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THE MAKING OF THE WINE--THE CELLAR.


Up till this time our whole attention has been taken up with everything
that has to do with the production of the grape. But with the gathering
of the crop a complete change has taken place, for nature no longer
exercises such a controlling influence. At this stage the art of
winemaking really begins, and the climate, the soil, and all the other
factors that have so much to do with the growth of the grape assist us
no longer. From the moment that the grapes are gathered till the wine
is ready for bottling is a most eventful period; for, during this
important time, under proper treatment, wine may be made to reach
perfection.

Indeed, it is only by paying the most minute attention to all the
details connected with the making of wine that Australian vignerons
will succeed in placing our wines before all others; because it is very
important to remember that the must produced in Australia is
equal, if not superior, to any in the world. Now, all that follows this
portion relates to wine-making alone; and it should for that very
reason, therefore, possess a special interest for us. Moreover, it will
be a good thing for the wine industry, for Australia, and for her
people, when such an interest becomes part of our daily life.

Naturally the first thing to suggest itself, therefore, in the making
of the wine, is the place in which it is made. There is no doubt that
in Australia the importance of a proper cellar has never been
sufficiently appreciated. But the French have a proverb, "the cellar
makes the wine," showing that it plays no inconsiderable part in the
production of good wine. As Mr. Walter W. Pownall, the representative
of the Australian Wine Company, explained before the Vegetable Products
Commission in Victoria, a knowledge of cellar routine and cellar work
would aroid the spoiling of much good wine. A man thinks when he has
grown the wine that is all that is necessary. But the fact is, a
wine-grower has never done with his wine till it has passed out of his
hands.

There was a valuable pamphlet on Australian wines written by the late
Doctor Bleasdale, of Melbourne, in 1876. It is now out of print, and
regrettedly so, for the worthy Doctor was one of the best connoisseurs
of wine Australia ever had. Mr. L. Bruck, the well-known medical
publisher of Sydney, however, has placed me under considerable
obligation by giving me his own copy, and in the preface therein I note
that the author, in speaking of this very question, remarks:--"I would
here reiterate what I have often stated, namely, that if the cellar
management in the three colonies were equal to the magnificent produce
of the vines, no "country on the earth could surpass, in quality and
variety "of kinds, Victoria, South Australia, and New South Wales."

Then again, Mr. James Smith, of Melbourne, in the course of his
admirable prize essay on Australian wine, which appeared in GREVILLE'S
YEAR BOOK OF AUSTRALIA for 1886, has these observations on this
subject:--"It is, however, in the management of the cellar that one
must look for the most efficient means of securing that uniformity of
quality which I regard as such an important desideratum. If it be not a
science, it is certainly an art requiring special knowledge, training,
and experience, combined, perhaps, with natural aptitude. And it is
precisely in this respect, I fear, that our deficiency in Australia is
greatest.

"In the wine-making countries of Europe the cellarmaster is an expert
who inherits the skill, traditions, methods, and usages of many
generations of men who have adopted and followed the same calling. His
organs of smell and taste have been educated to practise the nicest
discrimination of flavour and odour, and if the vintage of a particular
year differs in quality from that of its predecessor, he knows how, by
a judicious blending of the old with the new, of the highly-coloured
with the pallid, to arrive at that uniformity which is so
indispensable."

The cellar must neither be too damp nor too dry. Any excess of dampness
would rot the casks and give a musty taste to the wine; while, on the
contrary, in too dry a cellar the staves of the casks would shrink and
cause leakage. The cellar is usually kept somewhat dark. The openings
for the admission of air and light should be provided with shutters, so
that the atmosphere and temperature may be under control. The floor of
the cellar should be paved or cemented, be well levelled, and
cleanliness throughout should be strictly and strenuously maintained.

