearly
clear, etc.
TURBID, MURKY, THICK (Torbido, It.; Trouble, Casse, Fr.). When the
suspended particles are large enough to be almost visible to the naked
eye, and present in sufficient quantity to completely destroy the trans-
parency of the wine and make it almost opaque.*
*01d bottled wines may be turbid either because they nave become unsound, as hap-
pens very easily when bottled too young, or because they have not been thoroughly
defecated before being bottled, or it may be, because they have been moved in such a
manner as to stir up the slight deposit which all wines throw down in time in greater or
less quantities. If the wine is unsound there is no need of precautions, for the wine
has become undrinkable; if, on the contrary, the turbid wine is sound it must be moved
with the greatest caution, and to prepare it for the table it will be found useful to follow
the rules of C. Ladrey, who writes thus:
" When the time arrives to drink a wine which has lain in bottle for some years, the
first thing to do is to examine the bottle with great care when it is lifted up. It should
be lifted up cautiously, retaining it in its horizontal position. By carrying the wine
into the lignt, daylight or artificial, it is easy to ascertain whether the wine is perfectly
clear or has a deposit. If, as may happen, the wine be perfectly clear, without trace of
deposit, the bottle may be stood up and the wine served from it without decantation.
This case, however, is very rare, and, especially with old wines, there is generally a deposit.
30 WINE AND THE ART OP WINE TASTING.
A wine from low-land grapes, in which tartaric fermentation has
reached the stage of development when carbonic acid begins to be
freely given off, is a good example of this condition.
This defect may be simply transitory, as when a wine has lately
received some treatment, or an addition of alcohol or tartaric acid, or
directly after cutting or mixing wines, or when a wine has been much
shaken or been exposed to too low a temperature. If the defect is per-
manent, it shows that the wine is diseased or ready to become so, or
that the wine has been badly made. In the former cases the wine sim-
ply needs time to depose or an increase of temperature, when it will right
itself. In the latter cases some special treatment is necessary, such as
sulphuring, addition of tartaric acid, clarification, pasteurizing, etc.
OPALESCENT, IRIDESCENT (Cangiante, Opalescente, Iridiscente, It.; Cha-
toyant, Fr.). When the light in passing through the wine is decom-
posed, that is, when in looking through the wine rays of different colors
are seen. This iridescence is best seen at the surface of the liquid and
near where it is in contact with the glass; it is due, not to reflection or
refraction, but to the phenomenon of interference.
A wine exhibiting this peculiarity is open to grave suspicion of un-
soundness, if it is not already in an advanced stage of disease.
As an example of a wine in this condition, may be cited one which
is, in the first phases of the disease, known as " subbollimento."* If a
little of this wine is left exposed to the air it first becomes turbid, and
loses its red color; then a precipitate forms and leaves a yellowish, sour,
somewhat bitter liquid on top. As the disease progresses, if the wine
is slightly shaken, mucous clouds will be seen floating in it, at the sur-
faces of which the above-mentioned phenomenon of interference may
be seen.
In the time of Pliny, to describe the color of a wine they had only
the four following epithets: album, fulvum, sanguineum, nigrum.
In those days they were easily satisfied; now we use the following
terms to describe the colors of red and white wines:
COLORLESS, DECOLORIZED (Incolore, Scolorito, Decolorato, It.; Incolore,
Decolore, Fr.). When the wine has almost the appearance of pure water;
when the rays of light pass through it without suffering any or only
imperceptible changes.
Colorless wines are easily obtained from perfectly ripe white grapes,
picked and handled with great care, and crushed when quite fresh and
quite cool; then by exercising the most scrupulous cleanliness during
the vinification and keeping of the wine, and by fermenting the must
after it has been well defecated. If a wine is made which is not per-
In this case we must be careful not to mix the limpid part of the wine with the deposit,
and before raising the bottle up the wine should be decanted, which in its result is an
operation exactly similar to racking. This decantation should be made in the cellar,
and demands some precautions. First the neck of the bottle is carefully raised, but not
too high; it is then uncorked, care being taken not to subject it to any brusque motion
either in raising it or in drawing the cork. The wine is then poured Into another per-
fectly clean bottle, taking care to stop before the smallest part of the deposit has passed
into the fresh bottle or decanter. The quantity of wine lost by this method is very
small, and the wine that is saved can be drunk to the last drop. If, on the contrary, a
wine which has only a very slight deposit is placed on the table without decanting, the
second or third glass will commence to show a loss of brightness and the wine will have
lost its agreeableness. There are some very simple machines made, which work on the
principle of the siphon, and which greatly facilitate the operation of decantation."
*"La pousse" of the French, a kind of tartaric fermentation which is fully described
on a subsequent page. Trans.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 31
fectly colorless, it may be rendered so by the use of animal charcoal,
properly prepared, that is to say, in such a way as to prevent its dimin-
ishing the acidity of the wine. If this precaution is not taken, the wine,
oh account of its diminished acidity, will quickly turn yellowish on
account of the formation of ferric compounds, which, under these condi-
tions, takes place with great readiness.
STRAW-COLORED (Paglierino, It.; Couleur de paille, Fr.). Of the color
of straw, but somewhat pale.
AMBER, YELLOW (Giallo, It.; Jaune, Fr.). Is said of wines which have
a deeper straw color.*
GOLDEN, GOLDEN- YELLOW (Giallo dorato, Aurato, Dorato, It.; Dore,
Fr.). This epithet sufficiently explains itself.
" Egli e il vero oro polabile" wrote Redi of the wine of Trebbiano.
GREENISH (Verdognolo, Verdiccio, It.; Verddtre, Fr.). When a wine
has a slight greenish tint, resembling somewhat the green of grass.
This color is characteristic of certain varieties of grapes; for example,
the Verdea or Bergo.
Regarding the wine of this variety, it is said that the Verdea of Tus-
cany is not so called on account of its green taste, but because of its
greenish tint.
Frederick the Great, of Prussia, had a great predilection for the wine
of Verdea.
This greenish color is also characteristic of the wines of Reno, and in
general of wines made from somewhat acid grapes.
PINKISH- YELLOW, OR PINKISH STRAW-COLOR ( Paglierino rossastro, Giallo
rossastro, It.; Faille roussdtre, Fr.). Sometimes a wine, in addition to
*This yellow color may be natural and proper to the wine, or it may be a color which
it has acquired from several causes, among which are some that have very grievous
effects on the wine, and may be considered properly as maladies.
The wines most generally subject to this disease of becoming yellow are those poor
in alcohol, tartar, tartaric acid, and tannin, and which on the other hand are rich in
malic acid.
I have already alluded to one of these causes above, namely, the presence of iron
compounds. Some colorless wines, which are rather poor in acid, become, when placed
in contact with the air, yellow or yellowish brown, in consequence of the formation of
complex compounds, ferric, humic, etc.
The commonest causes of the yelkwing of wines can be traced to the conditions under
which the vintage has taken place; if, for instance, the season has been cold and rainy,
and the grapes have been gathered after the vines have in great part been denuded of
their foliage, if the bunches contain decayed, soft, insipid grapes poor in acid and sugar,
a wine of poor keeping qualities is obtained, and one very likely to become yellow,
unless art comes to the aid of nature.
Robinet, who has made special investigations with regard to the causes of this dete-
rioration of white wines, distinguishes between that due to a fermentation caused by a
mycoderm, and those due to chemical action, and among the latter he mentions some
which give rise to the formation of malic ether, which reacts on the sugar. I should,
however, remark here that after stating his belief in the formation of the malic ether,
he declares that he has been unable to find the rational equation of the reaction, or
definite proof of its existence, but bases his belief in the formation of the malic ether
on the taste and pronounced odor of cider which the wine acquires an odor which is
characteristic of the above substance.
Robinet also makes the important observation that during his researches he had
noticed the disappearance of the glycerine from wines which were becoming yellow.
This disappearance of the glycerine would lead one to believe that the reactions which
take place are much more complicated than supposed by Robinet, especially in consid-
eration of the fact that the glycerine is subject to transformations, like the other
ingredients of wine.
Instead of trying to cure or ameliorate this defect in wines, it should be prevented,
which can be done by the addition of alcohol and acids.
The secondary fermentation which causes this disease is due ? still according to Rob-
inet, to a particular mycoderm, which can be seen distinctly with a magnifying power
of nine hundred diameters. This mycoderm is extremely small, and of an oolong
shape; it is ^ ff m.m. in length, and ^^ m.m. in width.
32 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
its yellow or straw color, will have a pinkish tint of more or less intensity.
This may be considered as due to imperfect cleanliness of the vessels
used in wine making, or of the barrels in which the wine has been put.
ROSE-COLORED, SniLLER (Rosato, 'It.; Rose, Fr.). White wines made
from red grapes frequently possess this color in greater or less degree;
especially is this the case when the grapes have not been picked and
handled with great care, or when the grapes have become the least heated.
A white wine may also acquire this color by contact with barrels or
utensils which have been used for red wine and not been thoroughly
cleansed afterwards.
This color is sometimes produced artificially. In France they use
extensively teinte de Fismes, so called after the town in which it is manu-
factured. It is claimed that it is free from alum and sulphuric acid,*
but wrongly.
White wines which have commenced to spoil, or in which viscous fer-
mentation has started, and which begin to become brownish, or even
bluish, and at the same time turbid, what the French call vin oeil de
perdrix, are rendered salable by the use of this teinte de Fismes, and are
sold by the French under the name of vins roses.
Jacquesson, pere, states that this coloring fluid not only colors and
clarifies the wine, but also arrests the progress of the disease, or pre-
vents it if it is to be feared. This fluid is also used in France for color-
ing sparkling wines.
BLUISH-BROWN, BROWN- YELLOW (Bruno-bleuastro, Giallo-bruno, It.;
Brun-bleudtre, Fr.). This color, which the French call oeil de perdrix
(partridge-eye), is a dull, dark yellow, proper to some old, southern
wines, but due in the majority of cases in which it is found to some
malady of the wine, f
This phenomenon is observed not only in old but also in young wines,
both red and white. Very probably its origin lies in several causes, as
the numerous explications given by different authors would lead us to
believe. Nessler has studied the change of color as it takes place in
white wines. He tells us that the substances that cause the coloration,
more or less deep, of the wine are contained in the stems and the seeds.
Thus, wines which have been fermented in contact with the solid part
of the grapes blacken very easily when exposed to the air. The pres-
ence of bad grapes in the fermentation also tends to render a wine liable
to this discoloration.
This change of white wine depends directly on the action of the air;
* The vin, or teinte de Fismes, was first prepared by Manceau by boiling elderberries and
cream of tartar together.
t It sometimes happens, writes Robinet, that a perfectly bright white wine which has
never been racked or otherwise treated before, is racked from its lees and treated with
tannin and some clarifying material; then instead of becoming bright and clear the
operations to which it has been treated have had diametrically the opposite effect. The
wine has not taken the clarification, as the cellarmen say, has a bluish tint, and is
turbid.
This change or malady of the "blue color" happens most generally in wines of low
acid and alcoholic contents, and which are at the same time rich in nitrogenous sub-
stances. According to Robinet this malady is due to a secondary fermentation, caused
by a mycoderm which is analogous to the mycoderma crocceum, and has a very ephem-
eral existence.
To cure this disease in a wine it generally suffices to raise the alcoholic strength, or
sometimes an addition of six or eight grains of tannin per hectolitre is necessary. In
the latter case the wine is allowed to settle for twenty-four hours after the addition of
tannin, and then clarified with isinglass.
The above mycoderm is killed and precipitated by cold.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 33
the wine loses its limpidity, becomes cloudy, and a black precipitate is
formed; meanwhile the taste of the wine often changes. The black
substance may be decolorized by sulphurous acid; the use of this sub-
stance arrests or retards the blackenfhg of the wine.
