OCR Text |
Show fing it to cleave to the grofs Parts of the Li- quorflying up and downin it, the other fink- ing them to the Bottom. of good found Wine of the fame Sort, and tun up the Decoétionhot. Others correét the il] Savour of rank-lee’d French Wine with only a few Cinnamon Canes hung in them. Others again, for the fame Purpofe, ufe Elder Flowers and Tops of Lavender. Having thus run over the Vintner's Dif/pens But this being more than Vintners comfatory, and defcrib’d many oftheir principal monly underftand, they reft not in Clarifica- Receipts or Secrets, for the Cure of the acute tion alone, having found out certain SpeciDifeates of Wine, we fhall come to the fourth ficks, as it were, to palliate the feveral Vices Head, which contains Medicaments properfor of Wines of all Sorts, which make them dittheir chronic Diftempers, viz. Lo/s ofSpirits, guftful. Of thefe I fhall recite two or three of the greateft Ufe and Efteem among and Decay of Strength. Concerning thete, therefore, it is obfervathem. To correct Rankne/s, Eagerne{s, and Prick- ble, that as when ies are in praternatural Commotions, from an Excefs and Predominaing of Sacks, and other iweet Wines, they tion of their {ulphureous Parts, the Grand take twenty or thirty of the whiteft Limeftones, and flack them in a Gallon of the Medicine is to rack them fromtheir Lees; io Wine; then they add fome. more Wine, and on the contrary, when they decline, and tend ftir them together in a half Tub with a Parel- towards palling, by Reafon of the Scarcity of ling-ftaff; next they pour this Mixture into their Spirits and Sulphur ; the moft effectual the Hogfhead, and having again ufed the Preferyative is to rack them upon other Lees, parelling Inftrument, leave the ive to fettle, richer and ftronger than their own; that being from thence tupply’d with the newSpirits, and then rackit. This Wine may probably be no ill Drink they may acquire {omewhat more ofVigour for grof’ Bodies and Rheumatick Pains, but and Quicknefs. injurious to Good-Fellows of a hot and dry I fay Prefervative, becaufe thereis, in truth, Conftitution and meagre Habits. no reftoring of Wines after they are perfectly prefcribe this eafy and cheap Compofition. Take of the Powder of Flanders Tile one Pound, of Roch-Allom halfa Pound, mix them, and beat them well with a conve- fection, and hath run its natural Race once, can receive much Amendment. Againft the Pricking of French Wines, they pall’d and dead; for nothing that is paft Per- nient Quantity of Wine, then put them into the Hogfhead, as the former. When their Rbenifh Wines prick, they firft rack them off into a clean and ftrongly-fcented Cask, or Vat; then they add to the Wine eight or ten Gallons of clarify’d Honey, with a Gallon or two of Skim-milk, and beating all together, leave them to fettle. Sometimes it happens that Claret lofes much of its Brisknefs and Piquantnefs; and in fuch Cafe they rack it upon a good Lee of Red- wine, and put into it a Gallon of Sloes or Bul- lace, which after a little Fermentation and Reft, makes the Wine drink brisk and rough. To meliorate the Tafte of hungry and too eager White-wines; they draw off three or But befides reinforcing of impoverith’d Wines, by new and more generous Lees, there are fundry Confections, by which alfo, as by Cordials, the languifhing Spirits of many of them may be iuftained, and to fome Degree recruited ; of which the following are Examples. When Sacks begin to languifh (which doth not often happen, efpecially in this City, where itis drank in plenty) they refrefh them with a cordial Syrup, made of moft generous Hine, Sugar and Spices. For Rbenify and White-wines, a fimple Decottion of Raifins of the Sun, anda ftrongfcented Cask, ufually ferve the Turn. For Claret inclining toa Coniumption, they prefcribe a new and richer Lee, and the Shavings of Firwood ; that the Spirit being four Gallons of it, and infufing therein as many Pounds of Malaga Raifins fton’d, and bruis'd ina Stone Mortar till the Wine has recruited by the additional Lee, may be kept from exhaling by the unétuous Spirit of the ‘Turpentine. This Artifice is us'd in Paris in the moft into a frefh Cask well-fcented, together with Dullne{s and Pain of the Head, which always To help /tinking Wines, the general Remedy is racking them from their old and corrupt known to, and frequently us'd by the Romans, in the Time of their greateft Wealth and Lux- fufficiently imbib’d their Sweetnef{s and Tincture (whichit will do in a Day’s Time) they delicate and thin-bodied Wines of Frauce, and run it through an Hippocras-bag, then putit is very probably the Caufe of that exceeding the whole Remainder of the Wine in the attends Debauches with fuch Wes. Nor is it a modern Invention, but well Hogfhead, and{0 leaveittofine. Lee: Befides which, fome give them a fra- ury: For Pliny CHift. Nat. lib. 14. cap. 2.) grant Smell or Flavour, by hanging in them takes fingular Notice of the Cuftom of the little Bags of Spices, fuch as Ginger, Zedoary, Italian Vintners, in mixing with their Wines Cloves, Cinnamon, Orras Roots, Cubebs, Turpentine offeveral Sorts. Grains of Paradife, Spikenard, and other The Grecians long before had their Picata and Refinata, as is evident by Aromaticks. Others boil fome of thefe Spices in a Pottle Commendation of fuch Wines by Plutartr, and the Prefcription of them to Women, in fome Cafes, by Hippocrates ; and they were fo much delighted with their Vinum Pifcites, that they