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THE TASTING AND JUDGING OF WINES.


Of the five senses, namely, seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and
tasting, the last is by no means the least important. It is a wise
provision, this sense of taste, in that it enables us to relish our
food, and also to select that which is suitable at the same time. If we
took no pleasure in eating we should probably cease to eat at all, and
die of starvation. And if we had no taste we might eat that which was
unsuitable. In illness, almost the first things that the sufferer will
complain about are that he has lost all desire for his food, and that
everything tastes alike to him. The true taste impressions are limited
to the following, namely, bitter, sweet, sour, and salt. The best
substances to mark these four varieties of taste are quinine for the
bitter, honey for the sweet, vinegar for the sour, and table salt for
the last. The sense of taste is closely associated with that of smell;
indeed, the sense of smell has nearly all to do with the perception of
flavour. There is an inseparable connection between the two senses of
smell and taste, for when anosmia or loss of the sense of smell occurs,
all taste, except for bitterness, sweetness, sourness, and saltness, is
completely lost, so far as ideas of flavour, &c., are concerned.

Brillat-Savarin, the high-priest of gastronomy, quaintly puts it that
smell and taste form only one sense, having the mouth as
laboratory, with the nose for the fire-place or chimney; the one
serving to taste solids, the other gases. George Dallas, too, the
gifted author of THE BOOK OF THE TABLE, also expresses the association
of taste and smell in an apt way. He makes reference to the fact that
the other senses are not dependent on each other, but that the hearing
becomes more acute in a blind man. On the contrary, taste is made for
marriage, and smell is its better half. Taste loses, as he says, all
its delicacy when it cannot mate with a fine olfactory nerve. The late
Dr. Druitt has likewise noted that the union of smell with taste is
essential for the enjoyment of wine.

From the foregoing it will be seen that when we speak of taste we refer
to a complicated and extremely delicate process. There is this also to
be remembered, that it is a sense which can be cultivated to a high
degree; and in the wine-taster it is brought to the very pitch of
excellence. Yet, notwithstanding all this, it must be a matter of
every-day experience, that people will profess to an ability to judge
wine when they know absolutely nothing of the various points, so to
speak, to be looked for. What I mean is this, that there are many
different things to be observed when a wine is tasted, and that each
one requires to have proper judgment bestowed upon it. What these are I
shall endeavour to speak of in due course.

Wine tasting is a fine art as seen with the COURTIERS or experts who
are employed by the large houses in Bordeaux. There are exceptional
qualifications required for this office, for its holders must possess a
delicate and highly trained palate, and an exquisite and perfect sense
of smell, while at the same time a lengthened experience and unerring
discrimination in the value of the wine submitted to them are also
called for. Mr. James Smith, in his prize essay, already referred to,
quotes with approval the following passage from a French
authority:-"The COURTAGE of wines is, then, a true science, which is
acquired by long observations, by numerous tastings, extensive
practice, and a correct judgment; a science which has rendered, and is
daily rendering, true and important services to our vinicole department
(that of the Gironde); for, by this means, intelligent classifications
have given to our GRANDS CRUS a universal reputation, and have made our
best wines known and appreciated throughout the civilised world. In the
judging of wines, therefore, at least four essentials are necessary:
two of the senses--the taste and the smell must be perfect--while
great experience and special knowledge must be equally present."

Now, there is an old saying, DE GUSTIBUS NON EST DISPUTANDUM, and
consequently every person has a perfect right to like what pleases him;
so that in this way anyone may prefer to drink whisky, or any other
form of spirits, and he is quite entitled to believe there is nothing
so good for him; but, on the other hand, an habitual spirit-drinker
must not claim to possess a correct judgment in estimating the
qualities of a good wine; for, as a matter of fact, the daily influence
of whisky on the palate is absolutely fatal to its delicacy of
perception. There are none of the graceful flavours, none of the
delicate ethers, none of the perfumed bouquets in whisky that belong to
a wholesome wine. No, there is only the coarse spirit which benumbs the
palatal nerves, and renders them incapable of picking out these vinous
attributes. Moreover, it would almost seem that a person's very
thoughts are controlled by his customary beverage. It is evident,
indeed, that Richard Bentley, one of the greatest scholars of modern
times, believed in this doctrine; for did he not make this memorable
remark to one of his pupils: "Sir, if you drink ale, you will think
ale"?