But the following remarks of Signor Bragato as to what a cellar ought
not to be will perhaps be more instructive, and besides they contain a
vast amount of information on the subject. In referring to some
of the cellars he came across during his tour of inspection through one
of the Victorian districts, he writes:--

"The majority of the buildings used as cellars are nothing less than
wooden sheds, with galvanized iron roofs. Here the air has a free
circulation day and night, and the cellerman is thus rendered powerless
to control the temperature, which very often, from 100 degrees in day
time, goes down to 54 degrees or less during the night. The appliances
required for winemaking are all round badly preserved, and are covered
with mouldiness and dust. The floor of the buildings is not paved or
cemented, and it consists of earth, so that it has the power of
absorbing the wine that gets spilt and becomes the source of pernicious
germs, which will spread all over the cellar and in the air, to be
finally deposited in the must and in the wine, causing irreparable loss
in the quality of the wine. There are a few good cellars, but these,
also, are badly kept and badly used.

"The casks are neglected, and the coat of tartar is scrupulously left
in the cask, with the erroneous idea that it tends to preserve the
wine. All the empty casks I have smelt in the cellars inspected are
impregnated with bad odours, which are not detected by the majority of
the owners, in consequence of having accustomed their olfactory organs
to the predominant odour of mouldiness in their cellars, and so they
are unable to detect if the odour of their casks is healthy or not.

"With the bad cellars which the vignerons have at their disposal,
combined with the neglect of the casks and other appliances, and the
little care in the preservation of the wine, it is only natural that a
large quantity of the wine produced is spoiled, and condemned to the
still to be converted into inferior brandy of bad taste and colour,
which is often used to fortify the wines, with the result of rendering
them unfit for consumption. "Amongst the wines I have tested, I found
some really very good ones, presenting all the characteristics required
in a fine wine. But if there are good wines, there are also very bad
ones, and these, I am sorry to say, represent the bulk in every cellar
I visited. Some of the wines are cloudy, sweetish, with a good deal of
asperity. Others present tartaric, lactic, and acetic fermentations."

After some further comments on various other matters, the same
gentleman concludes his report with the following:--

"Finally, I may say that by what I have seen I cannot help expressing
the opinion that Australia is capable of producing really fine wines,
to be highly appreciated in the world's markets. But to produce
an appreciable wine, it is necessary that the vignerons should improve
in their system of wine-making, and substitute for their sheds cellars
constructed on a rational principle; and by devoting more attention to
the cleanliness of the casks and other cellar appliances. A
modification in the system of cultivation and pruning of the vines will
also be factors in improving the quality of the wine.

"There is in this country good soil, and a climate which cannot be
equalled for the successful cultivation of the vine. Capital is
plentiful, and the people very enterprising; so there remains only the
want of Technical Instruction, by the institution of practical schools
of Viticulture, without which it is doubtful if ever its vignerons will
succeed in making wines likely to be appreciated in the foreign
markets."

In the same way Mr. J.A. Despeissis, of the New South Wales Department
of Agriculture, also insists upon cellar cleanliness. And it would
seem, indeed, that there is ample justification for his deprecatory
remarks. It appears that on several occasions he has noticed fowls and
pigeons roosting in the wine cellars. Now, as he pungently observes,
the wine cellar was never intended for this sort of thing. Another way
of putting the matter would be to point out what a mad thing it would
be to use a fowl house as a cellar. Moreover, he gives minute
directions for disinfecting the cellar, in order to destroy any germs
or minute organisms which may be lurking in crevices or in odd corners.
This is best accomplished by burning some sulphur in earthenware pots,
distributed over various parts of the cellar; previously seeing that
all the windows and gaps are rendered air-tight by means of bagging.
The fumes should be left in the cellar--for a day or two, after which
the doors are opened, and a free current of air allowed to sweeten the
whole place.

Moreover, a model cellar is necessarily a very elaborate affair,
considering it is the laboratory, so to speak, in which the wine is
created. A model cellar would consist of the following six
compartments:--

* 1. The section for the first treatment of the grape.
*
* 2. The fermentation department.
*
* 3. The section for the preparation and storing, of the new wine.
*
* 4. The underground cellar for the storage of the matured wine.
*
* 5. The bottle department.
*
* 6. The distillation department and for the utilization of the refuse
of wine.
*

The cellar of Mr. Henley, near the Ovens River, in Victoria, is very
complete. It is provided with a steam lift, a steam crushing machine,
and a steam pump, while there is perfect ventilation and a uniform
temperature. His cellar is divided into three compartments: the
fermenting house in the middle, the cellar for the new wine, and the
cellar for the old wine. The building is 83 feet by 80 feet, built of
brick, with double walls 9 inches thick outside and 4 inches inside,
and between the walls there is 4 1/2 inches of space. The temperature
on the hottest days in the summer never surpasses 80 degrees Fahrenheit;
and, lastly, the floors, both of the cellars and the fermenting house, are
cemented for the purpose of absolute cleanliness.