coniecrated the Pitch-tree to Bac- chus. But I fhall nexttake fome Notice of the more difingenuous Practices of Vintners in the ‘Tranfmutation or Sophiftication of Wines, whichthey call Zrickings or Compaffings. They transform poor Roches and Cogniac White-wines into Rhenifo; Rhenifh into Sack ; the Laggs of Sack and Malmfeys into Muj- cadets. They counterfeit Ra/pie Wine with Flowerde-Luce Roots; Verdea with Decoétions of Raifins: Chey fell decayed Xeres, vulgarly Sherry, for Lufenna Wine: In all thefe impeftures deluding the Palate fo neatly, that few are able to difcern the Fraud; and keeping thefe Arcana 1o clofe, that few can come to the Knowledge of them. As for their Metamorphofis of //bite into Claret, by dafhing it with Red; nothing is more commonly either done or known. For their Converfion of White into Rhenifh, they have feveral Artifices to effect it, among whichthis is the moft ufual, They take a Hogthead of Rochel, or Cog- niac, or Nantz White-wine, rackit intoa freth Cask ftrongly-{cented ; then give the “bite Parell: Put intoit eight or ten Gallonsof clarify’d Honey, or forty Pounds ofcoarfe Sugar, and beating it well, leave it to clarify. To give this Mixture the delicate Flavour, they fometimes add a Decoction of ClarySeeds, or of Galitricum; of which Drugs there is an incredible Quantity uied yearly at Dort, where the Staple of Rbenifb Wines was; and this is that Drink with which the ue Melioration is either of found of vitious Wines. Sound Wines are better’d, 1. By Preferving. 2 By timely Fining. 3. By mending Colour, Smell, or Tafte. 1. To preferve Wines, Care muft be taken, that after the Prefling they may ferment well; for without good Fermentation they become qually, i.e. cloudy, thick, and dusky, and will never fine of themfelves, as other Wines do; and when they are fined by Art, they mutt be {peedily {pent, or elfe they will be-" come qually again, and then will not be reco-~ verable by any Art. The principal Impediments of the Fermentation of Wmes, after preffing the Grapes, are either their Unripenefs, wher gather’d, or the Mixture of Rain-water with them, as in wet Vintages, or elfe through the Addition of Water to rich Grapes. ‘The Spaniards ule GiefJe to help the Fermentation oftheir Canary Wines. To preferve Spanifh Wines, and chiefly Ca- nary, and thereof principally that which is vazic, which will not keep fo long, they make a Layer of Grapes and Gieffe, whereby it acquires a better Durance and Tafte, and a whiter Colour, moft pleafing to the Engli/p. Razie Wine, is {o called, becaufeit comes from Rhenify Vine Cuttings, fometimes renewd. ‘The Grapes of this Vine are flefhy, yielding buta little Juice. i The French and Rbenifh Wines are chiefly and commonlypreferv’d by the Match, thus usd at Dort in Holland: They take twenty or thirty Pounds of Brimftone, rack into it melted, as Cloves, Cinnamon, Mace, Ginger, and Coriander Englifo Ladies were wontto befo delighted, Seeds; and fome, to fave Charges, ufe the under the fpecions Name of Rhenifh in the Reliques of the Hippocras-bag; and having Mut. "The Manner of Making Adulterate Baftard is thus: Take four Gallons of White-wine, three Gallons of old Canary, five Pounds ofBaftard Syrup, beat them well together, put them into a clean Rundlet well icented, and give them Time tofine. Sack is made of Rbenifb, either by ftrong mixed thefe well with the Brimftone, they draw through this Mixture, long, {quare, nar+ row ‘Pieces of Canvas, which Pieces thus drawn through the faid Mixture, they light and put into the Veffel at the Bung-hole, and prefently ftop it clofe: Great Care is to be had in proportioning the Brim{tone to the Quantity and Quality of the Vine; for too much makes it rough; this Smoaking keeps Decogtions of Malaga Raifins, or by a Syrup the Wine long, white, and good, and gives it a pleafant 'Tafte. of Sack, Sugar, and Spices. There is another Wayfor French and RheMufcadel is fophifticated with the Laggs of nifo Wines, viz. Firing it: “Tis done ina Stove, or elfe a good Fire made round about yet the of Rofe-water, of Musk two Ounces, of Ca the Veflel, which will gape wide, Wine runs not out ; “twill boil, and afterwards Jamus Aromaticus powder’d, one Ounce, of Coriander beaten, half an Ounce ; and while may foon be rack’d. Secondly, for timely Fining of Wines. All this Infufion is yet warm, they put it into a opacous and clouRundlet of old Sack, or Malmjey; and this Wines in the Muf ave more dy. Good Wine {oon fines, and the grofs they call a Flavour for Mu/cadel. fettle quickly ; and alfo the flying Lee ‘There are many other Ways of adulterating Lees are fettled, Wines in this City, but becaufe theyall tend in Time. When the groffer Lees drawoff the Wine; this is called Rackto the above-mention’d Alterations, and are they are Midnot fo general, I fhall pafs them over, and ing. ‘The ufual Times for Racking mention the Obfervations of a certain curious fummer and Alhallontide. The Praétice of the Dutch and Englih to Authoronthis Subject. the Wine of the flying Lees {peedily, and rid makethe in confifts Wines of Myftery The ferves moft for Frensh and Spanifh Wine, is ing and meliorating of Natural Vives. Sack or Malm/fey, thus ; Theydiffolve it in a convenient Quantity thus perform’d: Take ——~ And the two latter are Confequents of the firft, which is effected chiefly by Precipitation, the Inftruments whereof are Weight and Vifcofity of the Body mix’d withit, the one can- Ww i Wi W I ates = WwW i |