Is it not true, also, that with many people champagne is
regarded as the highest type of wine? This is more likely to be the
case with those who are beginning to realize the pleasures of life.
Indeed, as it has been acutely remarked, a youngster from college, when
invited to dinner, thinks himself badly treated if he does not get it.
Now, it is not to be denied that champagne is, in its way, an imperial
drink, and that it has a specially exhilarating effect. But, at the
same time, it must be remembered that it is on the other side of the
champagne stage of life that the appreciation of really great wines
begins.

Take, for instance, a comparison of the wines of Bordeaux and of
Burgundy. These are two distinct classes of wine, and, according to Mr.
Sept. Berdmore, should be imbibed different days. That they are
entirely distinct wines might only be expected, seeing that the
geographical positions of the two districts are so far apart. The
Bordeaux wines come from the south-western or Bay of Biscay side of
France, while those of Burgundy belong to her eastern portion. It is
almost universally a matter of belief that the red wines of Bordeaux
should be warmed gradually--taking some hours--before they are drunk.
The temperature of these wines should be as nearly as possible the
temperature of the dining-room itself. The finest clarets are often
utterly spoiled from the fact that this has been disregarded, and they
have been brought to table without ally preparation. In the case of
Burgundy, however, an opposite treatment is required, and by many
connoisseurs it is considered to be best when brought up from a cool
cellar shortly before use. All these are matters of considerable
importance, and show that the judging of wines requires something more
than a mere off-hand opinion. There are certain descriptions of the
different varieties of wines, given by Thudicum and Dupre, Vizetelly
and others, which are of great assistance in helping to a
knowledge of the various desiderata to be looked for. Moreover, much
will be gained by collecting them together, as their principal
characteristics will be better remembered when they are thus contrasted
with each other. It is not my wish to laud the wines of other countries
to the disparagement of Australian growths, but it is my object to show
clearly those desirable properties which all good wines should possess.
A knowledge of these lofty standards will do more to better the quality
of our Australian wines than anything I know of.

The wines of the Medoc, that district of the Gironde which produces the
finest clarets, namely, Chateau Margaux, Chateau Lafitte, Chateau
Latour, &c., possess distinguishing features peculiar to themselves.
They have a certain slight distinctive roughness; are fine, juicy,
marrowy in the mouth, and after having been in bottle some years they
acquire a very beautiful bouquet. They have, moreover, this remarkable
hygienic quality, that they can be drunk in large quantity without, as
the French say, "fatiguing" either head or stomach. But there is
another portion of the Bordeaux country, namely the GRAVES, which
produces both red and white wines. The latter include those magnificent
Sauternes, Chateau d'Yquem and La Tour Blanche, which take such high
rank; Chateau d'Yquem, indeed, has been likened to liquid gold--liquid
gold in a crystal glass--and is one of those most luscious and
delicately aromatic of wines, with an exquisite bouquet and rich,
delicious flavour.

As it has already been stated, Bordeaux and Burgundy are entirely
different wines, and this fact must be well remembered. The wines of
the latter comprise some of the most famous growths of France, and are
distinguished by the suavity of their taste, their finesse, and
spirituous aroma The red wines have a fine colour, a good deal of
bouquet, and a delicious taste. They give tone to the stomach,
and facilitate digestion. Of these red wines of Burgundy the Romanee-Conti
is among the first growths, and it is renowned for its fine
colour, its aroma, its delicacy, and the superb quality of its
delicious taste. Clos de Vougeot is another great growth, which is
slightly more alcoholic than the preceding. Chambertin, also, possesses
a good deal of seve, delicacy, perfect taste, and pleasant bouquet;
moreover, it has a softness which made it an especial favourite with
the great Napoleon. Corton, likewise, is of high colour, corse, and, as
it gets older, acquires a great deal of seve and bouquet.

The white wines of Burgundy however, must not be forgotten, for amongst
them is the renowned Chablis. This, with the oysters, the squeeze of
lemon juice, and the brown bread and butter, usually heralds in any
large dinner. Although slightly alcoholic, it is not heady, and
possesses body, delicacy, and an agreeable perfume, with that
distinguishing PIERRE A FUSIL taste--that flinty flavour--which is
its recognised characteristic.