Wines made from grapes poor in tartaric, malic acid, etc., like those
which have been gathered when wet with dew or rain, or those which
have been injured by cryptogams, are liable, when exposed to the air, to
become cloudy and dark in color.
The presence of an excess of iron in the white wines of certain locali-
ties of the southern provinces is the reason why, when they are at all
exposed to the air, their color changes to a blackish green.
Not southern wines alone, but also those from northern provinces,
when they do not contain a sufficient quantity of acid, and more espe-
cially of tartaric acid, acquire this color. Chemists explain this phe-
nomenon in different ways, though all admit that it is due to the presence
of some of the compounds of iron. Nessler tells us that wines produced
on soils rich in the salts of iron, and even wines which have been for
any length of time in contact with iron, as happens when there is an
iron rod between the heads of the cask, or when there are nails in the
cask, etc., if they become exposed to the air, turn black, for then the
protoxide or ferrous oxide contained in the wine changes in contact with
the air to sesquioxide or ferric oxide. A black compound is then formed
by the combination of the ferric oxide with the tannin; this black color
is not obtained with the protoxide. Other chemists explain the phenom-
enon by supposing that there occur or are formed in the wine certain
humic products analogous to those which are formed by the decomposi-
tion of vegetable substances. These substances are feebly acid, and have
a considerable dissolving power on the iron. Thus there are formed in
the wine certain of the lower compounds of iron, which, on exposure to
the air, change to the higher compounds, and give the wine the black-
ish tint before spoken of. The wine then becomes turbid, and the flavor
undergoes certain peculiar changes.
Formerly some sparkling wines were made of this color, but now it is
no longer found but as a defect.
DIRTY (Sporco, It.; Terne, Fr.). A diseased, badly made, or badly
kept wine sometimes becomes turbid, and its natural color is masked
by other colors, giving the impression of something soiled or dirty.
Among red wines the following are the colors most generally recognized;
they may be of more or less intensity:
VERY LIGHT RED (Claretto, Chiarello, Chiaretto, It.; Clairet, Fr.).
These terms are used to describe a class of wines which contain the
least color of any red wines; the cause of this poverty of color may be
in the nature of the grape, the mode of preparation, or it may be that
the wine has been diluted with water.
These wines form the connecting link between white and red wines.
Trinci, writing of these wines, says: "The French 'claretto' is a
smooth, vinous, lightly colored wine, with little aroma; slow and long
in maturing, and not pleasing when drunk alone; blended, however, in
proper proportion, it is extremely good."
The "claretto" drunk by Redi, however, must have been very differ-
ent from this, or he would not have written :
" Benedetto
Ouel claretto
Che si spilla in Avignone."
34 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
RUBY (Rubino, It.; Rubis, Fr.). Wines which have a fine, vinous red,
which recalls the color of the ruby.
This color is that found most commonly in table wines; for instance,
the wine of Chianti; it is also thetolor of the wines of Bordeaux.
Some writers speak of vermilion wines, but a wine is never really of
that tint; wines rich in acid and of bright, intense ruby, will appear
for the moment to be vermilion immediately after being racked, on ac-
count of the presence of a slight cloudiness.
PURPLE (Porporino, It.; Pourpre, Fr.). The case where the natural
red of wine tends slightly to violet.
This color is seen in Montepulciano when it has reached perfection.
GARNET, RED (Granato, Rosso cupo, It.; Rouge sombre, Fr.). Said of
wines which have a more "or less intense blood-red, recalling the color
of garnets and similar precious stones, and of some varieties of goose-
berries, etc.
This garnet tint is seen in heavy-bodied dinner wines, such as Barbera,
Gattinara, Borgogna, and in wines made from grapes grown on clayey
and ferruginous soils. These wines in aging are apt to acquire more
or less of the orange tint.
BLACK (Nero, It.; Noir, Fr.). This color, the nigrum of the Romans,
is really never found in wine; the darkest wines, made from the Tein-
turiers, are not quite black, nor is even the concentrated solution of
cenocyanin obtained by the Carpene-Comboni process.
VIOLET, BLUISH (Violaceo, Turchiniccio, Bleauastro, It.; Bleaudtre,
Violace, Fr.). This color is seen in a more or less marked degree in
blending and other wines poor in acid. This tint is due to the violet
coloring matter which is contained in certain dark wines of southern
Italy. It is very unstable, and precipitates with great readiness. It is
also found in the wines from certain American coloring grapes, such as
the Jacquez, the Marion, and York's Madeira, when they have been
made without addition of plaster or tartaric acid.
ORANGE, YELLOWISH-RED, RUSTY (Aranciato, Giallo aranciato, Color
matone, Rossico, It.; Orange, Pelure d'oignon, Fr.). These are the colors
or tints of old or decrepit wines. By decrepit wines should be under-
stood wines which have passed their prime and have begun to lose their
valuable qualities.
These tints are seen sometimes in young wines, but less marked than
in old; especially in those which, at first, have much of the bluish tint,
and which deposit their color quickly.
Old wines often lose all, or nearly all, of their color, and become what
is called " scolorito," decolorized or faded.
DARK COLORED (Colorato, It.; Colore, Fr.). Said of wines that have
relatively a great deal of color.
Wines may be divided according to intensity of color into deep-col-
ored, medium-colored, and light-colored wines.
Deep-colored wines are harsh and indigestible.
I will now pass in review the qualities and defects of which the senses
of taste and smell take cognizance.
AROMA (Aroma, It.; Arome, Fr.). By aroma must not be understood
simply those odors which are delicate and agreeable, as when speaking
of bouquet; for example, the foxy odor or aroma of certain American
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 35
grapes, varieties of the species Vitis labrusca, and of the wine made
from them, is far from agreeable.
The aroma is the odor which comes from the skins of aromatic grapes,*
and varies in quantity and quality ^according to the variety of grape
and the degree of its maturity. It passes into the wine in wine making;
the aroma therefore exists in the grapes as well as in the wine.
BOUQUET! (Profumo, It.; Bouquet, Fr.). Every fine wine exhales an
odor peculiar to itself, which is always delicate and pleasing. Exception
may be made of artificial bouquets, which, if not absolutely disagreeable
in themselves, are always too strong and intense in a wine.
The bouquet is due to the volatilization at ordinary temperature of
certain substances known as ethers, which are formed by the reactions
of the acids and alcohols in the wine during its process of aging.J
Thus, the bouquet is not to be found ready formed in the grape, as is
the case of the aroma.
SEVE (Abboccato, It.; Seve, Fr.; Gohr, Ger.). The "seve" is neither
bouquet nor aroma; it is a certain savor, a certain fragrant quality of
the wine due to a smooth and delicate blending of perfections, of aromas
and bouquets, which is perceived when the wine is in the mouth and in
the act of swallowing, affecting the olfactory organs through the internal
nasal ducts. The bouquet and aroma affect the senses before, the seve
after drinking the wine.
Carpene, writing of Moscato de Segesta, says: "Of the most delicate
fragrance and exquisite flavor. It is a dainty, fruity wine, which fills
the mouth with an harmonious ensemble of delicious flavors, which
cannot be described, but can only be experienced."
Seve, which is especially the property of fine wines, is due to the
presence of certain substances which are formed in the grapes during
*The ancients held aromatic wines in high estimation. They added to the must, dur-
ing fermentation, different varieties of apples, then cane, amomum, cassia, saffron, ginger,
and other species of aromas, to communicate the odor that they desired.
The aroma most highly appreciated was that obtained by the addition of myrrh. We
read, in fact, in Pliny: Lautissima apud priscos vina erant myrrhse odore condita, ut adparet
Plauti fabula, quae Persa iscribitur, quamquam in ea et calamos addijubet.
Peppered wine, which was prepared by fermenting the must witn apples and pepper,
was very much appreciated in the time of Pliny.
t Even the bouquet of wines has not escaped imitation and adulteration. The man-
ufacture of artificial bouquets or perfumes for wines has become a regular industry i"n
France and Germany, where it is carried on on a large scale. There is a large consump-
tion of such articles as "bouquet" of Pomard, or of Bourgogne, extract of Bourdeaux,
the "Rancio des vins," "seve" of Baume", of Me"doc, of St. Julien, of Champagne, of
Sillery, etc.
The substances most usually employed to add an artificial bouquet to dinner wines,
are: Florentine iris, raspberries, cloves, vine flowers, mignonette, nutmegs, bitter
almonds, etc. To these should be added certain chemical products which are prepared
more especially in Germany. All these attempts to imitate nature have been out very
partially successful.
A wine may be perfumed artificially, but it is impossible to give it "seve." This
artificial perfume is always too pronounced, and is never as delicate as the natural
bouquet of wine. These artificial bouquets impress the sense of smell, but not that of
taste. If a perfumed wine, then, is tasted without being smelled, its natural " seve " can
be distinguished. Artificial aromas are not lasting, and gradually disappear from the
wine.
J Chemically, the difference between aroma and bouquet is, according to Maumene"
and Berthelot, the following:
The former is due to certain hydro-carbons and to the products of their oxidation;
perhaps, also, as Ordonneau states, to the ether of a high, fatty acid produced by inter-
cellular alcoholic fermentation, and which, being fixed, remains in the pellicle; this has
enabled the experimenter to obtain it from the pomace of Folle Blanche.
The latter seems to be due to a mixture of aldehydes with one or more essential oils
and of numerous ethers, the product of the combination of fatty and other polyatomic
acids with ethylic and other alcohols; there are, for instance, valerian, amylic, propyl-
acetic, etc.
36
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
the short time preceding their complete maturity; these substances are
peculiar to certain varieties of grapes, and owe their existence also to
careful cultivation, as well as to certain conditions of climate and soil.*
In analyzing wine, writes Faure*, I have observed that fine and deli-
cate wines, those renowned for their flavor and general high quality,
contain a certain glutinous, viscid substance, which exists only in
almost inappreciable quantities in ordinary wines, and is quite absent
from inferior ones.
This principle, to which wine owes its seve, has been called by Faure
oenanthin,f or flower of wine, and is only found in grapes which are
completely mature. Some vineyards, which usually produce grapes
containing this substance, fail to do so in stormy seasons. The only
vines containing it in such years are those produced on dry sandy or
gravelly soils. The same variety of vines, which, when grown on an
appropriate soil, gives a wine full of seve, will, when grown on a rich,
heavy, or clayey one, produce a wine containing little or no cenanthin.
Thus it can be seen that the preeminence of high-class wines is not
due to the caprice of the taster, but to actual differences of composition,
and to the presence of principles not found in inferior wines.
The ordinary wines of the three communes of the Gironde, where the
four high-class Bordeaux wines are produced, are, in general, poor in
cenanthin. These four wines, however, contain a larger quantity of the
substance, as may be seen by the following:
(Enanthin contained in vines of
High Class.
Ordinary.
Chateaux Margaux
. 1.25
Margaux
0.70
Chateau Lafite _ _
... 1.20
Pauulac
0.75
Chateau Latour _ _ _ _
1.10
Pessac_
0.50
Haut-Brion
.65
FLAVOR (Sapore, It.; Saveur, Fr.). In this character we have the
effect of the wine on the sense of taste, and more particularly on the
tongue, which best distinguishes between various tastes. The flavor is
distinct from either aroma, bouquet, or "seve"; unlike the last, it does
not affect the sense of smell. As has been shown, the seve is per-
ceived after the wine has passed the base of the tongue, the soft palate;
the taste, on the contrary, or better, the flavors, are perceived almost im-
mediately, and continue to affect the tongue and its sides, or posterior
*The result of many observations and studies regarding the influence of soil composi-
tion or the character of wine, may be summed up as follows: High alcoholic strength is
characteristic of wines grown on calcareous soils; color depends on the iron in the soil;
smoothness on the alumina and on the variety of grape; bouquet on the silica.
