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SCHOOL OF HOTEL ADMINISTRATION

LIBRARY

Cornell University Library

TP 548.S593
Wine and spirits
:the connoisseur's text

3 1924 001 270 424

The

original of this

book

is in

the Cornell University Library.

There are no known copyright

restrictions in
text.

the United States on the use of the

http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924001270424

WINE AND

SPIRITS

WINE AND
::

SPIRITS
::

THE CONNOISSEUR'S TEXTBOOK

BY

ANDRE

L.

SIMON

LONDON

DUCKWORTH
HENRIETTA
ST.

& CO.

COVENT GARDEN

All fights reserved

Kk\r
'? St

*T

/'*

Published 19 19

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION:
Antiquity and Ubiquity of the Vine
vii
t

PORT

SHERRY
CLARET
-

...
-

n
.

2I
-

BURGUNDY
CHAMPAGNE
MADEIRA MARSALA
CAPE WINES

32

...
-

46
.

5g

69
80
-

THE WINES OF CALIFORNIA

AUSTRALIAN WINES

93
108

BRANDY
WHISKY

....
...

123
136

RUM
GIN
-

149
i 59

PUNCH
LIQUEURS

168 178

CONTENTS
BEER
CIDER
-

---

190 201

WATER

-209
-

THE CARE OF WINE

How How How How
to

218
221

Buy Wine
Wine

to Keep

228
-

to Decant Wine to Serve

232
-

Wine

234 237

DRINK A PHYSIOLOGICAL NECESSITY

OFFICIAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE

GROWTHS
-

OF THE MEDOC

260

A LIST OF PORT SHIPPERS

263 269

SOME NOTES ON PAST VINTAGES

VI

INTRODUCTION

WHATEVER use or
of our chances
;

misuse

we make

whatever odds are

against us in our straggle for exist-

whatever share of the world's good things is ours whatever aims and ambitions we have both to work and we cherish play, fight and rest, spend our strength and
ence
; ;

recuperate.

The amount and the quality of work which we are able to do, as well as the extent and degree of enjoyment which we derive from life, depend to a considerable extent upon the quantity and quality of our food and drink. The speed of a liner is due to its design and
but the quality of most important. the fuel used is also Of all laws which govern the human race there is none more universal than that man Was there ever a subject shall eat and drink. interest, in all times and of greater personal
engines in the
first place,

vii

WINE AND SPIRITS

amongst all nations, than the study of our food and beverages ? Our bodily health,
disposition of temper, brain power, physical

energy, moral courage, intellectual activity,

all

are affected in a
eat

we

and
is

in

marked degree by what much more striking manner by

what we drink.

Wine
brain
;

" par excellence " the food of the

was at the beginning of the world's history and as it has been ever since amongst all nations and under
this is as true

to-day as

it

all

climates.

Long before the world we live in had become habitable, the vine flourished and bore vine leaves, pips and tendrils abound fruit
;

in

all

the earliest strata of the earth's crust.

Specimens,
to
in

which

palaeontologists

ascribe

been found such widely different parts of the world as Iceland, Champagne, Alaska, the Rhone
tertiary

the

period,

have

Valley, Japan, Devonshire,

Wyoming

(U.S.A.)

and Central Europe. At a later date, when man made his first appearance upon the earth, he found the vine growing wild everywhere and among the
viii

INTRODUCTION
remains of the neolithic period which have been unearthed, grape pips have not
only been identified, but in such numbers

human

and in so compact a mass that there can be no doubt that prehistoric man did press and

make

a beverage out of the wild grapes which

he was able to gather. Mythology, the only link between prehistoric and historical times, abounds with
proofs of the ubiquity of the fruitful vine

and

of the antiquity of

mankind's

appre-

ciation of wine.

who was credited with having taught men how to tend the vine and how to make wine, was worshipped from the
The god
of wine,
earliest

times and in

all

countries ot which

we

have records. The Soma of the Aryans, the Spandaramet of the Armenians, the Sabazios of the Phrygians, the Moloch of the Syrians,
the Orotal of the Egyptians, the Dionysos of the Greeks and the Bacchus of the
of the

Romans
same
!

were, under different names, the representation

same

idea, the expression of the

universal

feeling

of

gratitude

towards the
:

Giver of that most marvellous

gift

Wine

ix

WINE AND SPIRITS

If

we turn
of the

to the oldest written record of

the world's history, the Bible,

tions
fruitful

we

find

men-

vine at almost every

references to " Yayin," liqueurs,

page.

Many

also

are

the

wine, strong drink and " Schechar," " Tirosh," " Soveh," " Ahsis," "Khemer," " Khometz," and " Shemahrin."

Yayin was the most common name for wine it is the word used to designate the wine which Noah drank when he became drunken which Melchizedek brought forth to Abraham which was prescribed in the drink offerings which is said to be a " mocker," and yet which " maketh glad the
; ; ; ;

which brings " woe " to him who drinks unreasonably, but of which it is also said " Drink thy wine with a merry
heart of

man
:

"

heart."

Tirosh

is

translated either

by " wine "

or

"

new wine."

