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Show and then they tie them not as they do when they are but one or two, Vi Vi Vi but fixing another lefs fubftantial Stick in the Ground, near the main one, to the Topof which, forits better Support, they tie it with an Offer; they bend downand fix the Head thereto in the following Form: \ all times as their Conveniency permits, and the Seafon is mild and open, (leaving their youngeft Vines ’till the laft) from November to March; and in Chianti, as the Region is colder, and their Vines late to move, they do it late in the Month of March, and even to the Beginning of April. Others again do it at twice, in November, when they leave an Eye extraordinary, and in March they cut of that extraordinary Eye; which laft Method feems to be the beft; though to have Curtings for any new Plantation, it can only properly be done tn Febra or March. And fometimes whenthey find fome one of As to Sowing in their Vineyards they alfo a very extraordinary Vigour, and that has two differ as much. In Chianti, they leaving a Space of about three Feet from their Vines, from thence to the low Wall, many fow good Heads, theyleave themboth, anddifpofing of oneinthe Manner juft beforerelated, the other, having fixed another Stick on theotherSide of Wheat ; and though the Soil feems to belittle the principal Stake, andtiedit thereto, theyin elfe but Stones; and fuch as only can be the like Manner benddowntheTie thereto, when work’d by a Mattock, yet it bears prodigious it comes to formthe following Figure : Crops, thirteen or twenty for one: Others NY This done, they continue from time to time to bind the new Shoots to the Stakes, and to nip off the Tops of them, whentoo luxuriant, *ull towards the time of Ripening ; when the Dog-Days are paft, they disburthen themof fome oftheir Leaves, to expofe the Fruit, then turning Colour, more to the Sun, andto acce- lerate the Ripening of it. N.B. What is faid above tion to the one Head, and the ordering uch as are in Vineyards in the Mountains, as er, they affix Y ich Frame they metimes three Heads, making the ig of more th Landlords of V referve to themfelves the Pri Vifiting them at their Pleafure, to fee ifthey ed, and not more Eyes left to a Vin there ought to be: Fl Mente orn 5 15 polfible, in th ears Time, only by Pru-j ing 19 {pail the beft Vineyard that is, paft almoft D nan py ° A, r the ower of Art torecover it, and at theJametime mh makeit yield much Wine: For it is bu po caving, inStead of one or two Eyes, five on Jim , and of three wee b orRar nine, ae andit; or Se four, eight will be reducd unto nd exbaufted exbautte, a State, : fo ane, weak and and the “a7 Vines i fo run into Wood, that it will be paft Recovery; and sly. Method Wethod is4. to cut 7 the Vines ce ee do a Foot Jix Inches under Ground, and rear up a nea Bb i i, new Shoot, which, befides the Time that ; ool; be loftloft 4 i fo doing, ing, be wil 1 after Afver all, will hardly, al prove pi effectual. And this Manner of pernicious Pruning Pte ip i the ot Italians call aL a Lafcia Podera, ¢ hich, u inin era, which, : nglifh, is Quit Farm; which is a proper Term enough, Ast As for thethe Time Time of of Drefling i " Vines, ifif iit may properly Lae be fo call’d, there isj nothing calla, there i wherein I thofe People differ more; fome performine i re; jome performing it j 1 ae lately after the Grapes are gather dy 1s mn Carignane a nd Val ig. ‘al dOrno @Ory ns doitae others at again, in that Space, will only fow the low Sort of Kidne’ Plants: And others tils, and fuch low again will not fow any, the leaft thing at all, as in the general they de not in the Vineyards on the Hills; but in the Plains, after the Heads of their Vis re rifen fo high, as to be higher than the Tops of Beans, they make no Difficulty, between every RowofVines, to fow a Row of them, as the moft Scrupulous do not, to fowlate in April, a Row of low Kianey-Beans; whilft fome of late, laying two Rows of Vines into one, Vi Fat almoft as foon as it begins to boil, and bas little Subftance, muft be the oftner repeated, raifed the Cruft; and then letting it boil in the every three Years at leaft ; when they cover Cask into which they have drawn it, thirty-fix it again: and this they performin the Months of October and November, that the Winter Rains Hours, or at moft, two Days; they fhift it into falling thereon, may make it defcend to the another, and fo in a few Hours into a third and utmoft Fibres of the Roots; and afford them fourth, to check and prevent its Fermentation, which gives it the Sweetne/s it has, but then it is never Nourifhment. 7. The Seafon for gathering the Grapes, and making the Vintage is very uncertain, depending upon the Weather that has been the preceding Spring and Summer, which makes it perfectly fine, though fome People both in Italy and England, ¢fpecially among the Women, are very fondof it. N.B. Thofe Grapes at the End of the Bunches fooneror later 15 or 20 Days in Chianti; when are weaker in Quality, as well as lefs ripe, | thofe that grow nigher to the Stalk and therethe Seafon has been good, they begin to cut their Grapes about Michaelmas, and in the fore fome extreme curious Perfons, to make a fmait Plains a Week or ten Days fooner: In this they every where govern themfelvés according to the Ripenefs of their Grapes, and the Profpect of the Weather, aiming to have a perfect dry Seafon to doit in. 8. The Grapes being ofa due Ripenefs, and the Weather warm and dry, as foon as the Sun or Windhas dry’d up the Dewthat was on them, they cut them, and put theminto Pigeins, and carry them, if at a Diftance, on Mules, or, if near, between two Men, to the Win Fat, and then either bruifing them to Mafh, in the faid Piggins, with