Chambertin, writes Julian, is a wine which has a good color, much seve, is very delicate
and smooth, faultless in taste, and possessing the most agreeable bouquet.
The vineyard which produces this wine has the following soil composition:
Alkaline salts 0.031
Carbonate of calcium and magnesium . 4.425
Ferric oxide 2.961
Phosphoric acid 0.235
Alumina 2.063
Silica (soluble) 0.110
Organic matter 1.973
Insoluble residue (silica) 89.302
tBy oenanthin should not be understood 2 as perhaps was done by Faure", a single
chemical compound, but rather a complex mixture of ethers.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 37
portion, with a series of sensations which are agreeable or disagreeable,
according to the nature of the flavors and their degree of intensity.*
NEUTRAL FLAVOR (Sapore neutro, It.; Saveur neutre, Fr.). A wine is
said to be neutral when it has no marked aroma or taste, f
Wines of neutral taste are the best base for the making of imitative
wines, as they acquire most easily the taste of the wines with which they
are blended.
VAPID, FLAT, INSIPID (Tnsipido, It.; Plat, Fr.). A wine is vapid when
it is lacking in alcohol and vinosity, or when, without having any defect
* With regard to tastes in general, writers are at variance. The greater or less num-
ber of tastes and the possibility of their classification have been discussed.
The number of tastes may be considered as infinite, and therefore a classification
almost impossible. Such classification, however, has been attempted. Haller distin-
guishes twelve tastes, which have been reduced by Linnaeus to ten: sweet, acrid, fatty,
astringent, bitter, viscous, saltish, watery, and insipid.
Vintschgau proposes another taste metallic.
Physiologists distinguish in the sense of taste four specific energies, that is, four ele-
mentary sensations, viz.: sweet, bitter, acid, and salt. The first two affect only the
nerves of taste; the acid taste, on the other hand, if too strong, may cause pain, for
which reason Vintschgau believed that acid and salt tastes affect also the sense of feel-
ing, as is seen in touching concentrated solutions of acids.
Nothing is known with certainty as to the way in which different tastes are distin-
guished, and we must be content with supposing that each flavor sweet, sour, bitter,
salt acts upon special nerves which serve to distinguish them. This is the more proba-
ble, as different parts of the tongue are unequally affected by different tastes. We are
still more in the dark regarding the intimate nature of the tastes, the chemical compo-
sition of the substances which they characterize seeming to have no connection with
them.
The chemical composition of a substance has nothing to do with its sweet, bitter, or
salt taste; with regard to the acid taste, however, it may be said that every substance
which tastes acid is also an acid from the chemical point of view.
t The vineyardist in making a choice of varieties to plant should keep in view the
flavor which they will give to his wine. If he is planting in a new locality, where it can-
not be known what kind of grape will there best develop its flavor, he should choose a
variety which gives a wine ot neutral taste.
The French, who are masters of the art of imitating wines, have this maxim: "There
are more buyers than there are connoisseurs."
Trusting to the truth of this saying, they have been able to establish that great com-
merce of wine which has become one of the principal sources of riches to France. The
cities of Cette, Bordeaux, Marseilles, Lunel, Montpellier, and others of the south of
France are centers of the production of large quantities of "wines of imitation."
Do you wish to make, for example, a hectolitre of fine Bordeaux ?
Take-
Red wine of the south (Roussillon or Narbonne) __ .. 60 litres.
White wine of good quality 25 litres.
Old wine of Alicante 12 litres.
Old wine of Malaga 3 litres.
" Conservatore enantico" 25 grammes.
The renanthic conservative is dissolved in about a litre of warm white wine; the whole
is then well mixed and allowed to stand for two weeks. During this time a slow, insensi-
ble fermentation goes on, which completely mixes or blends the ingredients.
The wine is then drawn into sulphured casks, clarified, racked again, and the Bordeaux
is made.
This, however, is too expensive a Bordeaux; here is a cheaper one:
Red common Spanish wine 70 litres.
Wine of Narbonne 1 25 litres.
Wine of Malaga 5 litres.
Bordeaux extract A quarter" of a bottle.
(Enanthic conservative 30 grammes.
This is treated in the same way as the first.
If a still cheaper Bordeaux is desired
Ordinary red wine 81 litres.
Roussillon and Narbonne 15 litres.
Old brandy 1 4 litres.
Bordeaux extract A quarter of a bottle.
(Enanthic conservative 30 grammes.
The above information is for the edification of those who prefer a bottle of this Bor-
deaux to a bottle of Chianti, of Valpolicella, of Valtellina, and of many other Italian
wines which are far superior to these French concoctions.
38 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
due to secondary fermentations, it lacks some of those qualities which
together render a wine agreeable.
An insipid wine may have plenty of color, however. Insipid wines
are very subject to unfavorable changes.
SAPID (Sapido, It.; Sapide, Fr.). A wine is described as sapid; it is
meant that the acids are agreeable in quality and proportionate in
quantity.
VINOUS, VINOSITY* (Vinoso, Vinosita, It.; Vineux, Vinosite, Fr.). A
wine is said to possess vinosity when it imparts in a certain degree that
sensation of warmth characteristic of the alcoholic flavor.
WEAK (Debole, Vino che scappa in bocca, It.; Faible, pen alcoolique, Fr.).
A wine is said to be weak when it is of low alcoholic strength, or
when its alcoholic contents are not in proportion to its other constitu-
ents. Wines of this character have in general little flavor, are insipid,
and difficult to keep, on account of the gummy or mucilaginous sub-
stances which they contain, and to which they owe what little flavor
they have.
LIGHT (Leggero, Sottile, It.; Leg er, Mince, Fr.). A light wine is one
which is of good quality, but at the same time contains a relatively
small amount of color, body, and alcohol, no prominent flavors, and no
sweetness. The general effect of a light wine is one of delicacy, though
there exists a just equilibrium between the various constituents.
SOFT, MILD (Molle, It.; Mou, Fr.). A mild wine is one which does not
affect the palate by its harshness or astringency, as do rougher wines.
Softness characterizes wines which are neither sweet nor dry, and not
too alcoholic.
ALCOHOLIC (Alcoolico, It.; Alcoolique, Fr.). When a wine is spoken
of as' alcoholic, it is generally meant to be one. containing a relatively
high per cent of alcohol, but of an unsatisfactory and unsatisfying
quality.
GENEROUS (Generoso, It.; Genereux, Fr.). A generous wine is one with
plenty of alcohol, but of a smooth, warming, strengthening character;
one of which a small glass produces a feeling of well-being and sensible
tonic effects.
WARM, HOT (Caldo, It.; Chaud, Fr.). A hot wine is one containing
a good deal of alcohol, which produces a somewhat burning sensation
in the mouth and stomach.
SHARP, LIVELY ( Vivo, It.; Vif, Fr.). This is said of a wine which,
without being pronouncedly acid or alcoholic, affects the palate vividly.
It is a quality compatible with lightness, but not with smoothness.
FULLNESS, ROUNDNESS (Stoffa, It.; Etoffe, Fr.). Expressive of a robust
homogeneity, which gives the impression of solidity and good consti-
tution.
BODY (Corpo, It.; Corps, Fr.). A wine is heavy bodied when it is
rich in extractive matter and has high vinosity.
HEADY (Fumosa, It.; Fumeux, Fr.). Wines which contain much
carbonic acid, and thus go quickly to the head, produce effects that are
usually confounded with those of drunkenness, but which, in reality,
differ very much from them physiologically. Wines of this character
are unwholesome.
*Many use this word in a somewhat different sense; hy it they mean "wine-like;''
that is, having a full supply of the quality or qualities which preeminently distinguish
wine from other alcoholic beverages. Trans.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 39
DENSE, PULPY (Carnoso, Polputo, Maccherone, It.; Charnu, Pulpeux,
Lourd, Fr.). Expressive of a wine that has what one might almost
call a pasty consistency.
HEAVY, COARSE (Grave, Gravone, Pesante, Capitoso,It.', Lourd, Gros,
Pesant, Capiteux, Fr.). Wines which have much body and little alco-
hol, and which, even when drunk in small quantities, go to the head
and weigh on the stomach.
CLEAN (Franco, It.; Franc, Fr.). Said of a wine which does not
leave the slightest suspicion of any taste indicating unsoundness, or of
any defect due to the bad condition of the grapes from which it was
made, or to neglect or improper handling of the wine.
HARMONIOUS (Armonico, It.; Harmonique, Fr.). Well constituted.
This is said of a wine when its constituents are in exactly the proper
proportions, well balanced and blended, forming a perfect whole, which
is at the same time pleasing and satisfactory.
WINE THAT ENDS WELL ( Vino che finisce bene, It.; Vin qui finit bien,
Fr.). This is an expression used by the taster to define an impression
that remains for a certain time after drinking a fine wine; it means a
wine in which the constituents are harmonious, and remain so even after
the wine has passed from the mouth, impressing the senses with noth-
ing but pleasing sensations to the end. These sensations continue even
after the wine has been swallowed, insomuch that one might almost say
that it wished to prolong the pleasure of the drinker by a fresh visit to
the organs of taste.
WINE THAT ENDS QUICKLY (Vino che finisce presto, It.; Vin qui finit
vite, Fr.). Wine that leaves but an ephemeral sensation in the mouth;
that is to say, almost as soon as the wine is swallowed all trace of it is
gone, and the palate, tongue, and stomach seek in vain to recall its
character, flavor, bouquet all have gone, all have disappeared.
WINE THAT ENDS BADLY ( Vino che finisce male, It.; Vin qui finit mal,
Fr.). A wine that after swallowing leaves a disagreeable taste, bitter,
woody, etc., in the mouth.
DELICATE (Delicato, It.; Delicate, Fr.). A wine to be delicate must be
perfectly harmonious, soft, and agreeable.
FINE, OR HIGH QUALITY (Fino, It.; Fin, Fr.). A wine that unites a
natural delicacy with an exceptionally agreeable flavor and delicious
bouquet.
MUTE (Muto, It.; Muet, Fr.). Said of unfermented or only partially
fermented wines; they are characterized by a sweetish or gummy taste.
They are wines which have been made from musts treated with sulphur-
ous anhydride or fortified with alcohol. The wines that are generally
made "mute" are white wines that are to be used to sweeten liquors or
to increase the sugar contents of new wines, or that are to be used for
the manufacture of syrups by concentration in vacuo.
When a wine is made mute by the use of sulphurous anhydride, the
risk is run, if too much is used, of giving the wine, first, a taste of sulph-
hydric acid, and afterward more or less pronounced bad flavors due to
the sulphates that are formed.
These wines are kept in cool cellars, where the temperature is as
nearly as possible constant, and in strong and well-hooped casks. They
ought to be clarified, preferably with gelatine. In order to obtain a
perfect clarification, about 8 or 10 grammes of tannin are added to each
40 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
hectolitre before putting in the finings (one tenth per m., or about 1.25
ounces per 100 gallons).
SMOOTH ( Vellutato, Morbido, It.; Veloute, Moelleux, Fr.). A smooth
wine fills the mouth with its grateful flavors and fagrance, imparting its
delightful series of sensations without the slightest harshness.
This quality is due to the presence of a certain quantity of glycerine,
and not to glucose, as at first one might be inclined to think. In this
latter case the wine would be called "amabile" (fruity).
It is glycerine rather than glucose which gives a wine that kind of
smoothness which might almost be called unctuosity.
