CUTTING OR MIXING WINES.
=Most French Wines Mixed.=—Maigne, speaking of the wines of France,
says, that of one hundred wines in the market, perhaps there are not
ten which are not produced by mixing several different kinds. Without
doubt, he says, we should as much as possible preserve the products of
the vine as they are given to us; but there are a multitude of cases
where it is absolutely impossible to render them drinkable without
mixing, or as wine men say, without _cutting_ them with other wines.
=When Necessary—Effect of.=—In good years, almost all wines can be
drank in their natural condition, but when the grapes have not become
sufficiently ripe, the wines, even of good growths, lack quality, or
preserve for a long time a roughness more or less marked, and always
disagreeable. It is then necessary to mix them, especially if common
wines, with better ones, to make them tolerable. It is not always
necessary, however, that the season should be bad, in order that
cutting should be proper. Wines naturally have, for a certain time,
an earthy flavor and greenness which are unpleasant, which disappear
by mixing. This is why ordinary wines of a moderate price, which have
been mixed, are preferred by a great number of consumers to others
which are higher in price but left in a state of nature. For example, a
new, very dark-colored wine of good growth is not an agreeable drink;
but if an old white wine of an inferior growth, but of good taste and
constitution be added, it will be drank with pleasure.
Mixing the wine produces results similar to those caused by mixing the
fruit, and it may be done by the wine maker as well as by the merchant.
As they come from the vat, wines manifest the qualities and defects
communicated by the vintage, and which are varied by a multitude of
circumstances, such as the nature of the soil, varieties of grapes,
temperature of the season, and the like.
Wines endowed with qualities which fit them to be kept in their natural
condition, of course, are not mixed. But those which, on the other hand
(and they are in the majority), have too much or too little color,
are weak, flat, coarse, green, pasty, rough, lacking in bouquet, too
strong, or too light, cannot be put on the market till they have been
cut with other wines capable of giving them the qualities which they
lack, and of remedying their defects. It will be understood that the
mixture of a weak wine with a stronger one, of one lacking color with
one which has too much, a light wine with a generous one, of a hard
wine with a flat one, etc., a wine will be produced superior in quality
to any one of those used.
For these reasons, in a viticultural district, when a producer cannot
sell his wine of a bad year, he mixes it with that of the following
year, if the latter is of a better quality; if he cannot mix it all, he
may use it for ullage. In the same way, if he has new white wines which
become discolored and turn yellow, he mingles them with very dark red
wines, which then become more agreeable to drink.
It is said that the tithe wines used to be of superior quality.
In certain communes of France, the inhabitants contributed to the
priest’s cask a certain amount of their new wine, and this wine
which represented a mixture of all the wines of the commune, had the
reputation of being superior to any one of the others.
And the following case, quoted by Maigne, is given for what it is
worth. A cask lay in a cellar into which they were accustomed to
throw the leavings of all kinds of wine, such as from broken bottles,
drippings, etc. It was intended to use the liquid upon diseased trees,
but it was for some time forgotten. When found and brought out, the
cellar-man tasted the singular mixture out of curiosity. It was found
to be a delicious liquor, which gave delight at dessert; and it was
with true grief that they saw its end approach!
In order to perform the operation successfully, an experienced man is
required, who will be guided by his educated taste; and therefore,
precise rules cannot be laid down, but there are certain general
principles which it may be useful to state.
=Wines of the same General Nature and Flavor= should be used, and
two of such wines may nevertheless be deficient in some particular
respects, so that by mixing, the defects of the two will be corrected.
Such wines are mixed, because they are said to _marry_ better, and
produce a more homogeneous liquid than those of different natures.
=Fine Wines.=—All agree that fine wines which have a bouquet and a
future are best left in their natural condition, for their distinctive
character will be destroyed by mixing with wines of a different nature
and quality. Boireau says that experience proves that if such wines are
mixed while young, even with old wine of good quality, they will never
acquire that degree of fineness which they would have obtained if left
by themselves; that they sooner loose their fruity flavor, and are more
liable to make a deposit in the bottles.
