3 / 244
Medoc.
3
bushes
attached
to
low
espaliers
rising
about
two
feet
from
the
ground,
and
producing
grapes
which
look
like
over-ripe
black
currants.
Yet
these
un-
promising
grapes
are
those
which
produce
the
renowned
wines
of
Lafitte
and
Chateau
Margaux,
worth,
at
least,
ten
shillings
a
bottle.
It
seems
an
established
fact
that
the
fruit
of
vines
highly
grown
are
not
so
productive
as
the
fruit
of
low-trained
plants
;
and
in
observing
the
usages
of
the
ancients,
it is
surprising
how
small
is
the
change
that
the
lapse
of
time
has
brought
into
the
culture
of
the
vine
in
Italy.
It
appears
the
plant
is
still
grafted
and
managed
there
as
it
was
in the
days
of
Varro,
author
of
De Re
Rustica,
who
died
28
B.c.
In
other
countries
where
the
culture
of
the
grape
has
been
more
scientifically
treated,
the
varieties
have
been
astonishingly
multiplied
;
but
in
Italy
the
vines
are
allowed
to
follow
their
natural
mode
of
growth,
and
are
simply
trained
picturesquely
amongst
trees
and
on
trellis-work.
Let
us
now
direct
our
attention
to
the
glorious
vintage-season,
the
annual
festival
of
Mddoc,
October,
“
the
wine
month,”
as
it
is
called,
—
when
the
ruby
tears
of
the
grape
are
made
into
the
most
delicious
beverage
—
a
wine
destined
to
find
a wel-
come
at
the
halls
and
palaces
of
wealthy
epicures
B
2