THE MAKING OF THE WINE--THE GATHERING OF THE GRAPE.


At the very beginning one of the chief matters to be looked to is the
selection of the time at which the grapes should be picked. The proper
period is that when the interior of the grape contains its principal
components, the sugar and the acids, in the right proportions. In the
warmer districts the grapes are sometimes allowed to become too ripe.
In such a case there would be an excess of sugar and a deficiency of
acid, and a regular fermentation would be impossible. On the other
hand, it will be remembered in the course of the remarks upon
pruning that I quoted Mr. Francois de Castella to show what a mistaken
idea it is to pick the grapes before they are thoroughly ripe in order
to produce, as it is erroneously supposed, a lighter wine. It is of the
greatest consequence, therefore, to choose that particular time for
gathering the grapes when they contain the respective elements in their
strictly proper proportions.

On the eventful day for the picking of the grapes the weather should be
fine and bright, and in the warm districts they should be picked early
in the morning and late in the afternoon, so that they are not too
warm. The grapes should never be taken to the fermenting house when too
heated; indeed, it would be better not to crush the grapes at all than
to have them in such a state. As Signor Bragato observes, if they are
too warm the fermentation will start with too high a temperature in the
must, and very likely the result will be the formation of lactic and
acetic germs. In Algiers and other warm regions the grapes picked in
the day are left outside during the night; by this means the
temperature of the must is lowered.

In the picking of the grapes the greatest care should be taken to
discard the mouldy, dry, and dirty grapes, and leaf insect worms should
likewise be got rid of. Once the gathering of the grapes is commenced
it should be concluded as quickly as possible, and therefore a
sufficient number of hands must be engaged for the purpose. For
instance, with the Riesling, if the grapes are left on the vines on a
hot day twenty-four hours after they arrive at perfection, the wine
will not be nearly so good.


THE MAKING OF THE WINE--VARYING ADDITIONS TO THE MUST.


On the arrival of the grapes at the press-house, the first thing to be
determined upon is whether the stalks are to be used or not. In
the case of white wines it is not customary to separate them from the
grapes. A good deal, however, will depend upon different circumstances.
Thus, when grapes are grown in flat, damp places, or during wet
seasons, it is often advantageous to ferment the berries with part of
their stems; but, on the contrary, those grapes which contain a
sufficiency of tannin will not require the latter. For example, in the
production of white wines at Mr. Hans Irvine's ("Great Western")
vineyard in Victoria, the grapes are first crushed with the mill, the
mill consisting of two grooved wooden rollers working against each
other. After this the skins, together with the stalks, are placed in
the wine-press. In the case of red wine, however, the grapes are
separated from the stalks by means of an iron griddle, so that only the
skins are employed in the formation of the wine.

The methods pursued with regard to the elimination or retention of the
grape stalks vary in different parts of the Continent. The most careful
vignerons remove the stalks in the case of the finest growths of
Burgundy; but in the making of champagne, and also in the Rheingau,
from which part come the famous Hock wines, the stalks are allowed to
remain. In the Medoc districts, which produce the finest clarets, the
stalks are likewise put into the fermentation vat; but this is
considered to be a great mistake, since a long time elapses before the
astringent taste of the wine subsides. With the far-famed Red Hermitage
wine of France, too, the stalks are permitted to pass into the vat, and
in the case of sherry and port, as well, the stalks all take part in
the fermentation, though it is believed that better results would be
obtained by their removal. But in all these old wine-producing
countries of Europe the same customs have been followed from time
immemorial, and they are not likely to be altered at present.


THE MAKING OF THE WINE--THE MUST ITSELF.