In very high-class wines the smoothness or unctuosity is due not only
to glycerine, but also to other bodies which have not yet been well
studied; they occur more especially in wines of very favorable years;
that is, of years when the season has been so propitious that the grapes
have been able to attain an exceptionally perfect maturation.
Many chemists have attempted to determine the nature of these sub-
stances.
II Faure, who studied the wines of the Gironde, believes that this
unctuosity is due to the same substance as seve, a substance which is of
similar character to pectine and mucilage, and which he called "cenan-
thin."
Batilliat claims to have found in the high-class wines of Bordeaux
the peculiar substance which causes their unctuosity, and which he calls
" croatine."
Mulder, on the other hand, from observations made on the wines of
the Gironde, considers this unctuous substance as analogous to dextrine.
Whatever may be the nature of this substance, it is useful to know
that the wines in which it occurs, if not well kept, are liable to undergo
an almost insensible fermentation, which destroys this substance, and so
takes away from the wine that quality which is due to it; pasteurizing or
heating will also deprive a wine of this quality.
FRUITY (Amabile, It.; Suave, Fr.; the Latin, Suavis vel subdulcis).
A wine which is very faintly sweet on account of retaining a small
quantity of grape sugar or glucose.
As is said sometimes: " Quel vinetto cosi amabile va giu senza accor-
gersene"
Technically, a fruity wine cannot be said to possess seve because it
tends towards sweetness. However, a wine which is very slightly sweet
may possess a good seve in the sense that it produces those sensations
which are the quality of wines of the highest class.
SWEETISH (Dolcigno, It.; Doucereux, Fr.). A wine is said to be sweetish
when its sweetness is undecided, unsatisfactory, and not in harmony
with the other components of the wine; it is due usually to a bad fer-
mentation and incomplete defecation, or it may be, with an ordinary
table wine rich in mucilaginous substances, that it is becoming sick or
undergoing one of those insensible fermentations, that is, the tartaric
fermentation, to which such wines are so subject in the spring. In the
latter case there is a moment when the wine can be detected in becom-
ing slightly sweetish, and if prompt measures are not taken it will in a
short time be completely spoiled. This turning flat and sweetish is due
to the mucilaginous substances which, under the action of dilute acids
and a favorable temperature, become transformed into substances resem-
bling dextrine and other saccharine matters, which give place, or rather
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 41
favor, when the alcoholic fermentation has not been of a thorough char-
acter, the development of secondary fermentations.
SWEET (Dolce, It.; Doux, Fr.). A sweet wine is one in which the
sweetness is pleasant, because not excessive, and in harmony with the
other principal ingredients, and more particularly with the alcoholic
contents.
" II vino dolce e glorioso
Rende Vuomo pingue e carnoso
E allargo lo stomaco."
OVER SWEET (Dolciastro, It.; Doucedtre, Fr.). This is said of wines
which are too sweet, or in which the sweetness does not seem to be well
combined; that is, the sugar seems to have been lately dissolved in the
wine.
HONEY SWEET, SICKLY SWEET (Dolce smaccato, Melacchino, It.; Doux
fade, Mielleux, Fr.). Of white wines when they are very sweet and of a
nauseating sweetness, resembling must more than wine.
Melacchino is perhaps a corruption of melichino, meaning cider vinum
ex malis, pomatium of the Latins.
NEW OR YOUNG WINE ( Vino yiovane, nuovo, It.; Vin jeune, Fr.). A
wine which has been made but a short time, and which has not under-
gone those changes and transformations in its composition through
which it acquires new qualities, due to the new substances which are
formed, and which render it more agreeable to the palate, and in the
case of fine wines impart bouquet and even seve.
Another cause of variation in the character of wines is the deposition
in whole or in part of various substances on the walls of the cask, or in
the form of lees at the bottom, that are thus eliminated from the compo-
sition of the wine.
These young wines, compared with their condition at maturity, are
more heavy bodied, more deeply colored (green or acid), more astringent^
and sometimes rough and harsh.
These wines are, finally, more nutritious than after they become
mature; it must not be forgotten, however, that a wine which is too
young is somewhat indigestible.
GREEN (Verde, Verdetto, Bruschetto, It.; Vert, Aigrelet, Fr.). Green
wine is not synonymous with young wine, as might be supposed at
first; greenness is a quality which a new wine may and generally does
have.
A wine is said to be green when it has an acidity and roughness
which, though pronounced, is of such a character that it will disappear
with time.
Thus, incompletely ripened grapes give a green wine, owing to a small
quantity of volatile acid and acid salts which they contain, and more
especially bi-tartrate of potash.
Greenness is characteristic of certain new wines, and also of many
mature wines produced in northern countries.
TART (Acidulo, Acidetto, It.; Acidule, Aigrelet, Fr.). Said of a wine
possessing an agreeable and sufficient acidity, due to the presence of free
tartaric acid and sometimes of carbonic acid, especially when this latter
is in such amount as to become free easily, and so affect sensibly the tip
of the tongue.
HARSHLY ACID (Acerbo, It.; Acerbe, Fr.). Expresses a sharp, harsh
acidity, like that in sour or unripe fruit, which puts the teeth on edge
42 WINE AND THE -ART OF WINE TASTING.
and draws up the lips and mouth. This acidity comes from immature
seeds or green stems, which communicate their acids, such as malic,
racemic, etc., to the wine; in other words, the acid is the same chem-
ically as that found in unripe fruit.*
Wine produced from grapes which for some cause or other have not
reached their maturity, are always more or less harshly acid.
With time this repellant acidity disappears, for the reason, according
to Dessaignes, that the malic acid, after eight or ten months, decomposes
into succinic and butyric acids, f
MATURE WINE ( Vino maturo, It.; Vin mur, Fr.). A mature wine is
one which has quite developed all its characteristic qualities, and which
is therefore ready to be drunk, or to be placed in bottles, where, in aging,
it will go on improving.
DECREPIT WINE ( Vino decrepito, passato, It.; Vin passe, affiabli, Fr.).
The caducity of a wine is the stage, according to Dr. Guyot, where it has
passed its prime maturity, and when it has already commenced to
deteriorate; when, in other words, it has lost some or all of the qualities
due to its volatile principles and other constituents.
A decrepit wine has lost its fragrance, has become flat; it has not
contracted any disagreeable or repelling flavor, for the taste of age that
these wines have cannot be called disagreeable in the same sense as a
wine which is attacked by the disease called bitterness, but it has a slight
bitterness which recalls that of some resinous substances.
These wines, when they find themselves in favorable conditions, as
when exposed to the air, decompose readily.
"A wine which has been exposed to the cold of winter and the heat of
summer acquires in the month of September the taste which Italians
call 'settembrino,' which is exhausted and 'passe.'" M. Salvini.
DRYJ ( Vino asciutto, It.; Vin sec, Fr.). This is said of a wine which
leaves in the mouth a sense of dryness. It is a characteristic of highly
alcoholic and somewhat astringent wines. " Pomino leaves the mouth
dry," say the Tuscans. A dry wine is not only without even the slightest
taste of glucose, but it does not contain, or only in the most minute
degree, the quality of smoothness due to a certain quantity of glycerine,
and, in the case of high-class wines, of other substances.
ASTRINGENT (Aspretto, It.; Un peu dpre, Fr.). When the tannin is
somewhat noticeable.
*This acidity must not be confounded with that due to the acetification of the wine.
This excessive acidity may be amended by an indirect method, which is that suggested
by Gall, and which aims to correct the must before fermentation. Or some may have
recourse to "marmorizzazione;" that is, the addition to the wine of powdered calcium
carbonate (marble), which is, however, a method which cannot be very highly recom-
mended, and when necessary, Liebig's method is much to be preferred. This method is
to add to the wine a concentrated solution of neutral tartrate of potash in such propor-
tion as to bring down the acidity to the desired degree.
As a preliminary test, to ascertain with an approximation near enough for practical
purposes, several quart bottles are filled with the wine to be treated, and to each bottle
is added a certain quantity of the solution of neutral tartrate of potash, each bottle being
given a slightly greater dose than the one before. The bottles are then corked and left
to themselves for a few days. They are then tasted, and the one giving the desired result
is used as the basis of calculation for treating the whole quantity.
t The organic acids contained in the must are the following: Tartaric, racemic, malic,
citric, tannic, palmitic, stearic, etc.
The acids, on the other hand, which are produced by fermentation, the oxidation of
the alcohol, or the breaking up of the sugar, are: Carbonic, acetic, propionic, butyric,
valerianic, capronic, (jenanthilic, pelargonic, succinic, lactic, etc.
% This is a restricted use of the term dry, somewhat different from its more general
meaning, which is simply not sweet, that is, containing no glucose. Trans.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 43
ROUGH (Austero, Pavido, Allappante, It.; Austere, Apre, Picotant, Fr.).
These terms are used of wines which, on account of their excess of tan-
nin, or rather oenotannin, are in the highest degree rough and astringent.
Their flavor, which is somewhat nauseous, recalls immediately that of
ink, or of ferruginous substances.
In drinking a rough, overastringent wine, a feeling of dryness is pro-
duced on the tongue and along the oesophagus. The daily use of wines
of this character, by persons of delicate constitution, may occasion
organic disorders.
This roughness tends to diminish with time, and may completely dis-
appear; the cause being that the tannin, under the influence of oxygen,
gives place to a slo\v formation of carbonic and gallic acids.
(Enotannin* possesses tonic properties, and insures the conservation
of the wine by causing coagulation, and consequently the elimination
of many substances which the wine contains, substances whose presence
is dangerous from their instability, and because they favor the develop-
ment of those organisms to which are due secondary fermentations.
High-class and fine wines when young, and even sometimes when old,
are more or less markedly rough; this roughness they lose with time.
HARSH (Duro, It.; Dur, Fr.). Harsh wines are generally young wines
rich in tartar and tannin, and which, consequently, leave a repellant
impression on the papillae of the tongue and palate.
Harsh wines are lacking in delicacy and value.
Harshness, of itself, is a defect; ordinarily it is due to the soil, and in
that case the wine is also heavy bodied. This defect may also be owing
to unskillful preparation or handling.
Harsh wines keep easily, and can be kept for a longer or shorter time,
according to their quality.
* (Enotannin has the property of forming with gelatine and with albumen volumin-
ous insoluble compounds, wnich precipitate with great readiness. By means of clarifi-
cation, therefore, tne contents of cenotannin can be notably diminished, thus curing, or
at least considerably lessening, the defect of roughness.
I have called roughness a defect, but that should be understood relatively, not abso-
lutely, for it should not be forgotten that the general trade demands a certain rough-
ness, and wines in which it is lacking are often given this character artificially by the
addition of alum, which is undeniably an adulteration, or by the addition of tannin.
Alum is used by unprincipled dealers, and has the quality of reviving the color,
precipitating the albuminoids, and imparting a roughness, almost styptic, analogous to
that presented by the common Bordeaux wines.
The wine maker has the choice of two kinds of tannin which are found in commerce,
and which differ in their mode of extraction or preparation. Thus, the tannin may be
extracted from galls by means of ether, giving a tannin pure, but retaining a taste of
ether, which renders it objectionable in the treatment of wine. The other kind, which
is extracted by alcohol, is inodorous, and therefore preferable for the wine maker.
Pure tannin dissolves completely in alcohol, and in water mixed with 10 per cent of
alcohol, and the solution should be limpid. When the wine maker needs tannin he can
make use of the grape seeds, which contain a considerable quantity; the seeds may be
used either fresh or dry, the latter being more convenient, as they can be preserved from
year to year.
It is to be remarked that clarification attempted with isinglass, gelatine, or white of
egg, does not always succeed; the failure is due to the lack or insufficiency of tannin in
the wine, or to its superabundance.
