GENERAL TREATMENT—CELLARS.
=Unfortified, or Table Wines.=—After what has been said in the last
chapter of the different effects produced by the various influences
to which wine may be subjected, it remains to point out the proper
care and treatment to be bestowed upon unfortified table wines, whose
alcoholic strength does not exceed 15 per cent. The three essential
conditions indicated by Mr. Boireau are:
1. They should be protected from the contact of the air.
2. They should be kept in a uniform temperature.
3. They should be freed from their lees, ferments, and
deposits; they must become perfectly clear, and their
degeneration be prevented.
It is very important to taste them, and keep close watch over them by
frequent visiting, in order to prevent secondary fermentations and
their consequent injurious results, particularly in the case of mellow
wines, which thereby transform into alcohol the mucilages and pectines
which they contain, and lose their fruity flavor. (See _Red Wine_,
_White Wine_, _etc._)
=Deposits, Lees, etc.=—It is important that they should be freed from
ferments and deposits, for muddy, troubled wines are predisposed to
secondary fermentations, alcoholic or acetic; they readily contract
the bad taste of the lees, bitterness, etc. In all wines, the work
of clearing is constantly going on; different matters, among others,
coloring matter, several mineral and vegetable salts, etc., which were
dissolved in the wine, become insoluble, and these with a portion of
the tannin are precipitated to the bottom of the vessel or remain in
suspension. It is these matters with the ferments which constitute the
lees. Wines deposit more or less, according to their nature and the
care bestowed in their making. The most voluminous deposits take place
during the first year, and they diminish in volume and consistency at
each racking, if properly cared for. When they have become well settled
and bright, and have achieved their complete development, the deposit
is almost nothing. But it increases anew when the wine declines and
begins to degenerate.
=To Prevent this Degeneration=, and to keep fully developed wines, they
must be put into bottles. (See _Wine in Bottles_.)
CELLARS.
What has been said in the preceding chapter naturally leads us to the
subject of the proper place for storing wine after it has completed
its active fermentation. Cellars proper are constructed entirely under
ground, and should have vaulted roofs of masonry. If the cellar is
under a building, the arch can safely come within two or three feet of
the level of the ground, but if no building is over it to protect it
from the heat of the sun, it should be four or five feet under ground.
Many storehouses for wine are constructed partly above and partly below
ground, and others again, entirely above. Undoubtedly those below
ground are the best adapted for keeping wines which have arrived at
maturity, and for those of little alcoholic strength, but when it is
desired to rapidly develop and age an immature wine, it can be sooner
accomplished in a place of a higher temperature, and there also can a
strong wine be safely kept.
=Temperature.=—Whatever the degree of temperature, all agree that it
should be as nearly uniform as possible; and to insure this, the cellar
should face the north or east when practicable. The outer door should
not open directly into the cellar or storehouse, but it is better to
have the entrance through an outbuilding, or at least with an outer and
an inner door, at a considerable distance. If the wine house is above
ground, its walls should be of sufficient thickness and of suitable
material to prevent changes of temperature, and it should have a loft
or room above, so that the wine may be protected from the effects of
the rays of the sun falling upon the roof; and it may also be shaded by
trees. Some of the older writers say that the proper temperature for
a cellar is 50° or 52° F., but so low a degree can only be obtained
in a well constructed cellar wholly under ground, and deep, and is not
likely to be obtained in this State. Boireau, however, says that in the
Gironde the average temperature of the cellars is from 15° to 17° C.,
or 59° to 62½° F., and if a person can maintain the temperature of his
cellar or storehouse in this State uniformly at 60° he will do well.
=Dampness.=—Formerly, when wooden hoops for casks were used, it was
necessary to guard against dampness, for they soon rotted, and required
to be frequently renewed; but now with the use of iron in place of
wood, less care is necessary in that respect. It is best, however, that
they should be sufficiently dry that mould will not form on the cask,
for a bad taste may thereby be communicated to the wine. Therefore,
cellars should not be constructed in very damp places, should have the
soil of the floor well compacted, should be well drained, and well
cemented, and if necessary, the floor may be covered with a bed a foot
deep composed of a mixture of lime, sand, and gravel, or cinders,
or the like, well beaten down, and the whole covered with dry sand.
Nothing should be left in the cellar which naturally gathers moisture.
All mould should be frequently removed, and the sand removed and
replaced with dry sand when necessary. Sawdust should not be used on
the floor. In San Francisco, the best cellars have a good asphaltum
floor, and I know of nothing better after the odor has passed away.
=Ventilation= is necessary at times to prevent too much dampness, and
also to change the air which may become foul. Underground cellars can
be ventilated by means of a large tube, such as is used on shipboard,
provided with a broad opening at the top which can be turned in the
direction of the wind, conducting the air into the cellar. Storehouses
may have small, movable windows. In order to keep down the temperature,
the proper time to ventilate is during the coolest part of the night in
the warmer parts of this State.
=Evaporation of the Wine=, however, must be guarded against, which
may vary from 3 to 10 per cent. per annum, according to whether the
place of storage is open or closed. In France the government makes an
allowance in favor of the wholesale merchant of 8 per cent., for loss.
And Boireau says that in dry storehouses where the air is continually
renewed by ventilation, the loss equals the allowed per cent., and
even exceeds it, particularly if the casks are weak and poor, hooped
in wood, and if the hoops are not driven when they become dry. The
loss may then reach 10 per cent., without extraordinary leakage. By
guarding against too free access of air and heat, not only will a very
considerable loss by evaporation be avoided, but also other defects
which may seriously affect the wine, such as acidity, bitterness, too
great dryness, etc. And moreover, in poor cellars the wines require
much more attention, such as ulling, racking, and frequent tasting, to
protect them from secondary fermentations.
=Other Precautions.=—From what has been said concerning the influence
of light, motion, etc., it results that wine cellars should not be too
light, nor be situated under wagon roads where vehicles frequently
pass, nor near blacksmiths’ shops, or other noisy industries, such as
boiler making, etc. The vicinity of sinks, cesspools, sewers, and the
sources of noisome odors generally, should be avoided; and cellars
should not be used for storing milk, cheese, vinegar, or any matter
liable to ferment, such as fruit, vegetables, etc.; nor should new
wines be stored there until their active fermentation has ceased, for
these things may either communicate a bad odor and taste to the wine,
or set up in it secondary fermentations.
[Illustration: _Fig. 15._ Cask and Support.]
=The Casks and Tuns= should be supported by strong timbers or masonry,
and should be sufficiently elevated, so that the wine may be easily
drawn off, and should be securely blocked. Fig. 15 represents a cask
supported by timbers resting on brick work. Where the casks are
arranged in piles, those in the lower tier should have four blocks or
chocks each, for if they are blocked only on one side, they are liable
to be disturbed, and the outer ones should also have a large block
under the bulge. Of course, the outer blocks should be so adjusted
that they cannot be knocked out in passing by, and in rolling barrels,
etc. The casks of the upper tiers are rolled up on skids, or inclined
planes, and are then rolled along over scantlings, laid on the tier
below; and hoisting tackle is often of use in this connection. When,
however, the cellar is furnished with sufficient large tuns, the piling
of casks may be dispensed with.