The Cultivation of The Native Grape, and Manufacture of American WinesHusmann, George
Science
The Cultivation of The Native Grape, and Manufacture of American Wines
Husmann, George
Viticulture -- United States; Wine and wine making -- United States
However, this difficulty will soon be overcome; and, indeed, although
it is impossible to practice gallizing without a saccharometer, we may
get at the surplus of acids with tolerable certainty by the results
shown by the saccharometer. To illustrate this, I will give an example:
Last year was one of the most unfavorable seasons for the ripening of
grapes we have ever had here, and especially the Catawba lost almost
nine-tenths of its crop by mildew and rot; it also lost its leaves, and
the result was, that the grapes did not ripen well. When gathering my
grapes, upon weighing the must, I found that it ranged from 52 deg. to 70 deg.;
whereas, in good seasons, Catawba must weighs from 80 deg. to 95 deg.. I now
calculated thus: if normal must of Catawba should weigh at least 80 deg.,
and the must I have to deal with this season will weigh on an average
only 60 deg., I must add to this must about 1/2 lb. of sugar to bring it up
to 80 deg.. But now I had the surplus acid to neutralize yet. To do this, I
calculated thus: If, even in a normal Catawba must, or a must of the
best seasons, there is yet an excess of acid, I can safely count on
there being at least one-third too much acid in a must that weighs but
60 deg.. I, therefore, added to every 100 gallons of must 40 gallons of
soft water, in which I had first dissolved 80 lbs. of crushed sugar,
which brought the water, when weighed after dissolving the sugar in it,
up to 80 deg.. Now, I had yet to add 50 lbs., or half a pound to each
gallon of the original must, to bring _this_ up to 80 deg.. I thus pressed,
instead of 100 gallons, 150 gallons, from the same quantity of grapes;
and the result was a wine, which every one who has tasted it has
declared to be excellent Catawba. It has a brilliant pale yellow color,
was perfectly clear 1st of January, and sold by me to the first one to
whom I offered it, at a price which I have seldom realized for Catawba
wine made in the best seasons, without addition of sugar or water.
True, it has not as strong an aroma as the Catawba of our best seasons,
nor has it as much astringency; but this latter I consider an
advantage, and it still has abundant aroma to give it character.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account