40
A TREATISE ON
brilliam,
and if it is not so, it must undergo the pro–
cess of
'.fonilng'
before being bottled.
In
fact, it is
a common practice with some persons to perform
this operation
wh~ther
the wine requires it or not,
as, if it has been mixed and doctored, it amalgamates
and ameliorates the various flavors.
The
bottles,
corks, and wine being ready, a :fine clear day should
be preferably chosen for bottling, and the utmost
cleanliness and care should be exercised during the
process. Great caution should also be taken not to
shake the casks, so as to disturb the bottoms. The
remaining portion that cannot be drawn off, should
1
)e passed through the 'wine-bag,' ana "when bot–
tled should be set apart as inferior
to
the rest. The
bottlers, to prevent breakfog and loss, should place
each bottle, before corking it, in a small bucket,
having a bottom made of soft cork. If care is taken
thus, there need be no breakage, though the corks
should be ' flogged' in very hard. When the wine
is all bottled, it is stored in a cool cellar, but
on no
account on the bottk's bot-tom or in damp straw,
but
·on their
Bides,
in
sweet,
dry
saw-dust or sand."
Oellaring.-A
wine cellar should be dry at bottom,
and either covered with good hard gravel or be
paved with flags. Its gratings or windows should
open toward the north, and it should be sunk_ suffi–
ciently below the surface to insure an equable tern-
Digitized
by