The must--that is, the juice expressed from the grape, but in which
(juice) fermentation has not yet taken place--is a fluid of very
complex composition. It is made up of a variety of ingredients, with
which it is necessary to become familiar in order to follow, during the
process of fermentation, its change into wine. We find, therefore, that
a large part of the must consists of water; this serves to dissolve the
other constituents, and to dilute them to the required extent. For
instance, the sugar in the must needs to be considerably diluted for
the purposes of fermentation. In too concentrated a form it actually
prevents it, as we see when fruits are preserved in syrup.

Next to water, sugar is the material which exists in the largest
proportions in the must; it is, however, that peculiar kind of sugar
termed "glucose," which may be described as uncrystallisable sugar,
and as consisting of half grape sugar and half fruit sugar. It
possesses the property of being able to ferment, which cane or
crystallisable sugar cannot do, unless, indeed, it first be changed
into glucose. Now, it is a curious fact that although cane sugar can be
transformed into glucose, yet the latter form of sugar has never, so
far, been changed into cane or crystallisable sugar. As Mr. J.A.
Despeissis points out, the invention of a process that would achieve
this would be worth more than all the mines of New South Wales put
together.

In the process of fermentation the glucose is broken up into a number
of substances, which differ entirely from it; and as these different
bodies are very important they deserve much attention. Under the
influence of fermentation glucose undergoes a great change, of which
the principal products are alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The alcohol
is, of course, the one predominant feature in wine; and according to
the amount of alcohol which wine contains, so it varies in strength.

In addition to these two main products of glucose by fermentation,
namely, alcohol and carbonic acid gas, there are glycerine and succinic
acid, as well as a lesser proportion of other derivatives, very much
akin to alcohol. Of all these glycerine is by no means unimportant, as
it confers a blandness or mellowness upon the wine. The succinic acid,
also, is distinctive for this reason, that it is the source of that
characteristic flavour in wine known as "vinosity."

Besides the water and the glucose, the must likewise contains quite an
appreciable amount of those important bodies, the various acids. These
consist of tartaric acid, so frequently met with all through the
vegetable world; of malic acid, which is the acid almost distinctive of
apples; of tannic acid or "tannin," and of other acids. These different
acids play an important part in the production of wine; without them,
in truth, it would be a mere admixture of spirits and water--a
colourless, flavourless, and insipid product. By their assistance,
however, wine is endowed with the brilliancy it possesses. And more
than this, the action of the alcohol on these acids develops those
exquisitely delicate ethers--the oenanthic and other ethers--which
constitute, in fact, the bouquet of the wine. At the same time, it has
also to be remembered that while these many acids constitute the life
and soul, so to speak, of the wine, their very presence is absolutely
necessary for the process of vinous fermentation. That is to say, the
active agents of vinous fermentation are only enabled to work perfectly
in a liquid which is somewhat acid.

There is an astringent principle, named tannin, which calls for
attention in any reference to wine-making. It is almost the same body--
not quite--as the tannin obtained from galls, and so largely employed
in tanning. This vine-tannin, if it may be so termed, does not exist in
the juice of the grape, but in the stalk and the skin. The white wines,
in which the juice is almost always freed from the skins and stalks,
contain but little tannin; while, on the contrary, most red wines, in
which juice, skins, and stalks are all included together in the
fermenting-vat, contain a good deal. Some white wines derive their
tannin from the oaken casks which hold the wine; and their colour, in
consequence, subsequently deepens. Other red wines, strange to say,
gradually lose their dark colour from a certain action of the tannin.
So that tannin is the cause of some white wines deepening in colour,
while it renders other red wines of a lighter colour. Now, tannin has
the effect of preserving albuminous substances, and in this way it may
be beneficial in rendering red wines more durable. But although this
may be advisable in wines which are liable to turn, it is certain that
excess of tannin is most undesirable. In fact, the practice of placing
the stalks in the fermenting-vat is in many cases, as I have previously
stated, an unnecessary proceeding.

The mineral kingdom is not unrepresented in must, and certain saline
substances are found in it. Of these, the salts of potash are uniformly
present, and the most important is, without doubt, the acid tartrate of
potash. This is the salt so well known in commerce under the name of
cream of tartar. The lees of wine contain it in considerable quantity,
and it is also found as a crystalline deposit in the inside of the
casks. As the alcohol begins to develop in the must this salt is
precipitated, and the more so the lower the temperature. Thus it is
that a light wine of low alcoholic strength, if it be markedly acid,
will lose the acidity in a cool, underground cellar. And, as a matter
of fact, the proper maturation of a wine is impossible without a due
amount of tartar; besides this, it develops in the wine a well-defined
vigour and tonicity, which improves its taste, while it also increases
its alimentary qualities.