Schechar meant a strong and inebriating drink and is sometimes used in opposition to " Yayin " and " Tirosh."

Khemer and

its

Chaldean form Khamar

INTRODUCTION
were poetical names for wine, the " blood of
the grape."

Ahsis was a wine mixed with fragrant herbs or otherwise aromatised.

Mesech meant a blend

drinks.

of wines or other

Khometz was sour wine or vinegar. Soveh and Mimsach meant either wine or liquor, and Shemahnn was the clear wine drawn off its lees. In Egypt, we have more than mere tradition to rely upon for records of the greatest
antiquity.

Delchevalerie, in his " Illustration depicts

Horticole,"

the

scenes

of

grape-

gathering and wine-making which ornament

tomb of Phtah-Hotep, who lived in Memphis some four thousand years before
the
Christ.

Pickering,

in

his

" Chronological

History of Plants," has reproduced similar

glyptic illustrations which he ascribes to the

Third Egyptian Dynasty, adding that other

representations of vineyards

and

full details of

the art of wine-making belong tc the Fourth,

Seventeenth,

and

Eighteenth
laws
of

Dynasties.

Quite recently, the

Khammurabi,
xi

WINE AND SPIRITS

Babylon about 2250 B.C., have been discovered and deciphered, and have

King

of

aroused

great

deal

of

interest.

This

sovereign appears to have been the great his laws contain legislator of his dynasty the most precise regulations concerning the sale of wine, and show us the poor retailer of wine to have been harassed by a very
;

severe legislation even in those times.

Fines

limb or of
short

were not in vogue then, but the loss of a life was the penalty incurred by the seller of wine who gave bad quality or

measure or allowed riotous conduct

on

his premises.

the Caucasus to the Bosphorus, the whole of Asia Minor used to be but one vast
vineyard.

From

The same may be

said of Greece

and

of

all

the islands of the Ionian and

iEgean

seas.

Homer and

all

the Greek and

poets have sung the praises of the vintages of Thrace, Macedonia and Bceotia,
of Cyprus, Chios

Roman

and Lemnos.
from Greece

Italy imported for a long time

and the Greek

her
xii

islands large quantities of wine,

own

vineyards producing but

common

INTRODUCTION
beverage wines, which no patrician deemed worthy of his cellar. It was only after Rome had conquered Greece that better cultivation of her own vineyards and improved methods

wine-making gained for Italian vintages a reputation second to none. Other lands and other times may have produced wines equal to and perchance better than the Falernian nectar, but no other vintage was ever praised with such unmeasured enthusiasm nor by such illustrious poets, historians, princes, and
of

philosophers.

The

Phoenicians, Greeks and

all realised

Romans

of

old appear to have

the civilising

influence of viticulture.

Wherever they ob-

tained a sufficiently secure footing in a new country, they taught the " Barbarians " to
plant and tend vines.

At a

later date, the

same

policy

was

followed

by the

early

Christian

missionaries who,

wherever they

went and whenever they were able to build a church or a monastery as a permanent abode,
taught the heathens the gentle art of
culture.
viti-

Some of the France and Germany

choicest vineyards of
retain

to

this

day
xiii

WINE AND SPIRITS

names
recalling their ecclesiastical origin.
it

In

was the early Christian priests who taught the Saxons how to grow vines where no other crop could be raised, and, under their guidance, vineyards were planted not only on Kentish chalk and Surrey gravel,
Britain, too,

but in almost every part of the country, as far north as Scotland.

In more recent times,
of
it

was the successors

priests
all

those

early

Christian

who

also

taught the art of viticulture

Pacific coast,

along the

from California and Mexico to

the vicissitudes of the

Peru and

Chili.

Many have been

vine throughout the world's history.

Times out of number kings or prophets have decreed that the vine should be uprooted and wine forsaken only twice have such orders been carried out, once in the
;

seventh century at the bidding of

Mohammed,

and another time

in China.

in the fourteenth century,

In each case the result has been

:

the same

the Saracens had conquered the

whole
xiv

of

civilised

and Spain, crossed the Pyrenees and

Africa,

northern

mastered

INTRODUCTION
threatened to overrun the whole of France when their energy ebbed away, and they were

thrown back over the Pyrenees and across

the Straits of Gibraltar.

Two

centuries of teetotalism rendered

them

whose vigour remained unimpaired after ten centuries of drunkenunfit to resist races ness.

The same thing happened in China, once an immense and flourishing vineyard, the home of refinement and of all the arts.
Deprived of alcohol, the inhabitants sought a substitute poppy fields replaced the vineyards and opium killed the artistic genius,
;

the lively imagination and unparalleled in-

dustry of a race which, under the gentle

influence of wine,

had attained a high degree

of civilisation at a very early date.

Ever since, water drinking races have been and still are under the rule or at the mercy of hard drinking and more energetic races. For the third time, after another cycle of seven centuries, another large number of individual not of one race but a blend many, the people of the United States
of

of

xv

WINE AND SPIRITS

America, have decided to

experiment as
persevere,
results

make the same Mohammed and China made

If

seven and fourteen centuries ago.

it will

they

be interesting to watch the which will follow in a few generations

to

come.

