Previous Page  172 / 258 Next Page
Information
Show Menu
Previous Page 172 / 258 Next Page
Page Background

Beverages

A

Icoholic

glass

manufacturer

liberally

for

them,

and

some

nine

makers

give

orders

for

as

many

as

from

50,000

to

20^,000'

at

a

time.

The

bottles

as

they

arrive

are

examined

by

an

experi-

enced

person,

and

those

which

contain

flaws

of

a#y

kind,

or

are

not

perfectly

new,

symmetrical

and

strong,

are

rejected.

These

average

about

10%.

The

bottles

are

required

to

be

as

nearly

as

possible

of

uniform

weight

and

thickness.

The

inside

of

each

bottle

is

scrubbed

by

means

of

a

revolving

hair

brush

and

clean

water.

After

being

drained,

the

bottles

are rinsed

with

90%

alcohol

and

closed

with

an

old

but

clean

cork.

They

are

thus

ready,

when

required,

for

filling.

The

wine

maker

also

expends

a

large

amount

of

money

in

the

purchase

of

corks,

which

must

be

of

the

best

and

soundest

description. It

has

been

found

to

be

very

false

economy

to use

inferior

kinds.

The

wine

being

drawn

into

bottles

to

a

height

of

2

or

3

inches

from

the

top

of

the

neck,

the

bottles

have

next

to

be

corked,

the

cork

being

secured

in

the

bottle

by

a

small

iron

band,

called

an

agrafe.

All

these operations

have

to

be

performed

deftly

and

rapidly

by

experienced

workmen.

With

what

speed

they

are

accomplished

may

be

imagined

from

the

fact

that

an

atelier

of

5

workmen,

who

divide

the

labor,

will

bottle

and

cork

from

1,200

to

1,500

bottles

daily,

2

bottles

passing

through

all

hands

in

1

minute.

The

corking,

etc.,

finished,

the

bottles

are

next

placed

on

their

sides

and

stacked

in

cellars

or

caves,

each

stack

being

sup-

ported

by

thin

laths.

As

the

summer

approaches,

the

wine

begins

to

show

signs

of

fermentation,

which

increases

with

the

hot

weather.

When

the

fermentation

reaches

such

a

stage

as

to cause

the

wine

to

occupy

the

previously

unfilled

space

in

the

neck

of

the

bottle,

a

large

number

of

bottles

begin

to

burst,

as

well

as

to

leak;

and

in

some

years

as

much

as

30%

of

the

wine

is

lost

from

these

causes.

Two

courses,

each

of

which

requires

to

be

promptly

adopted,

are

open

to the

wine

maker

under

these

circumstances.

Either

he

must

remove

the

wine

to

a

cooler

cellar

or

uncork

the

152