85 / 374
DRINKS.
85
is full
bodied,
as
is
that
of
Scharlachberg.
Nierstein^
Laubenheim,
and
Oppenheim
are
good
wines,
but
Dei-
deskeimer
\s
considered
superior
to
them.
Hock^
is
derived
from
Hochheim
;
but
nearly
every
town
on
the
banks
of
the
Rhine
gives
its
name
to
some
lauded
vintage.
The
flavour
of
Hock
is
supposed
to
be
improved
by
thin
green
glasses.
Perhaps,
says
the
judicious
Redding,
this
is
mere
fancy.
The
Pala-
tinate
wines
are
cheaper
Hocks.
Moselles
have a
more-
delicate
perfume.
The
whole
eastern
bank
of
the
Rhine
to
Lorich,
called
the
Rheingau,
about
four-
teen
miles
in
extent,
has
been
famous
for
its
wine?
for
ages.
Naturally,
therefore,
it
was
once
the
property
of
the
Church.
Here
is
Schloss-
J
ohannisberger,
once
nearly
destroyed
by
General
Hoche,
where
a
leading
Rhine
wine
is
made.
Steinberger
takes the
next
rank
to
Johannisberger.
Gr'dfenberg,
also
once
ecclesiastical
property,
produces
wine
equal
to
Rudesheimery
which
is
a
wine
of
the
first
Rhine
growths.
Marcobrunner,
Rothy
Konigsbach
are
excellent
drinks.
Bacharack
has
lost
its
former
celebrity.
The
conclusion
to
which
a
cele-
^
A
wine
at
Homburg,
called
Eriacher,
at
about
one
mark
a
bottle,
is,
says
Dr.
Charnock,
frequently
superior
to
the
ordinary
Niersteiner,
2
"
Hock,"
says
one
of
those
wine
circulars,
which
weary
alike
the
postman
and
the
public,
"
is
the
English
name
for
the
noble
vintages
of
the
Rhine,
which
afford
models
of
what
wine
ought
to
be.
Their
purity
is
attested
by
their
durability.
They
are
almost
imperishable.
They
increase
appetite,
they
exhilarate
without
producing
languor,
and
they
purify
the
blood.
The
Germans
say
good
Hock
keeps
off
the
doctor.
Southey
says
it
deserves
to
be
called
the
Liquor
of
Life.
And
so
Pindar
would
have
called
it,
if
he
had
ever
tasted
it"
Nothing
surely
can
be
added
to
this
description
of
its
virtues.