Time

will

tell.

The women

of

America, whose vote,

this drastic measure,

it

is said,

has carried

might have paused and hesitated had they read even but the following extract from the admirable " Address the on Drunkenness " delivered before Midland Medical Society by Dr. Charles
Mercier. " world of total abstainers

might be a decorous world, a virtuous world, a world

perhaps a
merits
;

little

too conscious
is

of

its

own

but there

no reason to suppose

would be an uncontentious or unprejudiced world, or a world from which exaggeration of statement, intemperance in speech, or intolerance of opinion would be banished and there is some evidence to make us anxious lest it should be a drab, inartistic, undecorated world a world withthat
it
;

out poetry, without music, without painting, xvi

INTRODUCTION
without

romance
;

utterly

destitute

of

humour
allowed

taking
itself
;

its indifference

sadly what pleasures it and rather priding itself on to the charms of wine, woman

and song."

xv

PORT
many
a
wise

THERE was a-shaking

laid
;

head

set

when railroads were first many had grave misgivings,

few only had

cursed

faith.

When

motor-cars

first

raised the dust of country lanes, they were

by some, but welcomed by most. Then came the flying machines, which we all hailed with unbounded enthusiasm long before we could guess the brilliant future that was before them. Modern Science may

now

claim to have conquered not only the

elements but the

understand,

human mind
all

also
solid

few
facts

but

accept

as

and many more wonderand we reward with gold and honours scientists who would have been burned at the stake as wizards in the " good
wireless telegraphy
ful inventions,

old days."

would be both idle and unfair not to admit the victory of modernlScience, but
It

WINE AND SPIRITS

too

many

forget that

it

has been gained,

like all victories, at the cost of

heavy

sacri-

Space and time are almost conquered fices. by marvellous mechanical contrivances, but
the price

we have had

to

pay

is

the loss to a

very large extent of the art of conversation, of

the appreciation of literary and intellectual
pleasures,

and

of that keen sense of

humour

which used to be such a feature of the English

character.

How
Pepys,
Steeles,

pleased they must be that they lived

not in an age of progress such as ours

Evelyns,
Popes,
Swifts,

the

Addisons,

Drydens, and a hundred more essayists,

dramatists, wits, and mere

men about town,

golf
!

who never drove a

car

and never played

We may

marvel at the considerable time

brilliant intellect

spent in taverns by the poets, politicians,

and men of undoubtedly

who

gave such lustre to the arts and letters in England during the eighteenth century But it was that constant exchange of views and
!

opinions,

prompted by the generous influence of a generous wine, which trained men to have opinions of their own, and to express
2

PORT
them courteously and convincingly
the blood
of

was the grape that they drank

;

it

together which taught

them to understand human nature so well, and to feel so keenly its pathos and humour. They troubled less about their muscles and liver than we do, but they fed their brain and exercised it far more than we do. We strive chiefly to
please ourselves
;

they sought
;

first

to give

pleasure to others

we drink

barley-water

and are wise

Both
age, Pitt

they drank Port and were

at a premature

unwisely generous, witty, daring or obstinate.

and Fox died

but some say that they worked too much, whilst others say that they drank too much Port. There is a good deal of
truth
in
;

hard drinking both statements and hard work were often the rule a hundred years ago, and excesses of any kind have
never been the best means to attain old age. There is little doubt that if Pitt had not been
addicted to Port, but had been a keen golfer instead, he would have arrived at a com-

promise with Napoleon, helping him, if need be, to conquer the whole of the Continent 3

WINE AND SPIRITS

cheap food at home and peaceful week-ends on the links. Happily for the history of Europe and of England, Pitt drank Port
in return for

most interesting Quite apart from its for an Englishman. own intrinsic merits, Port is a wine which owes its existence chiefly to the industry of Englishmen. Furthermore> it is a wine which cannot be drunk to such perfection nor be so
Port
is

of all wines the

thoroughly appreciated anywhere in the world

as in England.

Although authenticated shipments of wine from Portugal to England may be traced to

the fourteenth century,
it

was only during

the latter part of the sixteenth century that

the trade between England and Oporto be-

came
time,

regular

and

fairly important.

At that

some adventurous West Country mermost of them Devonshire men, went to Oporto and Lisbon and settled there their principal business was to buy locally and send to England the produce of the vast empire of Brazil, lately discovered by the Portuguese and closed by them to the
chants,

trade of

all

other nations.

PORT
During the seventeenth century, the English fleets cruising in the Atlantic were repeatedly ordered to repair either to Oporto or Lisbon, and there take on board large quantities of wine for the use of the men. Rum was not known then, and all men-of-war crews had a daily allowance of wine. Such orders for the fleet helped to induce the English merchants at Oporto to devote their spare time
to viticulture

and to planting more vineyards along the sun-baked hills of the Douro valley. The Portuguese wine-growers were then, and
for

many

years afterwards, totally different

and hard-working growers of France. A most ignorant class, they had neither the means nor the wish to find a they were foreign market for theii wines plagued with the most corrupt and despicable
intelligent
;

from the

officials,

who were

altogether incapable of

educating them, of improving their condition,

or of protecting their interests.

circumstances, the
at

first

Under these Englishmen who settled

Oporto were able to obtain from the growers, at ridiculously low prices, wines which they could sell easily and profitably
5

WINE AND SPIRITS

in England.