Leaving the Bordeaux wines and the wines of Burgundy, it is next
desirable to speak of one which belongs to the South of France. It is
well known, at least by name, to most Australians, and any description
of its properties, therefore, will be the more appreciated. This is the
Muscat of Rivesaltes, in the department of the Oriental Pyrenees. By
some it is esteemed the best liqueur wine in the world. A good sample
of it possesses great finesse, a good deal of vinosity, and that
wonderful muscadine bouquet which gives to it its celebrated
characters.

There is another wine, coming from the valley of the Rhone, in the
south-eastern portion of France, whose name is equally familiar to most
Australians; this is the Red Hermitage, or, as it is perhaps more
commonly known amongst us, Shiraz, wine. A genuine wine is
distinguished by great richness, a lively purple colour, and a special
bouquet; and it becomes, by these united qualities, the best wine of
this region.

Turning to the German wines, those of the Rheingau must claim our
attention. This district borders on the Rhine, and it is said that the
river acts as a mirror, in reflecting the rays of the sun towards the
vineyards. The Rheingau must not be confused with the district of
Hochheim, which is situated on the Maine. Yet it is curious that the
first syllable of the latter district (Hochheim) has furnished the
monosyllabic English word Hock, under which are confused ALL the Rhine
wines. Amongst the wines of the Rheingau may be enumerated Steinberg,
Marcobrunner, and Johannisberg. With regard to the wines of the
Rheingau, Mr. Henry Vizetelly observes: "Although the flavour and
bouquet of the grand wines of the Rheingau are equally pronounced, it
is exceedingly difficult to characterise them with precision. After
gratifying the sense of smell with the fragrant odour which they evolve
--and which is no mere evanescent essence vanishing as soon as
recognised, but often a rich odour which almost scents the surrounding
atmosphere--you proceed to taste the vine, and seem to sip the aroma
exhaled by it. Now and then you are conscious of a refilled pungent
flavour, and at other times of a slight racy sharpness, while the
after-taste generally suggests more of an almond flavour than any other
you can call to mind. No wines vary so much in their finer qualities as
the grand growths of the Rheingau. The produce of a particular
vineyard, although from the same species of grape, cultivated under
precisely similar conditions, will differ materially in flavour and
bouquet, not merely in bad and good years, but in vintages of equal
excellence. Moreover, these wines need the most skilful cellar
treatment during the long years they are maturing. All great wines, it
should be remembered, ripen slowly, and cannot be 'pasturised' into
perfection--that is to say, cannot be rapidly matured by heating them
to a certain temperature, as ordinary wines may be."

The Hochheim vineyards are situated, as I have previously indicated, on
the banks of the Maine, several miles above its confluence with the
Rhine. There is one exceptionally fine Hochheim growth which comes from
the vineyard of the "Dechanei," or deanery. True Hochheinner is a
remarkably aromatic wine, and possesses both body and fire. Indeed, it
contains as large a percentage of alcohol as the so-called noble
Steinberger--the most spirituous of the Rhenish growths--with more
sweetness. It consequently lacks that subdued acidulous freshness of
flavour which is such a marked characteristic of the wines of the
Rheingau.

Some reference to sherry and port is necessary, because they are both
types of wines that are widely known, and consequently ally remarks
concerning, them are of value by comparison. It would appear that with
most sherry, and certainly with all port, there is an addition of
alcohol to the wine. Even the wines which are sold in England under the
name of "natural sherry" contain from 13.2 to 15.5 per cent. of
alcohol. Beyond all question, therefore, from 1 1/2 to 3 1/2 per cent.
of alcohol must have been added, for no "natural sherry" should ever
contain more than 12 per cent. of alcohol. Some sherries, however, have
been introduced with an alcoholicity of from 12 to 13.6 per cent., with
the following, characters: The taste is freely vinous, rich, pure,
mellow, and quite free from heat or the taste of added spirit. But
fashion has much to do with the type of sherry in request; thus the
colour has varied from time to time. In the same way, too, a taste for
dry sherries arose with the Manzanilla epoch, only to be
carried to excess. As with all other wines, a certain age in sherry is
desirable; the ethers become developed during this period, and impart a
rich flavour to it. In the course of time, however, sherry falls off so
much that it is only fit for giving flavour to young wine.