This explains the common usage of adding tannin to white wines before attempting
to clarify them; or in the case of highly tannic red wines why, after adding the clarifi-
cation, it is often necessary, in order to produce perfect limpidity, to have recourse to
sulphuring and racking. This is what the cellarman means when he says that the wine
has not taken the finings.
Wines which have fermented slowly, and which contain substances resembling humic
compounds, can sometimes be fined even when lacking in tannin.
It is also worthy of remark that tannin has a great influence on the color of wine; it
tends to increase it, and, according to M. Nessler, if the wine remains for some time in
contact with the lees, it prevents, to a great extent, the diminution of the color.
44 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
The life of ordinary or common wines, which are harsh, is limited to
a few, two or three, years. These wines in losing their harshness gain
little or nothing in value, in fact, as they lose the defect of harshness,
they acquire another, that due to tartaric fermentation.
Harsh wines which have good quality and body keep for a long time,
and after some years lose their harshness; they thus become more homo-
geneous, harmonious, and pleasing, or as the experts express it, they
become rounded.
If these wines are drunk before they have lost a portion of their
harshness, they are not very hygienic.
BITTERISH (Amarognolo, It.; Un pen amer, Fr.). This is not a defect;
it is even up to a certain point a good quality; that is, when the bitter-
ness is very slight, delicate, aromatic, in short, pleasing; as a rule, a
slight touch of bitterness is characteristic of densely colored wines.
Very often this quality is due to the presence of carbonic acid in solu-
tion; for example, in young wines or those which have been treated by
the Italian method called " il governo."*
Sometimes, in the common language, all wines are called bitter, but
with impropriety, which are not sweet; from which the Tuscan proverb,
Vino amaro tienlo caro, which means, the wine which is not sweet is
always of best quality.
BITTER (Amaro, It.; Amere, Fr.). Bitterness is a defect, and may be
due, as in general it is, to a real malady caused by a micro-organism.
" L'amertume est pour nous la maladie organique des vins de Pinot."
Vergnette Lamotte.
Wines of this kind have a harsh, repelling, nauseating bitterness, due
to secondary fermentations, or in the case of young wines, to principles
which they have extracted from the skins or stalks during fermentation.
According to M. Nessler the tendency of a wine to this disease is
augmented by remaining long in contact with the pomace.
The bitter taste affects principally the posterior portions of the tongue
and palate, and the sensation persists for some time.
This fault, which most cenologists consider confined to red wine, is
found also, we are told by M. Ottavi, in white wines. He claims to have
encountered it in the white wines of Piedmont.
Nessler observes that white wines are less subject to this defect or
malady than red, thus admitting, by implication, that they do some-
times become bitter.
The bitter secondary fermentation may develop in any wine, but is
more frequent in fine and delicate wines. In common wines the disease
usually occurring is the tartaric fermentation.
In general, highly colored wines, rich in extractive matters, are most
liable to the attacks of the disease of bitterness.
The high-class wines of Bourgogne, made from the Pinot, not exclud-
ing even those made in the most favorable years, are subject to attack
by this disease.
In the finest wines Vergnette Lamotte distinguishes two kinds of bit-
terness: That which attacks the wine during the first two or three years
of its life, and which is the most dangerous; and that which shows itself
* " II governo " is a method of wine treatment in common use in Tuscany, which con-
sists essentially in maintaining a slow, protracted fermentation in a poor or neutral
wine by the addition of half-dried grapes of high quality, or containing an abundance
of those substances lacking in the wine treated, as color, body, tannin, etc. Trans.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
45
in old and decrepit wines. This second bitterness, due perhaps more to
chemical reactions than to the action of ferments, is only relatively an
ill, as the wine can be consumed before it reaches complete decrepitude.
Tasteur holds that even this second bitterness, which Vergnette
Lamotte lays to the account of decrepitude, is caused by the same or-
ganism which determines the first kind.
This organism may remain inert for a longer or shorter period, till in
the course of aging the wine presents the necessary favorable conditions
for its development.
In conclusion, I will say that the bitter taste is a somewhat serious
defect; a defect which may be more or less marked, as it may be transi-
tory or permanent.*
* The bitter taste in wine may be the consequence of imperfect maturity of the grapes,
owing either to an unpropitious season, or to the damage caused by insect or crypto-
gamic pests; or it may be the consequence of a secondary fermentation, caused by a
micro-organism, i. e., the "bitter ferment," which determines the formation of those
substances which impart this taste to the wine. In the latter case we have a true
disease.
When the bitterness is due to the principles which have passed from the grapes and
stems into the wine, then with time and successive finings and rackings it will disappear.
This is explained by the supposition that the nitrogenous substances become impreg-
nated with the bitter principles, and thus, when the former are precipitated, they carry
along with them the latter, the wine in this way losing this defect.
The bitter taste, if very pronounced, may not disappear after the first rackings, in which
case the wine should be fined with gelatine or white of egg.
If the wine be weak, the coagulation of the albumen may be facilitated by the addi-
tion of alcohol.
According to the quality of the wine, it may be given a light clarification with the
whites of three or four eggs per hectolitre, or a more energetic treatment with 25 grammes
of gelatine.
Such a treatment not being found sufficient, recourse must be had to the use of olive
oil of good quality; of this the dose to be used is one half litre per hectolitre. The oil
is poured into the wine, the whole thoroughly stirred, and then allowed to rest; the oil
separates from the wine, and carries with it the substances which have caused the bit-
terness.
Directly after racking a wine with access of air, it will sometimes become slightly
bitter; this seems to be caused by the action of the oxygen of the air upon substances
contained in the wine; later the bitterness disappears, owing very probably to the rapid
oxidation which causes these substances to precipitate. In this way M. Mona explains
how bitter wines in bottles can, with time, lose this defect.
Formerly various opinions were held regarding this malady, because, in all probability,
people failed to distinguish between bitterness proper and the malady due to tartaric
fermentation, or "la pousse.''
Thus De Blassis attributed it to changes of the salts, especially of bi-tartrate of potash;
Machard to an invisible action of the fermentative principle, decomposing the last rem-
nants of sugar and salts in the wine; Leboeuf to an abnormal fermentation, which
produced, sometimes, citric ether, which has a bitter taste; Vergnette Lamotte to a
secondary fomentation, caused by a parasitic vegetation, which decomposed the wine in
consuming the coloring matter; Neubauer found that the quantity of tannin and of
coloring matter diminished with the progress of the malady. Finally Pasteur, after the
studv of many bitter wines, has demonstrated that this malady is caused by the action
_( * * ii i j_ i _ j_i j j j *j : J.T .
the Bordelais. He adds that this malady presents many diversities in its development,
according to the origin and the nature of the wine, but that all wines are subject to it.
Ducleaux, in 1873, determined the volatile acids of bitter wines, the following being
the result of his analyses :
Volatile
Acid.
Total
Acidity.
Acetic
Acid.
Butyric
Acid.
Sound wine _ ._
1.01 gr.
4.40 gr.
0.97 gr.
0.04 gr.
Bitter wine (1866)
1.50 gr.
5.15 gr.
Bitter wine (1873)
1.95 gr.
6.67 gr.
1.83 gr.
0.19 gr.
The increase of total acidity in the sick wine being greater than could be accounted
for by the formation of acetic acid at the expense of the alcohol, it must be attributed
to the fermentation of the glycerine, which, in fact, had diminished.
46 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
EARTHY TASTE (Terroso, It.; Terreux, Gout de terroir, Gout de pierre a
fusil, Fr.). By the term earthy a single definite taste must not be under-
stood, but divers flavors which are all in general disgusting or bad.
In tasting, these flavors are perceived by the posterior part of the
mouth, and may have their origin in the soil, in the use of inappropriate
fertilizers, in the plants supporting the vines, or in the weeds infesting
the vineyard, etc.
" The earthy taste is a vague term," writes Ottavi, and with justice,
for it is a taste which is not always very definite, resembling sometimes
earth, manure, flint, slate, nuts, willow, grass, etc. It is well known
that Aristolochia, Mercurialis, etc., if allowed to groAv in the vineyard,
communicate their flavor to the grapes, and therefore to the wine.
Pliny was not mistaken when he wrote: "In general, the vine takes up
with an astonishing facility the flavors of neighboring plants. The
grapes grown in the marshy soils of Padua have a taste of willow."
Generally the earthy taste is not found in high-class or fine wines. I
say generally, because there are exceptions; for example, Chablis has a
slight flavor of flint, and yet it is a wine of a certain renown.
Richelieu, speaking to Louis XV of a certain wine of Graves, said:
"// sent la pierre a fusil comme une vieille carabine"
The flinty taste, writes Petit Lafitte, has something vinous and ener-
getic, which exactly recalls the sensation experienced by the olfactory
organs when a flint recently struck by the steel is held under the nose.*
The diminution of the glycerine was also pointed out by Pasteur, who, besides, stated
that the tartaric acid did not dimmish.
As the researches of Fritz have shown, many microbes are able to cause fermentation
of the glycerine ; thus, under the action of the Bacillus butylicus it is transformed into
butylic alcohol and butyric acid.
Recently, B. Hass experimented with a view of ascertaining whether the bitter taste
was due to citric ether, as Miiller and other French chemists had supposed, or to some
resinous substance produced by changes of the aldehyde in presence of ammoniacal
compositions having their origin in the albuminoid matters of the wine.
By exhausting a -wine which was afflicted with the bitter disease, and which he had
previously rendered alkaline with ether, he obtained a resin slightly soluble in water,
very soluble in alcohol and in acetic ether, insoluble in carbon bi-sulphide, turning
brown in contact with the alcohols, becoming greenish with ferric chloride, and having
the extremely bitter taste of the diseased wine.
Hass has found by his experiments that the best way of curing a wine afflicted with
this malady, is by the use 01 oxidizing agents. Oxigenated water in small quantities is
inefficacious ; in larger quantities it destroys the bitter taste, but produces another not
less disgusting. The best results have been obtained by aeration.
The wine is fortified by the addition of alcohol till it contains 13 per cent by -volume,
if of feeble character and liable to acetify. A current of air is then passed through the
wine for two hours, and the bitterness disappears completely.
Filtration through pomace or cellulose has an excellent effect, the bitter substance
seeming to be removed by physical attraction.
This disease may be said to have several stages. At first the wine is still clear, but
less fragrant, duller in color, and with a slight bitter taste. Later it acquires an odor
sui generis; the bitter taste increases, becoming piquant on account of the small quan-
tity of carbonic acid produced by the secondary fermentation which takes place. Finally
it loses its natural color, becoming brownish, with a tendency to blue; there has then
taken place a serious change in one of the principal components of the wine the
extractive matter and the wine has become an undrmkable liquid.
* According to Doussieux, the earthy taste is due probably to the solution and evapora-
tion of a part of the mineral and metallic substances which are found in the soil of certain
vineyards.
Petit Lafitte seems inclined to attribute the flinty taste to iron and alumina.
Ladrey, on the other hand, accounts for it by the presence of much silica in the soil,
and many analyses show silica not only in the leaves and seeds of the vine, but also in
the wine.
Joulie states that the flinty taste is due to the fact that pyroniac silica contains a bitu-
minous substance of organic origin, the peculiar taste of which is communicated to the
wine.
It should also be remembered that the experiments of Thenard prove that silicate of
lime is much more soluble in water than was formerly believed.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 47
According to the experiments made by Aubergier, the principle to
which wines owe their earthy taste is found neither in the seeds nor in
the stems, but in the skins of the grapes. From 15 kilogrammes of
pomace he extracted 30 grammes of a volatile oil so acrid and penetrat-
ing that a single drop was sufficient to infect 10 litres of the best brandy, f
This fact supports the opinion of those who see in the prolonged con-
tact of the wine with the pomace the cause of the earthy taste.