This encouraged

them

to stay

and to devote much trouble, to the extension and proper care of vineyards. Both Charles II and William of Orange prohibited the import of French wines into England, and greatly helped thereby the These were rising trade in Portuguese wines.
most privileged position by the Methuen Treaty in 1703, being admitted in this country upon payment of 7 duty per tun, whilst the duty on French wines
further granted a

time and money

was fixed at 55 per tun.

Thus encouraged by the legislature, the Port

wine trade grew with prodigious rapidity,

and

it is

no

less

remarkable that, in spite of

the competition of Germans,

of the Port trade has

Dutchmen and

of the Portuguese themselves, the lion's share

been kept to this day in the hands of English firms and Englishmen,

some

of

whom

trace back their pedigree to

the original seventeenth century settlers.

The industry

of a

few West Country mer-

chants, the protection of the

home government, the comparatively low price of the wine, all helped to establish the popularity of

PORT
Port in England.
the wine

But the main cause

is

of this

well-deserved popularity
itself,

to be sought in
it is

most eminently suited to the English climate and

in the fact that
constitution.

and

Wine
mented
wine.

is,

or should be, the naturally fer-

juice of the grape.

Port
salt,,

is

a super-

The

oil,

vinegar,

pepper and
if

mustard, which go to

make
;

the dressing,

render the salad more palatable than

we in the same ate it as produced by Nature way the art of man intervenes to make Port, and to improve upon Nature.

When

the grapes are ripe, they are picked

is

and brought to what

known

as a lagar,

i.e.,

a large, square, stone trough. filled, a number of bare-legged

This being

men

enter

it

and dance and jump about to the tune of much music and song, until the whole lagar is a mass of discoloured husks in a purple sea
of

must or grape

juice.

This

is left

alone in

the lagars for three or four days during which the microscopic agents known as Mycoderma vini or " ferments," which are to be found
in thousands

on

all

grape-skins, begin their

WINE AND SPIRITS

They attack the natural sugar which the sunshine has stored in the grapes, and which makes grape-juice so sweet, and they transform this sugar into alcohol and carbonic acid gas. The alcohol remains in what was
work.
grape-juice, but
is

now becoming

wine, whilst

the carbonic acid gas loses

itself in

the

air.

This is known as the process of fermentation ; it goes on at a very rapid pace at first, but it is checked by the alcohol present in the

mass

of the liquid,

and accordingly becomes

slower every day.

After a time, when fermentation has" eaten up " or transformed a certain proportion of

the grape sugar into alcohol,

all

further fer-

mentation

is

definitively
i.e.,

checked by the addi-

tion of brandy,

This raises
so

from wine. the alcoholic degree of the mass

spirit distilled

much

that no further

fermentation

is

possible,

and the unfermented portion

of the

original grape sugar remains in its natural state.

The newly-made wines are then carted from the

quintas <ox farms on the hillside
river Douro,

down

to the

and sent by barges to Oporto,

there to be stored in vast warehouses or lodges.

PORT
Once that stage
is

reached, the Port wine

shippers have to decide whether the

new

wines shall be shipped as vintage wines or not. In the first instance, the wines are sent

two years after the and bottled soon after. Slowly does the wine thus bottled go on improving, the added brandy gradually losing some of its strength and " feeding " upon some of the original grape-sugar left in the wine, to combine with it and to form that captivating and generous wine we all know as fine vintage
vintage,
Port.

over here, as a rule

On

the other hand,

if

the wines

made

at

the vintage lack the bouquet, body, or " quality " indispensable if they are to last

on their own merits

at Oporto.

for years to come, im-

proving as time goes on, then they are kept

Stored in large casks and
fre-

quently

refilled

with better-class wines kept

in reserve for that purpose

from good years,

these wines gradually improve in quality and,

after

many
will

years of intelligent care, the out-

come

be what we know as tawny Port a wine lighter in colour and in body owing to
9

WINE AND SPIRITS

the fact that
it

has been kept in casks to

which the air has access, instead of in bottles which are almost airtight. It also happens that a vintage Port, that is, a Port which is fit to be bottled early and to last on its own merits, will be kept in

wood

for

a more or
it is

years before

extended number of The result will be bottled.

less

a wine with less colour and

strength than

the early bottled vintage Port,

but with
scientific

more body and colour than tawny Port.

Mathematicians,
burglars,

stockbrokers,

and

all

whose mission or misfortune

in life is to

keep their better feelings strictly under control, to be accurate or to amass

gold, will

do well to confine themselves to tawny Port, but when the evening ground
mists are rising in the

meadows and the

fire

burns brightly in the

in

hall,

may

there long be

England some true sportsmen to love and

drink vintage Port.

