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
Another experiment I made with the Concord satisfied me, without
question, that the must of this grape will always gain by an addition
of water and sugar. I pressed several casks of the pure juice, which,
as the Concord had held its leaves and ripened its fruit very well,
contained sugar enough to make a fair wine, namely, 75 deg.. This I
generally pressed the day after gathering, and put into separate casks.
I then took some must of the same weight, but to which I had added, to
every 100 gallons, 50 gallons of water, in which I had diluted sugar
until the water weighed 75 deg., or not quite two pounds of sugar to the
gallon of water, pressed also after the expiration of the same time,
and otherwise treated in the same manner. Both were treated exactly
alike, racked at the same time; and the result is, that every one who
tries the two wines, without knowing how they have been treated,
prefers the gallized wine to the other--the pure juice of the grape. It
is more delicate in flavor, has less acidity, and a more brilliant
color than the first, the ungallized must. They are both excellent, but
there is a difference in favor of the gallized wine.
DR. GALL recommends grape sugar as the best to be used for the purpose.
This is made from potato starch; but it is hard to obtain here, and I
have found crushed loaf sugar answer every purpose. I think this sugar
has the advantage over grape sugar, that it dissolves more readily, and
can even be dissolved in cold water, thus simplifying the process very
much. It will take about two pounds to the gallon of water to bring
this up to 80 deg., which will make a wine of sufficient body. The average
price of sugar was about 22 cents per pound, and the cost of thus
producing an additional gallon of wine, counting in labor, interest on
capital, etc., will be about 60 cents. When the wine can be sold at
from $2 to $3 per gallon, the reader will easily perceive of what
immense advantage this method is to the grape-grower, if he can thereby
not only improve the quality, but also increase the quantity of the
yield.
The efforts made by the Commissioner of Patents, and the contributors
to the annual reports from the Patent Office, to diffuse a general
knowledge of this process, can therefore not be commended too highly.
It will help much to bring into general use, among all classes, good,
pure, native wines; and as soon as ever the poorer classes can obtain
cheap agreeable wines, the use of bad whiskey and brandy will be
abandoned more and more, and this nation will become a more temperate
people.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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