In the matter of port, also, it may confidently be asserted that not a
single drop is sold that does not contain a certain amount of added
brandy. That is to say, all port wine, without exception, is brandied.
The effect of the brandy is to keep the wine quiet; it prevents it from
undergoing any fermentation; and, what is more, it keeps it from
changing, no matter whether the climate be hot or cold. Messrs.
Thudicum and Dupre state that a perfectly natural port has 9 per cent.
of alcohol as the lowest, and 13.8 per cent. as the highest limit.

A sample of Alto Douro wine submitted to these gentlemen, although it
was slightly alcoholised, yet possessed the following desirable
qualities: it was fine, because it was derived from the finest and
ripest Alto Douro grapes, the Verdeilho and Bastardo; it was full,
owing to its great vinosity and high amount of natural alcohol, yet
free from adventitious syrup; and it was pure, because free from all
those faults which depreciate so many southern wines, such as the
fousel flavour, or the burning taste of distilled spirit. Besides all
these great qualities, it characteristically possessed the very essence
of an ideal port wine flavour--without the saccharine and spirituous
taste commonly found in port wine--and it had a natural smooth
astringency such as pleases the palate and imparts keeping qualities.

Moreover, it was very unlike the artificial sweet and burning products
commonly called port wine. It was thoroughly fermented, and contained
such a minute quantity of grape sugar that the latter could not be
possibly detected by the taste. It was perfectly dry, and thereby
differed entirely from ordinary port wines, which contain from 2 to 6
per cent. of sugar. Its alcoholicity was certainly below all the port
wines usually sold. With all these desirable qualities, therefore, it
possessed high dietetic and hygienic virtues, and refreshed the system
like Burgundy or Medoc wine.

It will be convenient to make reference here to two terms about which
there is a great deal of confusion. It is the difference between the
"aroma" and the "bouquet" of wine. Now, the Settimana Vinicola has
recently well observed that although these two are usually supposed to
be the same, yet they are entirely different. The aroma of a wine is
altogether distinct from those agreeable and delicate odours known by
the name of "bouquet." For instance, some American grapes have what is
called a "foxy" smell, and the wine prepared from them has this aroma,
which is perceptibly disagreeable. Aroma pre-exists in certain grapes,
and during vinification will pass into the resulting wine. On the other
hand, perfume, the bouquet of the French, as it has been pointed out by
Professor G. Grazzi-Soncini, is the complex sensation produced
simultaneously on the palate and nose, owing to the intimate connection
between these two organs, and which has already been referred to. This
bouquet is due to the action of the ethers, which are formed during the
life of the wine. The CORRIERE DEL VILLAGIO remarks, in addition to the
preceding, that there is a chemical difference between the "aroma" and
the "bouquet" of wine. The former is produced chiefly by one or more
carburets of hydrogen, and their oxidation derivatives. The bouquet,
however, results from the admixture of aldehydes with one or more
essential oils and various ethers, produced by combination of fatty and
other acids with ethylic and other alcohols, and from these
changes result the different ethers which constitute the bouquet of
wine.

One of the most valuable books published on vine-growing and wine-making
is that by the justly celebrated Dr. Jules Guyot. The greater
part of one particularly important chapter is wholly taken up with the
most graphic and lucid description of wine-tasting with which we are
acquainted. Besides this, it contains such an amount of information on
the subject, that no remarks in this connection would be complete
without reference to it. For the following vivid rendering of a good
deal of this very chapter I am very much indebted to my friend Dr. John
Steel, of Sydney:--

"Wine put upon its trial is subjected to two jurisdictions; the one
altogether belonging to the senses, the other wholly physiological. The
appreciation of wine by the senses is referred to three of our organs
of sense--the eye; the nasal chambers, in front and behind; and the
mouth, equally at its anterior and posterior part.