10

II:

SHERRY
all

OF

the brave knights

who

ever sup-

ported the claims of Henry VI to the

throne of France, by the slaughter and the plunder of the greatest possible number
of their liege's unwilling subjects,

none was braver in the field, none wiser in council than He had been one of stout Sir John Fastolf. Henry V's most brilliant generals, conspicuous for his bravery at Agincourt and at the battle of Verneuil he had also proved himself a wise administrator as Governor of Harfleur and Captain of Alencon, but he particularly en;

deared himself to the populace at

in 1429,

home when,
is

he routed a large force with a mere

detachment of archers at what

after,

known

in

history as the Battle of Herrings.

Shortly

however, Talbot was defeated and taken prisoner at Patay owing to Fastolf 's cowardice
" If Sir

John Fastolf had not played the

11

coward," wrote Talbot, " he being in the

WINE AND SPIRITS

vaward,
relieve

placed

behind

with

purpose

to

and follow them, cowardly fled, not having struck one stroke." What really happened we may never know, but it is obvious that some ghastly mistake was made by somebody, with the result that Fastolf he left Talbot and was branded a coward fought bravely many a time before that had fatal day and he lived on bravely for years after, fighting for his due and his good name
;

in spite of fearful odds,

but in vain.

He

shared with his friend, Suffolk, the hatred

of the populace, being held partly responsible
for the loss of

Henry's vast possessions in

France.

Suffolk perished

hand, and Fastolf,

ridicule of the

who

lived

by the assassin's on to an honour-

able old age in Norfolk, has been held to the

whole of the
of

for the last three

bastic
thirst

coward

civilised world hundred years as a bomgirth immeasurable and of

unfathomable.

Shakespeare's Sir John

but a distorted caricature of the real Sir John Fastolf, so say critics who lived
Falstaff is in

the seventeenth century and

who were

better placed to form a correct opinion than

12

SHERRY
some
of our
it.

believe

modern critics, who refuse to But whosoever Falstaff may be

the portrait or the caricature

is

of, Shakespeare shamefully unfair to the fat knight when he charges him with " this intolerable deal

Sack " which the poor man never had the chance of tasting. Whether a hero or a coward, Falstaff never drank Sack, never even heard the name of this wine, either at Court, in camp, or at the tavern. Sack was
of

known during the reigns of Henry V and Henry VI, nor for many years after. The soil and the climate, of Spain are
not

eminently suited to the culture of the vine,

and wine has been made there from time

immemorial.
into

Spanish wines were imported

in mediaeval days,

England

but only in

small quantities,
wines,
else

and they were chiefly sweet

overripe or dried grapes, or

made

of

sweetened with honey and flavoured with

1517,

spices.

In
chants

the

Duke

of

Medina Sidonia

granted special privileges to English mer-

who would come

Seville to

to Jerez, Port St.

of the

Mary and

buy the wines

13

WINE AND SPIRITS

These wines were natural wines, not exceptionally dry, but very much drier than the sweet or sweetened wines which had
country.
hitherto been imported

they from Spain " were accordingly sold in England as " seek wines, from the Spanish secco (dry), and after;

wards as Sack. The popularity of the wines of Jerez grew so rapidly in England that they soon suffered from that most flattering form
imitation. In Madeira and Canary Islands, as well as in other parts the of Spain, wines of a similar type were shipped to England under the generic name of Sack. Thus it became necessary to distinguish those which came from Jerez they first of all went by the name of Jerez Sack, then Jerez became " sherris " and " sherris-sack " was
of competition
;

abbreviated into sherry.

drank Sack, neither Sherrissack, nor Canary Sack, but Shakespeare loved it above all wines. Sack was the wine which the poet drank at the " Mermaid Tavern " in
Falstaff never

Cheapside:
tists

the rendezvous of all the dramaand wits of the Elizabethan era and Sack it was again that he drank at the
;

14

SHERRY
" Boar's

Head

" in Eastcheap, on his

way

to the playhouse on Bankside.

poor

Falstaff' s

dry

lips,

They are on but they come from

:

Shakespeare's own heart, those immortal words which so lovingly describe Sherry "A good sherris-sack hath a two-fold operation
in it
;

it

ascends

me

into the brain

dries

me

there all the foolish, and dull, and crudy vapours which environ it, makes it apprehensive,
fiery

quick,

inventive,

full

of

nimble,

and delectable shape, which delivered

which is the becomes excellent wit. The second property of your excellent sherris is the which before cold warming of the blood and settled left the liver white and pale, which is the badge of pusillanimity and cowardice but the sherris warms it, and makes it course from the inwards to the
o'er to the voice (the tongue)

birth,

parts extreme.

..."
partial to

Canary Sack, but most of his contemporaries and all the poets and dramatists since, have given their preference to sherry as Shakespeare did, and have endorsed Gervase Markham's statement
c
15

Ben Jonson was

WINE AND SPIRITS

that

" your

best

Sacks

are

of

Jerez

in

Spain."