There are a few other ingredients in must, namely, the
colouring matters and essential oils, and the albuminoids, or
nitrogenous substances. The colouring matters and oils appear to be
contained in the cells of the inner side of the skin. Of these, the
purpose of the colouring matter is obvious; while the essential oils
are believed to contribute to the "aroma" of the wine. The albuminoids
or nitrogenous substances are of the nature of white of egg; and, when
in small proportion, are necessary for the due performance of the
fermentative process. But, in excess, they are a source of considerable
anxiety to the vigneron, in that they are the cause of much of the wine
going wrong.


THE MAKING OF WINE--FERMENTATION.


The must, as we have already seen, is the juice of the grape, which has
been squeezed out by the grape-mill or from the wine-press. The murk,
or pomace as it is called in America, on the contrary, is the mass of
grape skins, stalks, &c., left behind in the press. A clear
apprehension of these two terms is required in order that no confusion
may arise. The fermenting-vat is the cask in which what is called the
strong, stormy, or tumultuous fermentation takes place. The "cuvage" is
the length of time the contents are left in the fermenting-vat.

The whole phenomena of fermentation are too complicated and profoundly
scientific to be dealt with here. I shall do no more, therefore, than
briefly refer to the behaviour of the must in the fermenting-vat.
Fermentation sets in soon after the must is placed within the latter.
The germs of vinous fermentation are contained in abundance in the air
of the wine cellar, as well as being on the grapes themselves. M.
Pasteur, who has contributed so much to a proper understanding of
fermentation, has proved that the yeast fungi come from the external
surface of the grapes, and are not derived from the interior.
Hence it follows that the skins are to be well crushed before
fermentation begins, to ensure proper action in the must.

The temperature of the must soon begins to rise, and the fermentative
agencies break up its glucose into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. There
is a bubbling and seething in the liquid during this action, which
gradually subsides. The increase of temperature in the fermented fluid
begins to abate; the skins and husks subside to the bottom of the vat;
the liquid itself becomes slightly less turbid--and the first stage of
wine-making is at an end.

A clearer insight into this important part of the process will perhaps
be gained by noting some of the practices followed on the Continent, as
regards the duration of the vattage. The length of time the various
contents--whether they be the grape juice alone, or the grape juice
together with the skins and stalks--remain within the fermenting-vat,
varies greatly in different parts. In the Champagne country, the must
is allowed to stand for twelve or eighteen hours, during which time a
froth arises to the top and a sediment descends to the bottom. Without
disturbing either of these, the precious liquid is carefully withdrawn
into small barrels, and the fermentation is then allowed to proceed.
This purification is one of the most important matters connected with
the making of champagne.

The Medoc districts, in the Bordeaux territory, produce the finest of
the clarets. The grapes are detached from the stalks, and subjected to
pressure. The must is put into the fermenting-vat, to which is added
the murk resulting from the pressing, and the stalks which were
previously separated from the berries. The time necessary for
vinification varies; in good years it is no longer than four or five
days, and the future wine will then be at its best with regard to
taste, delicacy, and softness.

In one case, that of the Red Hermitage wine of France, the
grapes are unstalked and crushed before being placed in the vat. The
contents of the latter are then stirred twice a day, and ultimately
once a day. This is continued for about a month, and in one of the best
vineyards for forty days. This long "cuvage" appears necessary from the
fact that the large amount of sugar in the must is but slowly
transformed into alcohol.

There is a curious incident which occurs in connection with the
world-renowned wines of Burgundy, which is worth recording. As the
fermentation proceeds, the murk, as in all similar fermentations, rises
to the surface of the vat, and forms what is called the "hat," or
CHAPEAU. The fermentation proceeds till all is ready for the wine to be
drawn. At this time the "hat" is so dense that it will bear the weight
of two or three men. Each of them now begins working with one foot till
he gets it through the crust, and the whole CHAPEAU is eventually
broken up and mixed with the wine.