a Club, throw themdireétly therein, orelfe into a thing refembling a very large Hopper, with a Grate Iengthwife ; then Boards being placed over the Fat, a Lad with his Feet treads them Quantity of very choice Wines, do cut them offs and make a Winebyitfelf, which is much inferior to that which is made of the upper Part of the Bunch. This Prattice, though attended with Trouble; may be recommended for a larger Parcel, in fuch Years as the Grapes are badly ripe, to have fome Wine, at leaft, in Per= feétion. .B. Lhofe Perfons who value themfelves on making the beft Wines, and endeavour to keep up the Reputation of their Vineyards and Cellars, in cutting their Grapes, leave the unripe, or thofe that are infetted with Rotten- nefs together, till the laff, and with them make a Fat or more, by themfelves, of Vin Scauro, or Refufe Wine, which ferves for common Uje; for which alfo they mix Water out, the Juice, Husks, Stones, and Stalks all with the Bottom of their Fats, are fometimes feveral of them) is full, when raifes a Warmth in the Room, which is ac- to the Strength ofit, tillit be fit to be drawn off, whichis to be diftinguifhed by the Palate, g. When the Wines are found to be ready, they proceedto draw them off, which are now they do it with the wherein the greateft Skill in making Wine properly called Wines, (before which they are Wort) for which confifts. The Low Wines of the Plains are termed Mofo, i.e. in Englifh, ofthe ready in about ten Days, thofe of the Hills Purpofe, within three or four Inches Spade or Mattock. Andagain, the moreefpe- in about fifteen, of the Mountains in Chianti eighteen or twenty, and fometimes more, in therein ; when in fall Barrels they carry and whereof, with ftrong Stakes and Canes, they make a fort of Efpaliers, and in the Middle (that is between Row and Row) being near four Feet from each, plant a Row of Artichokes, which, they fay, being well dung’d in their proper Seafons, Part of the Nourifhment going to the Vines, does them more Good than Harm. As for the Seafon of digging their Vineyards, they all agree, that thelateric is d in the Year, the betterit is; wherefore, in the Places where they fow nothing, they let that Work alone *till the latter End of April or Beginning, of May, when, according tothe Nature of the Ground, cially to kill the Weeds, and forward the Ripening of their Grapes, they ftir it with a {trong Hoe or Mattock, and, where they can, with a Spade, in the Dog-Days 5 but in fo doing, they take a moft particular Care that they touch not any ofthe Roots ofthe Vines ; forthat, ifit did not kill them, would at leaft make them wither and fpoil their Fruit. g As for manuring their Vineyards, in all arts, when they are in a bearing Condition, they practife it but once in five orfix Years, when they open the Earth about the Roots, and taking away the {mall ones, which then may have made towards the Superficies, they throw in an Handful or two of Sheeps Dung, or of that of Goats or Deer; or if any of thefe are not eafily or in fufficient Quantity to be had, then, ofparboil’d Lupines, which: al- though agreeable to the Vine, yet being of little and the Husks, pafling through the Grate into the Fat, and. 8c. and do make a pleafant, brisk Drink fo they continue to do till the Fat (which much preferable to Water-Cyder , but the W ufually contains from four to five Tuns, fome- ther once coming in warm, turns it eager and times eight, tens nay, as far as fifteen, or undrinkable. When any Wines are boiling in the Fat, it twenty in fome large Vineyards, in which there immediately, or fometimes in a few Hours be- counted good in many Diftempers, efpecially for fore theyfill it, it will fet a boiling, whichraifes fuch as have a Weaknefs in any oftheir Limbs, the Husks, Stalks, and Stones to the Top, and to put them into a Fat of boiling Wines and the thefe make a thick Cruft ; and thus it continues Husks, 8cc. that comeout of the Fat, are efteemed boiling for many Days, more or lefs, according very good for the like Purpofe Bottom of the Fat, there is a Cock fix’d the large Buts, which, in Chianti, the Haftening or Retarding whereof the Wea- put it into ther has fome Share; fo that when they are hold, fome of them, feven or eight Tuns, but generally two or three Tuns, made of thick nearready ,they tafte themeveryeight Hours. boil, the dryer they N. B. The more the Wines will be, the Colour deeper 5 andthelefs the fweeler and paler : end what is faid above, is to be underftood of Red Wines, which are t duce of this Country. Whilft to m chief Pro- their firong White-wines or Mufcadines, they gather their Grapes carefully, andlay them three or four Days, or more, in the Sun, taking Care to carry Chefnut, the Staves being better than an Inch and a half thick, and more than twice as high as they are long, which they never wafh ; but having left a Gallon or two, or, it may be, three or four, of Wine in them, when they draw it off the Spring or Summer before : When they are about filling them again, to at the them clean them out, they fend in a Lad Door, which is made in the Elead of the Cask, j to do it with a Spunge, and to wafh it with within Doors, or under Shelters in t. that fo no Dew may fall on them. And when they are put iuto the Fat, they let them boil but little, five or fix Days at moft, and then put them into the Cask, fbifting them from one Cask to another, twice or thrice, to make them become fine; aud for the Verdea or White Florence, as it is called, they draw it off from the fome new Wine; andthis without wiping off any of the Argol, which they think preferves the Wine thebetter. In which Casks, which laft many Years, (and have Argel in them of the Thicknefs fometimes of three or four Inches) they let them 8S |
