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WINES
AND
SPIRITS
77
end
of
two
years
go
off
at
five
or
six,
while
those
which
require
ten
or
twelve
to
mature
will
keep
forty
or
fifty
years.
White
wines
are
generally
ripe
for
bottling
earlier
than
red.
Rhine
wines
can
remain
in
cask
for
many
years.
First-rate
Burgundies
should
be
bottled
one
year
after
the
vintage,
whilst
the
higher-coloured
and
more
generous
sorts
are
better
retained
in
the
wood
four
or
five
years.
The
light
sort
of
French
wines
are
seldom
good
when
more
than
five
years
old.
Madeira
and
Malaga
may
endure
perhaps
fifty
or
sixty
years.
Port
wine
can
never,
without
the
addition
of
a
considerable
quantity
of
brandy,
be
preserved
in
perfection
for
many
years,
as
a
long
time
is
requi-
site
to
subdue
and
mingle
such
an
ardent
spirit
into
the
body
of
the
wine
to
conceal
its
fiery
potency.
It
is
well
known
that
wines
stored
in
magnums
preserve
a
much
better
quality
than
those
kept
in
smaller
bottles.
Bottled
wines,
even
if
well
corked,
are
subject
to
the
action
of
external
causes,
and
every
possible
care
should
be
taken
to
prevent
the
access
of
air
through
the
cork.
If
sealed,
the
glass
of
the
bottle
should
be
coated
with
wax.
When
bottled,
it
should
be
binned
as
soon
as
possible,
and
laid
so
that
the
wine
may
come
in
contact
with
the
cork
and
cause
the
latter
to
swell.
The
wine
cellar
should
be
kept
clean,
dry,
and
at as
even
a
temperature
as
possible
—
about
60°.
A
gas
jet
should
be
in
every
wine
cellar,
as
by
that
means
the
temperature
can
be
perfectly
regulated.