The practical mode of obviating these diffi-
culties is to dilute the juice of the fruit to
such a degree that a given quantity of it shall
contain no more of the malic acid, for example,
than a given quantity of the juice of the grape ;
and, as before observed, to supply artificially
the two gi-and principles, sugar- and super-
tartrate of potash, which are wanting. Having
thus prepared an artificial must as nearly re-
sembling in its composition that of the grapes
as possible, the application of the other prin-
ciples win be obvious, as we have nothing to do
but to manage, in general, aU the subsequent
processes precisely as if we were operating upon
the must of the grape.
In manufacturing wine from grapes different
methods are pursued according to the kinds of
wine which it is intended to make. Now the
same thing holds good in manirfacturing home-
made wines ; it is absolutely necessary that the
maker should determine beforehand upon the
kind of wine which it is his object to produce,
and to modify his processes accordingly. We
may, with Dr. Macculloch, consider wines as of
four general descriptions : sweet wines ; sparkling
or effervcscmg wines; drif and light wines,
analogous to hock and Rhenish, in which
the saccharine principle is entirely decomposed
dui-ing fermentation ; and lastly, dry and strong
wines, as madeira and sherry.
Those of the first and most simple class are
the sweet wines, or those in which the fermen-
tative process has been incomplete. It is to
this class that by far the greater number of our
home-made wines bear the greatest resemblance ;
a resemblance, says Dr. Macculloch, so general,
as to show that few makers of this article pos-
sess sufficient knowledge of the art to enable
them to steer clear of what may be firmly called
a radical defect of domestic wines ; for so large
a quantity of sugar is often added in proportion
to the juice of the fruits, that the quantity of
natural leaven, or fermentative matter, in the
compound, is insuffioient for the conversion of
the sugar into wine; hence that jiart of it
which remains imdecomposed is siveet. The
use of the artificial leaven, yeast, may in some
measure correct this defect, but the quantity
added is generally inadequate to this object.
"The addition of brandy," says Dr. Mac-
cvdloch, " so often recommended in the recipes
for making fruit wines, so far from checking
the wine from becoming sour, increases it ; the
tendency, and therefore the use of brandy as a
preservative of wine, is founded on error.
Dr. Macculloch recommends a certain pro-
portion of crude tartar ; the dose of which may
vaxy from one to six per cent, without materially
affecting the wine, as a great proportion of
■what escapes decomposition will be subsequently
deposited. All fruits except the grape will
require more or less of this salt.
Page 2318
Presented as published in 1892. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
The practical mode of obviating these difficulties is to dilute the juice of the fruit to such a degree that a given quantity of it shall contain no more of the malic acid, for example, than a given quantity of the juice of the grape ; and, as before observed, to supply artificially the two grand principles, sugar- and supertartrate of potash, which are wanting. Having thus prepared an artificial must as nearly resembling in its composition that of the grapes as possible, the application of the other principles will be obvious, as we have nothing to do but to manage, in general, all the subsequent processes precisely as if we were operating upon the must of the grape.
In manufacturing wine from grapes different methods are pursued according to the kinds of wine which it is intended to make. Now the same thing holds good in manufacturing homemade wines ; it is absolutely necessary that the maker should determine beforehand upon the kind of wine which it is his object to produce, and to modify his processes accordingly. We may, with Dr. Macculloch, consider wines as of four general descriptions : sweet wines ; sparkling or effervescing wines; drif and light wines, analogous to hock and Rhenish, in which the saccharine principle is entirely decomposed during fermentation ; and lastly, dry and strong wines, as madeira and sherry.
Those of the first and most simple class are the sweet wines, or those in which the fermentative process has been incomplete. It is to this class that by far the greater number of our home-made wines bear the greatest resemblance ; a resemblance, says Dr. Macculloch, so general, as to show that few makers of this article possess sufficient knowledge of the art to enable them to steer clear of what may be firmly called a radical defect of domestic wines ; for so large a quantity of sugar is often added in proportion to the juice of the fruits, that the quantity of natural leaven, or fermentative matter, in the compound, is insufficient for the conversion of the sugar into wine; hence that jiart of it which remains undecomposed is siveet. The use of the artificial leaven, yeast, may in some measure correct this defect, but the quantity added is generally inadequate to this object.
"The addition of brandy," says Dr. Macculloch, " so often recommended in the recipes for making fruit wines, so far from checking the wine from becoming sour, increases it ; the tendency, and therefore the use of brandy as a preservative of wine, is founded on error.
Dr. Macculloch recommends a certain proportion of crude tartar ; the dose of which may vary from one to six per cent, without materially affecting the wine, as a great proportion of ■what escapes decomposition will be subsequently
deposited. All fruits except the grape will require more or less of this salt.