There are cases, however, when cutting becomes necessary, as when the
wine from being kept too long in casks, has commenced to decline, has
lost its fruity flavor, has become acrid and dry; when made in a bad,
cold season; and when they are too poor, green, or too feeble to keep
well.
When wines are too old and worn out, they should be fortified with
young wines of the same kind, produced, if possible, from the same
vineyard, one or two, or at most, three years old, and possessing great
mellowness. The amount of new wine to be used will depend upon the
degree of degeneracy and the length of time they are to be kept. (See
_Degeneration_.)
Poor, weak wines, whose keeping qualities are doubted, should be mixed
with young wine of a good year, firm and full-bodied, possessing as
nearly as possible the same natural flavor.
The foregoing is intended to apply to feeble, delicate wines which have
a flavor and bouquet, but _which are not too green_. Wines which have a
future should not be sacrificed by using them to fortify others which
are both _feeble and green_, for the excess of tartaric acid contained
in the latter will totally destroy the mellowness of those used to
fortify them. To mix with such wines, clean-tasting wines of the south
should be used.
If the wines are too green, a portion of the acid may be neutralized,
as described under the head of _Greenness_.
=Ordinary Wines= should be treated in such a way as to give them as
much as possible the qualities sought in fine wines, and they should be
cut with suitable wines of the same age to give them bouquet, flavor,
and mellowness, or at least to remove their excessive dryness—a very
difficult thing to do. It may be accomplished, in part, by mixing them
with wines of the same growth, but whose bouquet and flavor are very
expansive, and by adding neutral, mellow wines.
=Sufficient Time Must be Given= to the mixture to allow the different
wines employed to become intimately combined, or their different
flavors may be detected, which will not be the case when thoroughly
amalgamated.
=When Large Quantities= of wine are used, the mixture is more nearly
perfect than if mingled, cask by cask; and by operating upon the whole
amount at one time in a large vat, a perfect uniformity will be insured.
=An Entirely New Wine= should not be mixed with an old one, as there is
not sufficient affinity between them.
In an old wine, says Machard, all the constituents are in a state
of complete quiet; they are well combined (melted) and homogeneous.
If there is mixed with it a wine whose principles are equally well
combined, no ulterior action will result. But if new principles are
introduced, elements of a different nature, the equilibrium will
be disturbed, there will infallibly result a reciprocal action and
disorganization.
=Very Green Wines= should not be mixed with those containing much
sugar for similar reasons, for the mixture is liable to be thrown
into a state of violent fermentation, which it will be difficult to
arrest. The reason given is that the green wine contains a good deal
of ferment; but if both the wines are produced in the south, where
the ferment contained in the dry wine is not abundant, the mixture may
safely be made. So that, after all, we get back to the principle, that
wines of widely different natures and origins should not be mixed, but
keeping this in mind, a sweetish and a dry wine may be used to correct
each other.
=White Wines= may sometimes be mixed with advantage with red ones, as
before mentioned, but the former should not be employed too liberally.
=Diseased Wines= must not be mixed with sound ones, except in the
few cases mentioned under _Defects and Diseases_. It is especially
dangerous to cut a soured or pricked wine with a sound one, for the
whole mass is liable to be lost.
=Mixing Grapes.=—It is doubtless always better, when practicable, to
correct defects by mixing the grapes and fermenting the different
kinds together, for then a more homogeneous wine will be formed; and,
therefore, the intelligent grape grower will find out the defects of
his wine, and remedy them by planting a sufficient quantity of other
varieties for the purpose.
=Precautions.=—Care, however, must always be taken not to spoil a good
wine by cutting it with a very common one, nor by mixing poor varieties
with grapes of fine kinds.
Cheap wines, however, for immediate consumption, may admit a certain
proportion of poor, common wine, into their composition, without
inconvenience. In that case, the ferments of the common sorts will not
have time to act and produce serious results.
If, however, they are to be kept for some time, or bottled, the
effect will be bad, for the ferments always abundant in wines from
the commoner varieties, are liable to become decomposed, and cause a
disagreeable, nauseating flavor.
Whenever there is a doubt in the mind of the cellar-man as to whether
certain wines should be mixed, it is always best to make a small sample
first, clarify it, and leave it for a sufficient length of time, and
judge of the result, before operating upon a large quantity.