So great was the popularity of sherry in England at the close of the sixteenth century, that Elizabeth's war with Spain was not
suffered

to

interfere

with

the

supply

of

The normal channels of commerce between the two countries were

Spanish vintages.
for a time paralysed,

but the
of

falling off in

the legitimate imports

tures at sea

wine was comThus, in

pensated by numerous and important cap-

and even

in Spain.

Drake raided Cadiz and brought home from that port no less than 2,900 pipes of
1587,
sherry.

During three consecutive centuries, fame of sherry never suffered from

vagaries of fashion in England.

the
the

During the

greater part of the nineteenth century there

was much more sherry imported into this country than any other wine in 1874 there were over six million gallons of sherry im;

ported into England, but in 1913 there was barely one million gallons. Many may be
the causes to which such a sensational de16

SHERRY
crease
is

to be attributed, but there can be

no doubt that the principal reason

is to be sought in the universal retrenchment of the middle classes. Less than a century ago,

when

was Peter Domecq's agent, drove from town to town selling sherry to have the means of educating
Ruskin's
father,
his

who

son,

every mahogany sideboard in the

sherry.
sherry, but

land was graced by a decanter of

Nobody ever drank very much

everybody drank a
better for
it.

little

sherry,

and was the

The decanter of sherry has now made room for a brew of tannin called
;

tea

the

one

stimulated
it

the

appetite,
;

whilst

the other takes

away

the one

stimulated the brain, whilst the other stunts

it.

Of all wines, sherry is practically the only one which bears being left open without
deteriorating.

Port,

claret,

hock, and, far

worse,
of

to

champagne taste flat, and lose much their charm if they are kept over from day day once the cork has been drawn not so
;

sherry,

which will retain its full fragrance and unimpaired excellence for some days
17

WINE AND SPIRITS

after
it

has been opened.

This fact, which

has long been recognised by the public, made sherry the ideal wine for the temperate yet
hospitable people,
of

and gained

for it the place

honour on every Englishman's sideboard. The lasting properties of good sherry are partly due to the fact that more time is
required to

make

sherry than any other wine.

At the vintage time, the grapes are picked with the utmost care, when perfectly ripe, and they are placed to dry upon straw mats they are then pressed, and for several hours " must " is left to ferment at its the juice or own will until the month of November which
;

follows the vintage.

It is at that

time that
;

expert tasters begin their all-important duties

they have to taste carefully the contents of each cask and to classify each one according
to the quality or style of wine
contain.
it is

found to
the

In one and the same

earlier,

cellar,

wines

made from

the same vineyards three

months
is

may

all

possess

different

characteristics

by the end
less

of

November.

This

due

chiefly to the

way each butt has been

rapid and thorough

affected

by a more or

18

SHERRY
fermentation, and the expert tasters have to
decide

what amount
;

added to each butt determine into which category and to which degree of excellence in each category the wine of each butt is to be placed.

wine spirit is to be they must, furthermore,

of

The three

principal classes of fine sherries

are the " Fino," a wine pale in colour and with delicate fragrance the " Amontillado,"
;

a wine which requires to be kept longer to

acquire
its

distinctive character,

and which

derives its

name from the town of Montilla and the " Oloroso," a fuller and darker wine. In each of these three main classes of sherries there are many varieties and degrees of excellence. The aim of every shipper, however, is to maintain the style and quality of each type of wine he sells at various prices. This can only be done by the process of
blending wines of different years, a system known as " solera," from the Spanish suelo,

ground, taken in the sense of basis or for-

As the new wines slowly ferment in the bodegas, continually losing some of their bulk by evaporation, they are repeatedly
mation.

WINE AND SPIRITS

refilled with older wines, so that when the time comes for the wine to be shipped, sherry

possesses

still

the fascinating freshness and

sweetness of youth, but happily blended with the greater strength of mature years and the

charm and
" Give

softness of old age.

me Sacke, old Sacke, boys To make the muses merry. The life of mirth, and the joy of the
Is a

earth,

cup of good old Sherry."

Pasqi*U's Palinodia,

1619.

20

Ill

CLARET
man who
is is

EVERY

not

freak

of

Nature

primarily vain and selfish

his vanity serves

him

as a shield which

hides from his view the truly insignificant place he holds in the world,
ness
is

and

his selfish-

his surest

weapon

to gain
life.

some

of the comforts of

and keep Most women

lack a sense of humour, and so fail to be entertained as they should by man's vanity leaves others init exasperates some and different. On the other hand, there are few women who do not possess either natural
instinct, tact, or intelligence sufficient to

know

how

to

make the

best practical use of man's

selfishness

and vanity.

Of

all

the brides

who

have promised at the altar to serve and obey their lord and master, how many have made
the vain creature fondly imagine that he was

when he was being ruled, obeyed when he was obeying ?

ruling

that he was

There are
21

WINE AND SPIRITS

some humbly bend the knee before the idol and usually get roughly treated, whilst others rebel openly and make themselves exceedingly unpleasant and unexceptions, of course
;

popular.

Such was

fair

Eleanor d'Aquitaine,

who

lived

many

years ago

were bold
hearted

when

knights
lion-

tigress

whose cub was the

greatest

Richard.