But to return to our subject. As soon as the stormy or seething
fermentation is over, the young wine is drawn off from the fermenting-vat
into the maturing-cask, at which time it may be quite warm and
turbid. In a cool cellar and with perfect quiet it gradually becomes
clearer; it deposits on the bottom of the cask many of the substances
it contains, and the fermentation becomes no longer visible. The time
which this "slow fermentation" takes to occur will vary with the type
of wine, with the nature of the must, and with the influence of the
season. Speaking generally, it may be said to be from two to eight
weeks after its entrance into the maturing-cask. The wine is considered
to be ready for its first racking when it has become clear and
transparent, and when its lees have subsided to the bottom of the cask.

In racking there is a withdrawal of the wine from the sediment
which it casts down, and which is known as the lees. It is an important
operation because irremediable damage is caused to wine by allowing it
to remain in contact with the dregs. A knowledge of their composition
is of great value, since it serves to explain their injurious
influence. The lees deposited from vinous fermentation consist of
mineral salts, tartaric acid, and organic matters. Of these the
'organic substances are the most to be dreaded, and for this reason,
that they are very prone to rapid decomposition. They consist of
yeast-cells, cells of other micro-organisms, of DEBRIS and minute
particles of grape stalks and skins, and of other bodies, all readily
liable to decompose. All these various materials, therefore, are
continually a source of peril, for the slightest thing may start action in
them, which spreads throughout the wine and simply ruins it. By removing
it from such undesirable company all these risks are avoided, and the best
possible qualities of the wine are afforded the opportunity to develop.
In the performance of racking definite changes take place in the vine,
which are assuredly important. For it must be remembered that the
nearly fermented young wines contain an excess of carbonic acid gas;
and this is rightly regarded as possessing great preservative
properties, in that it prevents the dangerously spreading growth of the
little micro-organisms and germs present in all new wine.

In the course of racking, however, a certain amount of the carbonic
acid gas must be lost, and fresh oxygen is absorbed from the
atmosphere. The oxygen is invaluable from the fact that it exerts a
powerful chemical influence upon the wine; as a consequence
fermentation is slightly renewed if there be any grape sugar remaining.
At the same time the colour of the wine is also modified, and any
rawness or harshness in its taste quality is enormously
increased by the development of those delicate and subtle ethers which
have so much to do with the flavour and bouquet of all wines.

The operation of racking, consequently, is one of great importance, as
it requires to be repeated from time to time. A copious deposit of lees
generally takes place after the first racking, and a second one should
speedily follow. During the first year young wines are often racked off
as many as three times, but with the older wines once a year, at the
beginning of spring, may be sufficient. But it is precisely in matters
of this kind that judgment and experience are so much needed.

Now, it has been pointed out over and over again that it is solely by a
correct treatment of Australian wines in the cellar that we can hope to
attain to excellence; in fact, the whole secret lies in this direction.
And it is very much to be regretted, therefore, that cellar management
and wine treatment have not yet been conceded their proper position,
that of being the principal factors in the success of Australian wine.
Amongst others, this very truth was pointed out by Mr. Pownall, to whom
I have previously referred. In giving evidence before the Vegetable
Products Commission of Victoria in August 1889, he observed:--"In some
of the cellars I have been horrified with the amount of wine which I
should describe as 'perished' and as 'perishing.' It is astounding, I
can hardly express the quantity. And very often the vine-grower is so
ignorant of his business that he shows one wine which is 'tart' and
'sour,' and even praises it. I find those wines are generally exceeding
three years old, and I attribute it to the lack of cellar knowledge and
treatment, because in the same cellar where I find large quantities of
bad wine I find this year's and last year's wine good, and promising
well; but if longer kept, and so treated, after a few years it will be
utterly useless."

It will only be by paying attention to all the details
connected with the cellarage of Australian wines that the victory will
be ours. I have said so before, and now say it again, that our
Australian must is quite equal to, if not superior to, any in the
world. But it is from that very time that the critical stage in the
making of our wines begins. It behoves our vignerons, therefore, to
concentrate their energies mainly upon that vastly important period
which follows onwards from the very beginning of vinification.