79 / 104
WINES
AND
SPIRITS
79
Bottling
of
Wines.
The
bottling
of
wine
is
a
very
important
matter,
as
so
much
depends
upon
it
as
to
the
finest
qualities
of
different
wines.
Wine
should
never
be
bottled
till
it
is
still,
clear,
and
translucent.
It
is
most
material
to
have
clean,
dry
bottles
and
sound
corks.
The
necessary
utensils
for
bottling
are
a
bottling
boot,
apron,
cork
squeezer,
a
driving
mallet
of
about
a
pound
and
a
half
in
weight,
and
a
pan
with
a
little
of
the
wine
in
for
dipping
the
corks
in.
The
corks
must
be
driven
in
straight,
leaving
a
space
only
of
an
inch
between
the
wine
and
cork
in
the
neck
of
the
bottle.
Decanting
of
Wine.
It
is
best
always
to
decant
w^ine
through
a
strainer
;
and
for
port
always
use
fine
cambric
in
the
strainer,
which
should
always be
taken
out
of
the
strainer
and
hung
up
to
keep
it
fresh,
or
it
would
get
musty
and
impart
a
bad
flavour
to
the
wine.
To
Ice
Wines
and
Cups.
It
is
only
necessary
to
put
the
bottles
or
jug
in
the
refrigerator,
as
the
temperature
can
be
regulated
by
the
length
of
time
it
remains,
but
on
first
taking
the
cooled
or
iced
liquid
from
the
refrigerator,
a
wet
cloth,
wrung
out
in
salt
and
water,
should
be
wrapped
round
the
bottle
or
jug,
and
it
will
then
keep
cool
till
required.
There
are
now
sold
de-
canters
for
champagne
which
have
an
ice-well
in
them,
which
keeps
the
champagne
deliciously
cool.