The

heiress

in

Europe at the time, she married Louis VII of France, and embittered his life during fifteen long years until the month of March
of the year of grace 1152,

when she divorced

release,

him.

Louis had not done singing Te Deums,

thanking

God
Duke

for his

happy

May,

1152,

Eleanor
of

married

when, in Henri PJanto

tagenet,

Normandy and Anjou,

The
his

whom
duchy

she brought as her dowry the vast

of

Aquitaine.

following

year,

Henri Plantagenet ascended the throne of

England as Henry

II,

and

his

wife's

possessions in France being

much

larger than

those of his suzerain, the King of France.

Happily

for Louis,

Henry soon had

trouble

himself with Eleanor,

ministering

who

insisted

on adher

her

duchy

herself.

After

22

CLARET
death, however, her

two sons

realised

the

immense wealth and importance

inherited from their mother.

of the southwestern provinces of France which they had

that

it

They knew also was indispensable for them to be

the
citizens

assured of the loyalty of

of

Bordeaux, whose great city was the key to the whole of Gascony. To that end they and
their

successors

granted

certain

extensive

trading privileges in England to the merchants

and attached them to the Crown of England by such solid bonds of interest that Bordeaux and Gascony remained
of

Bordeaux,

loyal to the English sovereigns during three

hundred

was during that long period that the trade in Bordeaux wines, or
years.
It

Claret, attained to

such considerable impor-

tance as to enjoy practically a monopoly ot

the wine trade in England.

During three hundred years, the wines of Bordeaux were not only plentiful and easy to
procure throughout England, but they were
sold at prices which placed

them within the

classes.

reach of

all

but the poorest

During
23

the twelfth century, the retail price of Gascon

WINE AND SPIRITS

wine

as Claret was then usually calledwas

had

from three farthings to twopence per gallon, and it was fixed at sixpence per gallon in 1448. In 1451, however, Henry VI, who had
inherited such vast possessions in France,
lost

them

all

all

save Calais

and although

the popularity of Claret survived the loss of

Gascony, the vintages of Bordeaux became more and more costly and difficult to obtain
in England.

During the sixteenth century,

the price of Claret in

London

rose to zs. 8d.

per gallon, and during the seventeenth century,

unprofitable,

wars which were as unnecessary as they were and taxes which were as arbitrary as they were impolitic, crippled
all

tiade

Claret conbetween France and England. imported, but as its cost increased tinued to be so did its consumption decrease, until it practically ceased altogether

during the eighteenth

century, as a result oi the total prohibition or

prohibitive taxation enforced

by William

III

and the Georges. During the first sixty years of the last century, the consumption of Claret in England was practically confined to the best and most
24

CLARET
expensive types of wine.
Claret

was then

mostly regarded as a

fine after-dinner wine,

and the demand

of

for the cheaper descriptions

most wholesome of all beverage wines, was extremely limited. A complete change took place when, in the early sixties, Gladstone reduced the duty on Claret from 5s. 6d. to is. per gallon, and, at the same time, threw open the wine trade to
Bordeaux,
the

every grocer, draper, brewer, limited liability company promoter, and co-operative society's
organiser

who

cared to pay a small fee to

the Excise for a wine licence.

During the

twenty years which followed, the consumption of Claret increased very considerably, for Claret had once more become within the
reach of the middle classes.
the
Unfortunately,

phylloxera

made

its

appearance soon

after and practically destroyed the fairest vineyards of Bordeaux, so that little good

Claret wine was made during the eighties. became both scarcer and dearer, as well as of poorer quality, with the inevitable result

that the consumption fell off considerably. But the industrious " vigneron " never lost

25

WINE AND SPIRITS

heart nor faith in the " tree of life," and the

replanted vineyards once more began to yield sound and fine wines. Time, the great healer
of all
ills,

has

made

it

possible

now

again to

grow vines as good as the best which ever grew on that marvellous soil for the last twenty centuries, and the Bordeaux ruby is still the most beautiful gem in that vinous crown of which France is so justly proud. The art of man never has produced anything more beautiful than Nature can show, and there is nothing more beautiful in Nature than harmony. The excellence of Claret, and
the reason

why
all

it

may

rightly claim preis

cedence over

other wines,

that

it is

the

most harmonious and natural of all wines. As soon as the grapes are ripe, they are gathered with the greatest care, all unsound berries being immediately removed. Crushed in large oak presses, the grapes juice, skins, pips and sometimes the stalks are left to

ferment at

first

in large

wooden tubs
are

after

a few days the newly

made wines

drawn

from the fermenting vats into hogsheads, where the fermentation still goes on at a
26

CLARET
much
slower rate for some time.
years, the
i.e.,

During the

two or three following

their lees
is

new wines
it

are occasionally racked,

separated from

and drawn

into fresh casks, until

time to bottle them.

goes on improving for

siderable

Once bottled, Claret a more or less con-

length of time according to the

quality of the wine and the year

when

it

was made.

As a general

rule, it

may be

said

that a red wine has not reached the age limit so long as it retains its " fruit," viz., the
natural softness and sweetness of the grape.