"WINE JUDGED BY THE SIGHT.--Wine pleases the eye by its clearness and
colour: and be it ruby, rose, amber, or white, it ought always to have
perfect clearness and freshness of colour. Neither of these latter
tones will be out of harmony in a really good wine, even in extreme old
age. If you will not take upon yourself to decide whether a wine is
good when it is attractive to the sight, you can always say that it is
not good or at least that it is not in the best condition, when its
transparency and shades of colour are questionable. Freshness of colour
and clearness are good signs. Though they are not to be regarded as
qualities, yet any appearance to the contrary betokens real defects in
the wine.

"WINE JUDGED BY THE SENSE OF SMELL; THE TWO ODOURS OF WINE.--Wine
reveals itself by two sorts of odours (the aroma and the bouquet) to
the outer organ of smell--that is to say, when that sense is exercised
by inhaling (or sniffing) the wine. The first, or aroma, is the general
and common odour peculiar to most wines. It is always strongest when
the wine is newest, but it always characterises good wine, however old
it may be. This first odour seems to be due to the volatilization of
the spirit, which holds in solution an essential oil, more or less
volatile, more or less powerful, and more or less characteristic of
each kind of wine. This aroma is a sign of real quality in the wine,
and is generally very strong and very noticeable during the first
years; it becomes concentrated, refined, and attenuated as the
wine ages. The second kind of odour the bouquet, on the contrary, is
developed with age, and would appear to be owing to the reaction of
vinous acids on the spirit, which gives rise to certain ethereal
combinations.

"WINES ARE NOT MADE CHIEFLY TO PLEASE THE SENSES OF SIGHT AND SMELL--
Aroma, like colour, is a favourable or unfavourable sign, agreeable or
disagreeable. Yet before everything wine is a nourishing beverage. It
is a very good thing that sight and smell should be gratified in this
way, but it would be puerile and ridiculous to exalt beyond measure the
importance of these organs of sense; and to pretend that the
superiority of wine rests almost exclusively on the pleasurable
impressions which are derived therefrom. I have seen many hosts bother
their guests with vexatious insistence to look at, hold up to the
light, sniff their wine, even the empty glasses, almost throughout the
whole duration of a banquet--at the risk of making them well nigh die
of thirst. The true amateur, the wine-taster, knows perfectly well how
to look at and how to smell his wine; but he knows full well also that
these two preliminaries ought to be immediately followed by the taking
of the fluid into the front part of the mouth. Colour and smell are
merely two notes introductory to a gastronomic theme; if they are only
by themselves they lose their relative value, and the theme is not
properly understood.

"WINE JUDGED BY TASTE; THAT IS, BY THE MOUTH AT ITS ANTERIOR AND
POSTERIOR PART.--Before speaking of the impression wine gives to the
sense of taste, I ought to say that this sense is the only one in the
animal organization which possesses a double apparatus for perception--
one at the tip and edges of the tongue, the other at its root and at
the soft palate. The first perceives acid or electro-positive tastes
through the two lingual nerves; the second detects alkaline tastes by
the two glosso-pharyngeal nerves. Tastes perceived by the front part of
the mouth, in the case of liquids as well as solids, are not the same
as those discriminated by the back part of the mouth. An alkaline salt,
for instance, gives to the front part an acid, styptic, salt, or sweet
taste, but communicates to the posterior part a basic, bitter, or
saponaceous taste.

"WINE-TASTING PROPERLY SO CALLED.--Wine taken into the front part of
the mouth gives rise to acid, sweet, and styptic tastes at the outer
edges and tip of the tongue. All shades, in harmony, ought to give a
pleasing sensation to the organ, when neither acidity, sweetness, nor
astringency predominates. Next we pass the wine to the posterior part
of the mouth, and delay it there by a kind of gargling. It is now that
we get the smack of the soil, the taste of cask or wood, the insipidity
of salts, or any bitterness. If the whole effect is pleasing to the
back part of the mouth, with the absence of all disagreeable
impressions, we must, to put the finishing touch on the wine-tasting,
not spit it out, but swallow it. As soon as the wine has passed over
the root of the tongue and the soft palate and its pillars, a most
pronounced odour ascends from the pharynx into the nasal cavities, and
gives forth newer and more powerful revelations, AS to the qualities or
defects of the bouquet of wine, than can ever be obtained by the
outward sense of smell. Moreover, the last contact of wine with the
mucous membrane of the pharynx and of the base of the tongue leaves a
lasting impression of taste, and when this sensation is disagreeable it
is designated under the collective name of 'after-taste.'

