23 / 102
BY
Ç^auternes
ALBERT
M.
HIRSCHFELD
New
York
The
White
Wines
of
France
are
known
under
the
naine
of
"Sauternes,"
and
are
grown
in
the
De-
partment
of
the
Gironde.
The
vineyards
are
situated
chieny
on
the
left
bank
of
the
River
Garonne,
some
miles
south
of
the
city
of
Bordeaux,
from
whence
thèse
wines
are
ex-
ported
to
ail
parts
of
the
world.
The
favorable
situation
of
the
vineyards,
which
are
exposed
to
the
direct
rays
of
the
sun,
cause
the
grapes
to
grow
to
a
high
degree
of
maturity;
and,
besides
this
advantage,
the
soil
is-
peculiarly
suited,
it
being
composed
partly
of
white
clay
and
of
a
generally
sandy
nature.
Besides
thèse
natural
advantages,
great
care
is
exercised
in
the
cultivation
of
the
vine
plants
and
the
manner
of
vintag-
ing,
which,
in
its
method,
is
peculiar
to
this
district.
Some
of
the
principal
towns
around
which
the
best
spéci-
mens
of
wines
are
obtained,
and
from
which
they
dérive
their
distinctive
names,
are:
Cerons,
Barsac,
Fargues,
Preignac,.
Sauterne,
Bommes,
etc.
;
also
around
the
Châteaux
of
Yquem,
Vigneau,
Suduirant,
La
Tour
Blanche,
Rabaud,
La
Passonne
Cadillac,
Grand
Perrot,
St.
Croix
du
Mont,
Château
Ferrand,.
etc.
The
wines
grown
around
thèse
Châteaux
are
considered
the
finest
spécimens
of
high-class
Sauternes.
The
proprietors
of
thèse
Châteaux
bottle
the
finer
qùalities
of
good
vintages
in
their
own
cellars
and
affix
their
own
labels
and
coat-of-arms,
and
thus
as
"Châteaux
Bottled
Wines"
give
a
degree
of
authenticity
and
of
undoubted
quality,
which
com-
mand
high
priées
in
every
market.
It
is
doubtless
due
to
the
hilly
situation
of
the
vineyards
and
the
care
bestowed
on
their
cultivation
that
the
grapes
from
which
Sauternes
are
made
are
superior
to
many
others;
the
care,
also,
with
which
they
are
gathered
and
pressed
gives
the
peculiar
excellence,
both
in flavor
and
aroma,
for
which
thèse
wines
are
famous.
The
grapes
are
allowed
to
"over-ripen,"
and
the
bunches
form
a
kind
of
"fermentation
fungus,"
and
to
this
is
ascribed
the
peculiar
and
delicious
bouquet,
and
the
exqnisite
bright
golden
color
of
the
wine.
Much
time
and
money
is
thus
expended on
the
vintaging