Certainly, by improving the soil, by the use of proper fertilizers, by a
good defecation of the must, by a prompt removal of the wine from the
pomace, by clarification and rackings, the taste under discussion is
much diminished, and sometimes completely eliminated.
TASTE OB* SOIL (Sa di terra, It.; Gout de terre, Fr.). When the wine
has that taste of soil or of clay, due to the presence of soil in the must
during fermentation. The soil in the must may come from the skins
of the grapes, which may easily become covered with it when the
bunches lie too close to the ground, or may have become mixed with
the grapes accidentally or by carelessness.
This taste may come, also, from the clay which the peasants sometimes
use as cement to close the leaks in tubs, vats, or other utensils.
TASTE OF BRINE, SALT (Sa di salmastro, di salso, It.; Gout de saumdtre,
de sale, Fr.). The wine has sometimes the taste of common or culinary
salt.
This defect is found in wines grown in soil rich in salt, or in localities
near the sea.
COOKED TASTE (Sa di cotto, It.; Gout de cuit, Fr.). If the wine has a
taste more or less pronounced of must or caramel, due generally to the
action of fire upon the must when the latter has been concentrated
carelessly, or by direct heat.
This taste is caused, also, by an over-maturity of the grapes, as hap-
pens in very hot weather, and especially when the grapes are thick-
skinned; it may be caused, also, by frozen grapes, or by the freezing of
the wine; in the latter case especially when the pieces of ice formed in
the wine are not carefully removed.
RESINOUS TASTE (Sa di resina, It.; Gout de resine, Fr.). This taste
is found in wines which have been kept in receptacles made of resinous
wood.
BREAD TASTE (Sa di pane, It.; Gout de pain, Fr.). Some sweet liquor
wines have an agreeable taste which reminds one of the odor of fresh
bread.
TASTE OF DRUGS, MEDICINAL TASTE (Sa di droyhe, It.; Gout de drogues,
Fr.). A taste due to the addition of some infusion or drug to the wine.
Regarding the quantity of silica contained in wine, we have the analyses of Boussin-
gault, who, in analyzing his wine grown at Smalzberg (Bas Rhin), found 6.096 gr. of
silica per 1.870 gr. of ash in a gallon of wine, 5 per cent of the mineral ingredients.
Grasso, in the ash of four different musts, found the following quantities of silica:
Petit Bourgogne (not mature) 1.991 per cent.
Petit Bourgogne (mature) 2.099 per cent.
Petit Bourgogne (mature, but from a different soil) 1.191 per cent.
Griin Sylvaner (white, mature) 2.181 per cent.
In the skins the proportion was greater; in those of the first it was 3.464, and 2.571 in
those of the fourth.
t That a drop of this oil is capable of infecting so large a quantity of brandy is not
wonderful, when we reflect on the sensibility of our organism, especially of our sense of
smell, which is so susceptible as to surpass the extremely delicate spectroscope. Thus,
for example, Valentin has shown that one five hundred thousandth of a milligramme
of sulph-hydric acid, or one two millionth of a milligramme of essence of roses, is suf-
ficient to make an impression on our olfactory organs.
48 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
BURNT TASTE (Sa d'abbruciato, It.; Gout de brule, Fr.). When the
wine has a flavor of acrid fruit, together with a spurious cooked taste.
The taste of which we speak is a consequence of the partial withering
of the grapes before their maturity, on account of extreme heat or of
great changes of temperature between night and day.
MOUSEY TASTE (Sa di topo,-It.', Gout de souris, Fr.). A wine will
sometimes have a disgusting flavor and odor that recalls forcibly the
odor of the excrements of mice. The cause of this defect is not well
known. According to some authorities, it is due to lack of cleanliness
in the receptacles in which the wine is kept. Others believe it to be
caused by the action of the oxygen of the air on the extractive matter
of the wine, for there seems sometimes to be a distant analogy between
the mousey taste and the fresh bread taste so much appreciated in some
liquors. It is very probable that both of these causes concur to produce
this taste, for it is found sometimes even in wines which have been kept
in glass.
The mousey taste may be more or less intense, and wines affected
produce a dry feeling in the mouth when they are tasted. If a wine has
this taste in a very slight degree it is not noticed immediately; it often
happens that after passing judgment on a wine, one's opinion has to be
modified by a mousey taste which is not perceived at first. If the defect
is pronounced, it is perceived immediately by the nose; the odor and
taste too, in this case, are so disgusting as to be sickening.
HEATED TASTE (Sa di riscaldato, It.; Gout de rechauffe, Fr.). This
unpleasant flavor is hard to define, as, in fact, it is a mixture of various
flavors of acetic acid, of stems, of organic matter slightly decaying
under the influence of heat and moisture, etc.
This taste is easily produced by allowing the cap to become overheated
during fermentation, or by heating grapes before crushing them.
With time this taste tends to disappear, but when somewhat pro-
nounced it diminishes, leaving the wine with a somewhat acrid taste.
SULPHUR SMELL, or better, SMELL OF SULPH-HYDRIC ACID. An odor
resembling rotten eggs which a wine may have, and which is due to the
presence of sulph-hydric acid or suphuretted hydrogen.*
TASTE OF STALE EGGS (Sa di uova stantle, It.; Gout d'oeuf gate, Fr.).
This taste, which is easier to avoid than to cure, comes from the use of
eggs not perfectly fresh for fining.
ODOR OF SULPHUROUS ACID, OR OF SULPHUR VAPOR. A wine often has
the odor characteristic of this substance when it has been recently
racked into an excessively sulphured cask.
As every one knows, things that are useful when used in moderation
become dangerous when used in excess. This is the case with sulphur-
ous acid.
* It is generally held that the cause of the formation of sulph-hydric acid in the wine is
the presence of sulphur in the fermenting mass, as happens when the vines have been
sulphured in such a way as to allow sulphur to adhere to the grapes. This is indeed the
principal cause, but not the only one. Nessler cites six of these causes, which are: The
sulphuring of the vines; the sulphuring of casks; the use of sulphur tape; the use of
certain fertilizers; the cultivation of the vines in certain soils; the presence of iron in
the vats or casks.
To these causes, most probably, should be added another, that of the reduction of sul-
phates by micro-organisms, a reduction first noticed by Planchud, who attributed it to
vital action. This action has been found by Etard and Olivier to be due to algse of the
group of oscillators, called Beggiatoa (B. roseo-persicina, B. mirabilis, B. alba). Other algae
of the genus Ulothrix have the same property.
Is it not possible that micro-organisms might be found in wine resembling and acting
in the same way as these algse found in sulphurous waters?
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 49
The fine experiments of Duboeuf and J. Bruhl on the action of sul-
phurous anhydride, or acid, on micro-organisms, have an important
bearing here.
They have deduced from their experiments the following conclusions:
1. Sulphurous acid gas has an evident microbicidal action on the
germs contained in the air.
2. This action is especially perceptible when the air is saturated with
water vapor.
3. Sulphurous acid acts particularly on the germs of bacteria.
4. Pure sulphurous acid will destroy germs, even in the dry state, if
the action is sufficiently prolonged.
Sulphurous acid, when used in excessive quantities, takes away from
the quality and color of the wine, and gives it a bitterish, astringent,
and displeasing taste. In time the sulphurous acid changes to sulphuric,
and then into sulphate of potassium. This is why in many wines is
found a certain quantity of this sulphate, which is dangerous to health,
and, when sufficient of it is present, would lead to the belief that the
wine had been plastered.
At the end of the last century it was shown that a wine sulphured to
excess acquired a very disagreeable odor, and was hurtful to the health,
causing headache, vertigo, oppression of the stomach, nausea, etc.
In practice it is good to remember that the more alcoholic a wine the
more sulphurous acid it will dissolve or absorb.
Nessler, making a comparison of water and wine at 9 per cent of
alcohol, filled a barrel quickly with each, after having burned as much
sulphur as the air in the barrel would consume, and found that the
water absorbed .01035 per cent of sulphurous acid, and the wine .01346
per cent.
The quantity of sulphurous acid which a wine will absorb in process
of keeping cannot be exactly stated, as it depends on the number of
sulphurings, the amount of sulphur burned, or, when the sulphur is
burned directly in the cask, on the amount of oxygen there.
According to Weigert the quantity of oxygen in a cask of one hecto-
litre is 21 litres or 30 grammes. By burning an equal quantity of sul-
phur 60 grammes of sulphurous acid are formed. When the cask is
filled all this is not dissolved, because part is oxidized immediately, and
part escapes into the air as the wine enters the cask; thus, the total
amount absorbed by the wine is reduced to about 10 or 11 grammes.
VARIOUS ODORS ( Violet, Rose, Mignonette, Pink, Bitter Almonds, etc.).
These are all odors given artificially to the wine to render it more fra-
grant, or to attempt to pass it off as a wine of higher quality than it
really is.
Many high-class and fine wines, in aging, develop characteristic
bouquets; but besides bouquet these wines have seve, which artificially
perfumed wines lack altogether or have little of in proportion to their
fragrance.
Besides the odors which we call good, which have been added artifi-
cially, we have also bad odors which are absorbed from the air by the
grapes or the wine, such as the odor of tobacco, of grass, etc.
WOOD TASTE (Sapor di legno, Asciutto, Sa di secco, It.; Saveur de bois,
Seche, Gout de sec, Fr.). A taste not easily defined, as it lies somewhere
between that of wood and of mold. It is communicated to the wine by
ill-kept casks which have become " secco, asciutto," a defect seeming to
4
50 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
be due to the development of mold in the inside of the cask. Sometimes
wine will acquire this taste when left long with ullage or in imperfectly
closed casks.
To remove this taste recourse is had to olive oil, lemons, or refermenta-
tion with a small quantity of fresh grapes.
" Se egli sappia di secco, il vino, vi abbia odor cattivo, caccinvisi dentro
fiaccole acuse, e vi si spengano" Soderini.
TASTE OF THE STEMS. This is a rude, unpleasant taste, vulgarly
known as a taste of u legno verde" (green wood). It is found in wines
which have been allowed a too prolonged contact with the stems, or
which have been made by a maceration of the whole bunch, or which
have been made from bunches not perfectly sound. The taste of stems
is generally accompanied by some bitterness.
Clarifications and rackings with contact of the air will often destroy
or notably diminish the stem taste.
When it is desired to prolong the contact of the wine with the
pomace, stemming is to be recommended.
SMOKY TASTE. This taste resembles the smell of burning wet or green
wood. It is, writes Mona, somewhat acrid and bitter, recalling smoke
and soot. According to Mona, it is found more rarely in Italian wines
than in German.
This defect may be occasioned by the smoke given off by ill-constructed
stoves used to heat the fermenting-room or cellar; or it may be due to
unfavorable climatic conditions during the vintage.
It has been stated that musts corrected by the addition of cane sugar
will sometimes give wines with this taste.
With the smoky taste a wine loses its brightness, becomes cloudy, and
if not cured by sulphuring, changes into a liquid not to be tolerated by
even the most uncritical palate.
OAK TASTE. A taste which a wine will contract after two or three
rackings into new casks which have not been properly prepared, espe-
cially if they are made of a bad quality of wood. The wine in this case
acquires a peculiar, bitterish taste, according to Ottavi, almost aromatic,
much tannin, and often the real flavor of the wine is quite destroyed.
TASTE OF MERCAPTAN. The repugnant taste and odor of onions or
garlic, which remains even after the wine has been racked into well-
sulphured casks.
The same causes which tend to produce hydrogen-sulphide in the
wine, not excepting plastering when it is done heavily, tend also to form
mercaptan. So far no means have been discovered of removing this
taste from wine.