"GOOD AND BAD WINE JUDGED BY THE SENSES.--If, then, a wine possesses
perfect clearness and freshness of colour, if it has an agreeable
odour, if the combined effect of the acid, sweet, and astringent tastes
is gratifying to the anterior part of the mouth by a fusion, seeming to
form a unique taste like many notes in a complete harmony; if to this
harmonious impression the back part of the mouth adds a feeling of glow
and vinous richness, without alcohol being noticed; and if, at last,
the act of swallowing crowns the whole with a natural bouquet, not
followed by any 'after-taste,' we may pronounce the wine to be good as
judged by the senses. But, on the other hand, the wine is
unsatisfactory if it fail in any of these points. It will be inferior
in proportion as the acids, sugar, and the salts become individually
perceived by the tip of the tongue. Again, it is imperfect when the
chilliness, flatness, the essential oils, the taste of earth and of
cask, and above all, an excess of froe spirit, are manifestly noticed
at the base of that organ. And lastly, it is defective just as the
'ARRIERE BOUQUET' is less pleasant, and the 'after-taste' more
disagreeably prolonged.

"THE DIFFICULTY OF JUDGING BY TASTES.--In this unfolding of the
process of wine-tasting I have endeavoured to be clear, and yet I feel
I have not been sufficiently so. It will be impossible to judge by
tastes until science has laid down signs or words representative of
their quality, of their stamp, or of their harmonious relations. The
science of tastes has yet to be founded. Till then, chefs de cuisine
and the clever caterers for banquets will remain isolated geniuses or
empirics; while, as regards wine-tasters and gastronomists, they
approve or they criticise, but they do not establish any rules. It
would be a curious collection that would comprise all the expressions
used by wine-tasters, wine-merchants, commercial travellers, amateurs
(by far, indeed, the most numerous class), to express the feelings they
experience in tasting wines. I know an English traveller who only liked
a wine when it caused a 'peacock's tail in the mouth'; and
everybody knows the expression of the Auvergnian drinking a glass of
generous old wine--'It's a yard of velvet going down the throat.'

"THE PHYSIOLOGICAL EFFECT OF WINES.--The inhabitants of a beer-drinking
or spirit-drinking country will never possess the vivacity of
wit and the light-heartedness of those who live in a wine-producing
land. It is not by any means the alcohol in itself which constitutes
the worth and goodness of wine, for beer may contain as much, and
spirits certainly contain more. To be more or less spirituous does not
constitute good wine. All natural wine is good, whether it be strong or
weak in spirit, if it keeps its organic life. It is good, too, if it
reveals itself by a fresh odour, by a union of all its elements in a
taste harmonious to the palate, by being easily digested, and by
causing greater activity of body and mind, and a sensible augmentation
of muscular force. Be the taste of the wine fresh, sharp, or delicate;
be it soft, unctuous, or rich; be it acid or strong, the wine is good
if it supports and increases the forces of body and mind, without
wearing out the digestive Organs.

"WINE IS GOOD RELATIVELY AND NOT ABSOLUTELY. WE OUGHT TO HAVE BEFORE
EVERYTHING GOOD COMMON WINES.--A wine is good according to the use to
which we put it. Even an excellent liqueur or dessert vine is
undesirable and out of place for ordinary drinking purposes or for
nourishment. We must distinguish between wines for ordinary use, those
for side dishes (ENTREMETS), and those for dessert. And these again
should be differentiated into wines for small, medium, or large
glasses, relatively, proportional to the quantity which we can or ought
to drink. A good cake is always good if we only eat a little at a time,
and seldom take it; but bread is infinitely better and preferred by
everybody to eating cake always. It is vastly more important to have
good ordinary wines than to have good VINS D'ENTREMETS or good liqueur
wines. And, indeed, this very matter affects the total consumption
within and out of France, and the interests of producer and consumer,
as well as the interests of public hygiene. Good ordinary wine,
alimentary wine--for wine is a real and excellent food--by no means a
wine strong in spirit, nor is it a wine of great age; but it is a wine
of fine CEPAGE, not going beyond 10 per cent. of spirit, or even 6 per
cent."