132 / 160
134
GIGGLE WATER
273. TO REMEDY EXCESSIVE ACIDITY IN
GERMAN WINE
Simply add a little chalk. This mode of correcting the
sourness of wine is perfectly harmless, whereas the per
nicious practice of using white and vitrified lead for this
purpose cannot be too much condemned. Lead in any form
is a poison.
274. TO RESTORE SOUR WINE WITH POTASH
To 25 gallons wine, add 4 ounces potash dissolved in
a little water, and stir well with a stick for 10 minutes.
275. TO TEST WINES BEGINNING TO
DECOMPOSE
Many persons are unaware of the difference between a
wine that is beginning to decompose (called in French the
Poux), and that in which the acetous fermentation has
commenced. The Poux appears at the bottom of the bar
rel, while acetification begins at the top. For the first stage
of the Poux the wine becomes thick, and has a peculiar
taste termed flat. For the second stage the wine becomes
still more troubled, and has the taste of stagnant water.
Finally, in the last stage, when the decomposition has
reached its maximum, the wine becomes grayish and ap
pears like muddy water. If some of the wine is put into a
champagne glass and a pinch of tartaric acid is added, a
red color will be produced, which will not be the case if
the wine is in a state of acetous fermentation.