Polacci was the first to observe the formation of these products, which
have a fetid and persistent odor, and are due to the action of sulph-hydric
acid and sulphur on the components of the must and wine; he believes
them to be simply ethylic mercaptan. Konig thinks that this reaction
is not very probable, as it has never been known to take place in a
dilute acid solution. He believes, on the contrary, that the aldehyde
contained in most wines combines easily and directly in a dilute acid
solution with sulph-hydric acid to form thio-aldehyde and trithio-alde-
hyde. Now these compounds are endowed with a strong, persistent,
and disagreeable odor, resembling closely that acquired by wines
containing sulph-hydric acid; it may be, therefore, that the mercaptanic
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 51
substance spoken of by Polacci is nothing but thio-aldehyde or trithio-
aldehyde.
TASTE OF LEES. Wine, by a prolonged contact with the lees, loses
its clean taste and acquires a more or less pronounced bitterness, which
has a distant resemblance to a taste of decay, and is characteristic of
lees even when sound.*
TASTE OF DECAY (Sapore di fradicio, It.; Saveur de pourri, Fr.). A
taste which the wine contracts from unsound cooperage or too prolonged
contact with the lees; it is a repelling taste of rottenness, which, how-
ever, must not be confounded with that caused by putrid fermentation
of the wine.
This taste may also originate in imperfectly ripened grapes, which,
through the prolonged action of dampness, have commenced to decay.
If the grapes are ripe before they commence to decay, the wine will
still have something of this taste, but it will be less disgusting and will
tend to disappear with time; the wine will, however, always be insipid,
and lack frankness of taste.
MOLDY TASTE. The characteristic taste of mold. Wines easily con-
tract this taste, either from moldy casks or from moldy grapes having
been used. It is generally possible to take away this taste by the use
of olive oil.
Sapore di tempesta, It.; Saveur de grdle, Fr. A harsh, bitterish, some-
what moldy taste, perceived in wine made from grapes that have been
injured by hail at the commencement of their ripening.
RANCID (Rancido, It.; Ranee, Fr.). "When the wine is swallowed, or
whilst it is being drunk, a displeasing taste is noticed in the throat and
slightly on the palate, almost analogous to that of rancid substances,
from which comes the name given to this disease of wine, till now
unstudied by any author. The ranee can also be smelt, if it is pro-
nounced, but a good nose is needed to discover it, and a delicate palate
to taste it, at its incipiency." 0. Ottavi.
FRUITY TASTEf (Sapore di frutto, It.; Saveur de fruit, Fr.). Many
young wines, when well made, have a very pronounced taste of fruit.
Common wines, with age, lose this taste, but fine, and above all, the
finest, wines retain it, much to their advantage; they retain it, however,
only when aged slowly, and without the use of artificial aids.
TARTARIC FERMENTATION. This term is used to cover two different
maladies of wine caused by two micro-organisms, which differ somewhat
from each other, and the products of the fermentations caused by them
differ considerably. These maladies, however, have a certain affinity,
since both the micro-organisms, to whose action they are due, live at the
expense of the tartaric acid m the cream of tartar.
The French distinguish these two maladies, calling the first "la mala-
die de la pousse vin pousse;" in Italian, "malattia del subbollimento;" and
the second, "maladie de la tourne vins tournes;" in Italian, "cereone."
* It may perhaps be useful to note that the lees may become the seat of a bacteroid
fermentation independently of any anterior disease in the wine. Thus, according to the
experiments of Ravizza. the wine and lees may become the prey of bacteria without the
aid of molds or other micro-organisms that destroy the acids.
The temperature most favorable to the development of bacteria in the lees seems to be
from 77 F. to 86 F. Below 77 F. the phenomena accompanying the life of these bac-
teria decrease, and towards 50 F. cease altogether. The practice, then, in racking, of
separating the last layers of wine, that is, the part lying in contact with the lees, from
the rest is a good one, and this wine may be considered of inferior quality, either because
it lacks a clean, fresh taste, or because it is sometimes cloudy.
t Fruity is very often used in English with the inappropriate meaning of somewhat
sweet. Trans.
52 WJNE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
" Maladie de la pousse" This disease is recognized by the wine spurt-
ing out when the vessel in which it has been confined is opened; the
wine exercises a strong pressure on the staves of the cask on account of
the carbonic acid which is formed; it is from this that comes the term
"pousse.' 7
In the glass the wine shows a persistent ring of small gaseous bub-
bles of a whitish color. If the wine is left exposed to the air it becomes
turbid; its color becomes dull with a tendency to yellowish.
The wine has lost its primary flavor, and as the disease progresses,
becomes more and more insipid; if it is shaken there is an appearance
of silky waves at the surface, caused by the lees which has risen up.
Balard was the first to show the presence in " vins pousses " of a fer-
ment which, according* to him, resembles the lactic ferment. He has
further shown that in these wines the quantity of volatile acids is in-
creased, the one found in largest quantity being acetic acid.
Bechauip and Stenard have shown that propionic acid is formed in
these wines from the tartar and the glycerine. Nickles, on the con-
trary, is of the opinion that metacetic acid is produced.
Duclaux, who has given much attention to this malady, seems to
have proved: (1) That the amount of free acids augments with the
progress of the malady; (2) that this increase is made at the expense
of the fixed acids of the wine, particularly of the tartaric acid; (3) that
the acids formed are propionic and acetic. After having shown this he
concludes by saying that all fermentation of the tartar that takes place
with the evolution of pure carbonic acid and production of propionic
and acetic acids should be called "maladie de la pousse"
Cercone, vin girato, mercuriella, It.; Tourne, vin tourne, vin qui a donne
le tour, Fr.). At this word in an Italian dictionary is written: Cercone
a distiller's term is said of a spoiled wine, because in becoming thus
it works and turns; vappa, lora of the Latins. The lora of the Latins
is certainly not the cercone, but family wine, piquette; neither is vappa,
since that, according to the dictionaries, should indicate a flat, vapid
wine. Vappa vinum insipidum et nullino virtutis, postquam omnino odor
saporque optimus evaporavit.
Vin tourne has this peculiarity, that when first poured out it appears
sound, but after a short time it tends to become turbid and iridescent.
Under the influence of the oxygen of the air the coloring matter
becomes purplish, and precipitates, and the wine acquires a yellowish
tint, a sour taste, and a forbidding bitterness.
Wines of this kind when distilled give a brandy having a bitter taste,
caused probably by ammoniacal compounds. The alcohol made from
them has not always, but often, a strong and pungent odor, and cannot,
without being well rectified, be put to the ordinary uses of wine alcohol,
that is, the manufacture of vermouth, etc. This odor is sometimes so
pungent as to bring tears to the eyes, and, by fractional distillations, it
is possible to isolate a certain quantity of eroton-aldehyde.* This com-
pound is formed, very probably, during the distillation by the conden-
sation of the aldehyde with diminution of water.
Balard has found lactic acid in " vins tournes; " Glenard, on the other
* Recently Professor Comboni, in distilling a wine made by blending Marzemino and
Black Pinot. which had been attacked by the bitter fermentation, found in the distillate
a considerable amount of aldehyde and formic acid. These products are certainly
formed during the progress of the secondary fermentation, for they are not found at all
in the same wine wnen sound.
WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING. 53
hand, has found potassic acetate. In the secondary fermentation of
"vins tournes," there is a formation of acetic acid, and more especially
of lactic and tartronic acids.
A wine attacked by this disease may be considered as lost; however,
at the start it may be useful to try the addition -of tannin and cream of
tartar, then pasteurization and fining. The disease, if not arrested, is
followed by putrid fermentation.
PUTRLD FERMENTATION. This disease attacks the organic matter in
the wine, destroys it, and gives rise to repulsive tastes and odors.
In the incipiency of this fermentation, the repulsive odor and taste
are not very marked, and a cure may be attempted by heavy sulphur-
ing, followed by filtration through charcoal, which acts as a disinfectant.
FAT (Grasso, It.; Gras, Fr.). I will say now that this defect should
not be confounded with that of viscosity or greasiness, though at first
view it might be supposed to be the same in a moderated form.
The defect of "fatness" is rarely found in generous wines, but is
usually confined to weak ones, and is not due, like " greasiness," to a
fermentation, but to the presence of a certain amount of albuminoid
substances, of gum, mucilage, imperfect sugars, etc., which impart to the
wine a character which, when it is tasted, leaves a more or less marked
impression of something glutinous; an impression which persists for
some time, leaving, as it were, a pasty feeling in the mouth.
" Fat " wines are indigestible, and hard to keep during the hot season,
as they are extremely liable to secondary fermentations. The wines in
which this defect is usually found, are those grown on moist plains,
which are naturally fertile, or made so by the addition of nitrogenous
manures, as, for instance, young vineyards where the effect of manur-
ing at the planting of the vines has not worn off.
This defect may be avoided entirely, or to a great extent, by a thorough
and prolonged aeration of the must, or by the addition of alcohol or
tannin* to the wine.
Sometimes this defect, when not too pronounced, will partly or wholly
disappear after the wine has gone through its slow spring fermentation.
GREASY, Viscous (Filante, Grassume, It.; Filante, Graisse, Fr.).
Terms used of a wine which has lost part of its fluidity and which, when
poured into a glass, falls without noise, or like oil; it has that viscid,
mucilaginous look which reminds one of white of egg.
This malady is caused by a micro-organism. A greasy wine, as the
malady progresses, loses its fragrance and becomes bitterish; its color
becomes dull and tends to turn brown; finally, it loses its natural trans-
parency and brightness. At first it is flat, vapid, and distasteful; and
finally, rancid and sour by the formation of lactic acid.
*The addition of a little tanninized wine is better than the direct addition of tannin.
Tanninized wine may be prepared thus: Take a small caskj holding, for example, about 25
gallons; fill it with a strong wine, or one made so by the addition of 1 or 1*4 gallons of alcohol
of 94 C.; into the wine put about 35 pounds of grape seeds which have not been fermented.
For the first few days the wine should be stirred from time to time, and then left to itself.
After about ten days the liquid part is drawn off, and is then a wine heavily charged with
tannin, which serves excellently for the purpose above noted; for that purpose a dose of
1 or 2 gallons of the tanninized wine to 100 of the wine to be treated is about the right
proportion.
If a tanninized wine is needed for the defecation of the must, it is prepared thus: Take
5 gallons of alcohol and 10 gallons of wine, put in a small cask, and add about 18 or 20
pounds"of seeds, and treat as in the former case; 1 or 2 gallons of this is sufficient to
thoroughly defecate 100 gallons of must.
If fresh seeds are not to be had, dry ones may be used, providing they are in good con-
dition, that is to say, providing they have been dried in the shade, kept in a dry place,
and have not become moldy.
54 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
This malady occurs oftener in white than in red wines; in late years,
however, it has been found often in red wines on account of the unfavor-
able conditions for the grapes attaining a complete maturity, such, for
instance, as the damages done by insects, cryptogams, and bad weather.
It occurs easily, too, in red wines made from grapes grown on very
fertile soil rich in albuminoid substances.
Very probably this deterioration is much more complex than is
usually supposed.
Peligot was the first to establish the presence of a micro-organism, of
a bacterium. Pasteur, later, demonstrated that this bacterium has the
property of transforming the sugar that remains in the wine into a
mucilaginous or viscid substance.*
Bechamp calls the active ferment of this process Micrococcus viscosus,
and the gum which is formed viscosio.
Tannin and alcohol, in certain proportions, prevent the development
and action of this bacterium; the conclusion, therefore, is that wines
poor in alcohol and tannin, and containing sugar, are subject, especially
if white, to become " filant." This explains also the use of tannin, as
proposed by M. Frangois, of Chalons, to arrest or prevent this malady.
