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GIGGLE WATER
a tub, over which spread a blanket, covered by a board,
and place in a temperature of from 55° to 60° Fahr., for
from 24 to 48 hours, according to the signs which it may
show of fermentation, when it is to be put into a cask
to ferment. The cask must be of such size that the liquor
will nearly reach to the bung-hole, so that the scum may
run out as it rises. As the fermentation goes on the liquor
will decrease, and the cask must be kept filled up nearly
to the bung-hole with a portion of the "must" which has
been reserved for that purpose. When the fermentation
has become a little weaker, which may be known by the
hissing noise decreasing, the bung is to be driven in, and
a wooden peg, called a spile, made of tough wood, put
into a hole bored in the top of the barrel. After a few
days this peg is to be loosened to let out any carbonic acid
gas which has been generated. This must be done from
time to time, and when there is no further sign of gas
generating to the danger of the barrel, the spile may be
made tight. The wine should be kept during the winter in
a cool cellar, and, if fine, may be bottled on a clear cold
day at the end of February or the beginning of March,
without further trouble. But to ensure its fineness it is
preferable to draw it off at the end of December into a
fresh cask, so as to clear it from the lees. At this time,
also, if it is found to be too sweet for the maker's taste,
he should stir up the lees so as to renew the fermentation,
at the same time raising the temperature. When it is trans
ferred to the fresh cask, it should be fined with isinglass.
Sometimes it is desirable to rack it off a second time into
a fresh cask, again fining it. All these removals should be
made in clear, dry, and if possible, cold weather. It must