Francois attributes this malady to a peculiar nitrogenous substance,
gliandin, a kind of glutin, which seems to have the property of being
precipitated by tannin. Nessler affirms, however, that we do not know
yet how the tannin acts.
I have already remarked on the complex nature of the malady under
discussion. Usually it is held to be owing to a lack or deficiency of
tannin. This, however, is not invariably true, since Francisco Selmi
has found it in wine made from Lambrusca grapes, and therefore rich
in tannin. It seems that in this malady the tartaric acid also suffers
changes. Probably on account of these changes Bizzari proposes the
use of tartaric acid, 200 to 250 grammes per 100 gallons, as a cure or
preventive of the malady.
*The bacterium of "La Graisse" put into a solution of sugar containing albuminoid
and mineral substances acts upon the sugar and transforms it into a kind of gum, man-
nite, water, and carbonic acid. Thus, 100 parts of cane sugar will give 50.09 parts of man-
nite, 43.5 of gum, besides water and carbonic acid.
Monoyer proposed to account for this transformation by two chemical equations, the
first of which would give mannite and carbonic acid, the second gum and water, as
formed from the glucose.
Schmidt-Mulheim is about of the same opinion, he believing that the viscous fermen-
tation consisted of two processes, the first of which gave mannite and carbonic acid,
and the second the viscid substance.
Kramer has studied this ferment. He examined three wines afflicted by it, and besides
Saccharomyces ellipsoideus, Saccharomyces mycoderma, etc., he found an extremely minute
bacillus 2 to 6 // long, and .6 to .8 /J, thick. He failed to cultivate this bacillus on potato,
agar agar, etc., but by putting a little of the infected wine into a new (three months)
white sterilized wine and with 3 per cent of glucose, he found that the bacillus devel-
oped well and rendered the wine "filant," but only when the air was completely excluded
by covering the wine with a layer of oil. With access of air there was very little devel-
opment of the bacillus, and instead an increase of the other ferments of the wine.
Kramer has called this ferment Bacillus viscus vini.
The peculiar kind of gum produced by the viscous fermentation of the sugar renders
the wine viscid and glutinous. In its properties it resembles dextrine more than it does
gum arabic.
The viscid substance, according to Kramer, appears to be a product of assimilation of
the organism, whilst the carbonic acid and mannite, which are formed contemporane-
ously, are products of the fermentation; a constant proportion between the first and the
last substances does not exist.
The bacillus multiplies very well in its own viscid product.
forms a kind of glue. It has no acid reaction.
WINE AND THE ART OP WINE TASTING. 55
The best means of preventing or arresting the disease consists of the use
of tannin, pasteurizing to destroy the bacteria, racking into sulphured
casks, and finally the addition of alcohol to the wine.
Pasteurization is inapplicable in the case of white wines which are
destined for the fabrication of champagne, because it not only destroys
the bacteria, but also the alcoholic ferments, whose action is necessary
to produce the carbonic acid, which renders the wine sparkling.
At the beginning of the development of the disease, forcible agitation
of the wine will restore its clearness and fluidity by the disassociation
of the bacteria and the dispersion of the mucilaginous matter which
envelops the parasite.
Agitation, however, must not be looked upon as a curative measure;
the results obtained are only temporary, for the cause of the disease, viz.:
the bacterium, is neither destroyed nor removed.
FLAT, WINE FLOWERS (Vino svanito, Svaporato, Fiorito, It.; Vin
evanoui, Evapore, Fleuri, Fr.). A wine becomes flat when it remains for
some time exposed to the air, as happens in an imperfectly filled or
badly bunged cask. In time it becomes covered with " wine flowers,"
which consists of the Saccharomyces vini, or Mycoderma vini. In either
case the wine gradually acquires an unpleasant, somewhat bitterish
taste, and loses its strength and bouquet by evaporation, or else the
breaking up of the alcohol into water and carbonic acid. This has
been called by some one, on account of the products formed, hydro-car-
bonic fermentation, and is caused by the Mycoderma vini, which attacks
not only the alcohol, but very probably the ethers, succinic acid, and
glycerine, as these bodies tend to disappear.
Although cases do occur in which generous wines are attacked by the
Mycoderma vini, still it has a decided preference for young and feeble
wines. In old and well-defecated wines it develops with difficulty, per-
haps because in these wines the elements necessary for its nourishment
(nitrogenous bodies and phosphates) are not found.
The practice of some wine makers with regard to " wine flowers " is
not in accord with that of those who follow a rational system of wine
making. They consider only the development of the "flowers," which
they look upon almost as a preservative of the wine, whilst the others
sustain the necessity of energetically combatting and preventing the
increase of the " flowers," because it is not only dangerous in itself, but
is almost always accompanied by the Mycoderma aceti, or Diplococcus
aceti, which, the moment circumstances become favorable, commence
to replace the Mycoderma vini and cause the acetification of the wine.
When it is thoroughly understood how the " flowers " act it is easy to
explain the facts put forward by those who do not consider it dangerous,
and also the reasons of those who believe that it should be prevented by
all means, and destroyed on its first appearance.
The presence of the " flowers " causes such an absorption of oxygen
and development of heat and carbonic acid, as to prevent the growth of
any other organism.
Ducleaux has calculated that 80 grammes of alcohol contained in a
litre of wine of 10 per cent, needs for its transformation into water and
carbonic acid more than 160 grammes, or 100 litres of, oxygen.
The conclusions to be drawn from this are evident; they are, that
when the cask is well closed, so as to prevent the free entry of air, the
diminution of alcohol, caused by the "flowers," is reduced to a mere
56 WINE AND THE ART OF WINE TASTING.
trifle, and that the presence of the "flowers" excluded the action of
other micro-organisms.
We must not, however, reason from this that the Mycoderma- vini is
really of use, for if exposure to the air should happen, if, instead of
remaining white, the " flowers," as Pasteur noticed, should turn red,
then, sooner or later, it will cede its place to other organisms, to the
vinegar diplococcus, which, as I have shown before, is ready immedi-
ately to commence action, finding itself in favorable condition for its
development, for the "flowers" itself serves for nutriment; and if
there should be a considerable rise in temperature, the conditions are
the best possible.
The final conclusion then, plainly is, that the " flowers " should be
carefully guarded against; this is done by the strictest attention to "fill-
ing up," the importance of which was recognized by the poet Alemann,
when he wrote:
Che nulla cos a
Pub medicar il vin, che resta scemo.
The " flowers " may be destroyed by the addition of sulphurous anhy-
dride or a few drops of alcohol.
With wine in bottles, the development of the "flowers" is prevented
by keeping the bottles lying down; if instead the wine is kept in flasks
("^asc/w"), as in Tuscany, or in demijohns, a few drops of the purest
olive oil on the surface of the wine will have the same effect.
SOUR, PRICKED, ACETIFIED ( Vino die ha preso il fuoco, Lo spunto, La
punta, II portore, Vino acetoso, It.; Vin qui a pris le feu, VAigre,T?r.).
Acetic acid is one of the normal components of wine. It is formed
during the alcoholic fermentation, but in such minute quantities as to
be imperceptible to the taste. When the proportion of this acid, from
one of the many known causes, becomes large enough as to be percepti-
ble, then the wine is said to be "pricked."
A pricked wine retains its natural color and limpidity.
This defect is recognized by the odor and taste of acetic acid; in tast-
ing, its strongest effect is perceived at the base of the tongue.
If a wine thus affected is not taken in hand immediately (and in
truth success is not always sure) and treated with heavy sulphurings
or pasteurizing, it soon becomes sour and acetic.
Acetification is due to the action of a micro-organism, the bacterium
known under the name of Diplococcus aceti, still commonly called Myco-
derma aceti, which increases with a rapidity truly prodigious. Ducleaux
tells us that if on a surface of wine a metre square an almost impercep-
tible amount of these bacteria is allowed to fall, in twenty-four hours
the whole surface of the liquid will be covered with a layer of them so
closely placed as to be crowded into contact. Thus, there will be three
hundred thousand million individuals formed in twenty-four hours.
The rapidity with which the acetic bacterium multiplies explains why
a pricked wine, when the temperature is favorable, becomes so quickly
completely acetified.
It should be remembered that whilst it is easy to prevent this disease
by taking proper precautions in the fermenting-room and cellar, it is
difficult, if not impossible, to destroy it when started.
Once a wine has become pricked, instead of trying to effect a cure, it
is better to follow the advice of Guyot, who says:
" When wine acquires the odor and taste of acetic acid, it is sent to
the vinegar factory, but it is never attempted to use it as wine."
WINE AND THE AiTf J OF 'WINE tST!*&" '"' '' 57
All the means that have been suggested for the treatment of a pricked
wine may be considered as palliatives only, and not as radical cures.
In this regard Carpene writes very justly:
" The neutralization of the acetic acid, which has developed in the
wine by the oxidation of the alcohol with potash, soda, lime, magnesia,
and their simple or double neutral carbonates and tartrates, seems to
be a rational method, but, in reality, is not so. These substances neu-
tralize wholly, or in part, the free, and even the combined acids, and
the diminution of the complex acidity of the wine renders the acetic
taste less noticeable, but does not completely remove it. To remove
entirely the acetic acid it is necessary to completely neutralize the wine,
because the acetic acid combines with the alkaline and earthy-alkaline
bases after they have neutralized the tartaric, malic, and succinic acids.
Moreover, acetic acid, even when completely combined with a base,
gives out, though less strongly, its characteristic odor, so that even after
complete neutralization the wine will still have an odor of acetic acid,
accompanied besides by a bitter taste, which lingers in the throat, and
may be worse than the first fault."
MILK-SOUR, LACTIC ACID. This, by inexperienced tasters, is easily
confounded with pricking or acetification.
A milk-sour wine has a more disgusting, biting, and penetrating acidity
than an acetic wine, a harsh acidity, whose effect is felt long after the
wine is swallowed. An acetic wine has a noticeable odor of vinegar,
whilst a milk-sour wine emits an odor of rancid butter, due to the
butyric acid which almost always accompanies lactic acid.
If there is any doubt as to which acid the wine contains, the doubt
can be solved by pouring a drop or two of the wine into the palm of one
hand, and then rubbing it with the other; if any acetic acid is present
its odor will be immediately perceptible on the hands.
A milk-sour wine loses some of its fluidity, and its color becomes dull.
Sweet, badly defecated wines, especially those rich in albuminoids, are
liable to milk-sourness.
The disease appears during the winter or in the spring, and generally
in wines poor in acids; it is accompanied by a turbidity of the wine and
a change of color. As long as the wine remains in full, well-bunged
casks, this turbidity and change of color do not occur, but only when
it is exposed to the air.
Some observers have considered lactic acid as one of the normal
products of alcoholic fermentation, like glycerine, succinic acid, etc.;
the truth, however, is, as Pasteur has proved, that whenever the smallest
quantity or trace of lactic acid is found in wine it is caused by lactic
fermentation.
Whenever the alcoholic fermentation of certain musts, rich in nitroge-
nous matters, is not well conducted, especially as regards temperature,
a certain quantity of lactic acid is very easily formed, which is a bad
defect. This happens generally in certain years in warm countries,
where the so-called sweet-sour wines are produced.
It is difficult, not to say impossible, to take away the defect of milk-
sourness; the different methods proposed, including that of refermenta-
tion, do not succeed; consequently, the best thing is to prevent it by a
thorough defecation of the must, and a properly regulated fermentation,
not allowing the temperature to rise to a point at which the alcoholic
ferment becomes inactive, and thus preventing it from reducing all, or
the major part, of the glucose contained in the must.
5
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