After a time, however, this disappears and

the wine becomes hard and unpleasantly dry

it is

then on the down grade and has been

kept too long.

In the making of Claret, the art of

intervenes

man

only

to

remove every possible

cause of imperfection, but not to assist nor to

hamper Nature. In order to obtain the best " must," all imperfect berries are carefully
removed when the grapes are picked, and in order to avoid the wine acquiring from its lees too pungent a taste, it is " racked " from time to time, but nothing is added either to
27

WINE AND SPIRITS

the must or the wine to improve
its

colour,

body, flavour, or alcoholic strength, all of which are due to the species of grapes used

making the wine, to the nature of the soil, the aspect of the vineyards where such grapes were grown, and the natural phenomenon of
in

fermentation.

Moreover, there

is

in Claret a

more
parts

perfect

harmony between its component than in any other wine. There is

tannin, or alcohol, all of which so

neither a lack nor an excess of grape-sugar,

acidity,

marvellously harmonise that Claret charms

without
balancing

ever
the
it.

palling

on

the

palate

and
over-

stimulates

brain

without

ever

One
adapts
purses.

of the great
itself

charms of Claret

is

that

it

to

all tastes,

constitutions

and
and

The

varieties of Claret, the

differ-

ences in excellence
style, are

and

in price, in type
is

much
is

greater than

the case with

other wines.

wine which
the

Broadly speaking, Claret is the made from the vines grown in

Departement. This departement, however, produces much good wine, but also some of indifferent quality. The 28

Gironde

CLARET
three districts where the best
Clarets
close

are
to

made

are
;

known
of

as

the Graves,

Bordeaux left bank

St.

the Medoc, a strip of land on the the

river

Gironde

and the
hills

Emilion

district

and the surrounding

of the

Dordogne

valley.

Even

then, there are

many

degrees of excellence between the wines

most famous districts. A Claret which is offered for sale solely under the name of either Medoc, Graves, or
of these three
St.

but the nondescript product of a large Wine-growing district where good

is

EmiUon
is

quality

the rule, but a rule which has

many

There are in the Medoc, for instance, many communes, or administrative divisions, of which the best known in England are those of Margaux, St. Julien, and St.
exceptions.

Estephe.

Claret

name is supposed to the commune the name

but, there
differences

any such be a wine grown within

sold

under

of

again,

many

which it bears and wide are the

;

which exist between the wines of the same commune, differences which are chiefly due to the soil and aspect of each
vineyard.

On

the same hillock, for instance,

29

WINE AND SPIRITS

may be planted facing north-west on a slope at the foot of which runs the
a vineyard

Gironde

the rich alluvial

soil,

the unfavourimpossible

able aspect, and the immediate proximity of

the river

all

combining to make

it

produce really fine wine. And yet, at a very short distance, at the top or on the opposite slope of the same
for such a vineyard to
hillock,

vines

may be grown on
and produce the

eminently

suitable stony or gravelly soil, with a south-

eastern aspect,
it is

finest Claret

possible to taste.

Much

sound, wholesold merely

some, and pleasant Claret

may be

under the name of a commune, such as St. Julien or Margaux but all Clarets which have
;

a claim to a more or
excellence are too

less

high degree of

proud of their birthright not to go into the world under their own

name

the

name

of

the estate or chateau

whence they came. Thus, whilst the names of Medoc and Margaux are but very vague appellations and no real guarantee of fine
quality, a bottle of

Chateau Margaux means

district of the

a bottle of the finest Claret grown in the

commune
30

of

Margaux, in the

CLARET
Medoc
of
;

CMteau Rauzan-Segla
; ;

is

the

name

one of the second best Chateau Desmirail denotes one of the third best Chateau Marquis de Terme one of the fourth best wines
of

the

Medoc
of

district

but

all

from the

commune
all

The same applies to the vine-growing communes of the Medoc,

Margaux.

of the Graves,

and

ot the St.

Emilion

districts,

so that its almost endless varieties and

many
most

grades of excellence
interesting

make
;

Claret the

of

all

wines

one always finds

something new to learn about Claret, and this is not one of the least charms of this excellent
wine.

The Gironde Departement

also

produces

much white wine

good quality. The best dry white wines of Bordeaux come from the Graves district, whilst some inimitable sweet white wines are produced in the Sauternes district, none being more justly celebrated throughout the world than the magnificent luscious wines of Chateau Yquem.
of

31

IV:

BURGUNDY
is

RHETORIC
was

room for it and utilitarian

artist

a lost art; we have no in our eminently selfish

civilisation.
;

Rhetoric

the art of persuasion

the orator was an

of the

who

tought on the side of justice and

patriotism.

The soundness
vividness

arguments

he drew, the painted, the music of his well-chosen words,

of

the images he

and consider before logic, imagination, and harmony, truth shone and right was vindicated. The greed of gain and the love of luxury are now too prevalent

made

his hearers pause

among all classes move us to act

for the claims of justice to

against our

own

interests.

Demosthenes or Cicero might rise in the House of Commons and pour forth the most
transcendent eloquence either for or against
the Government of the hour without affecting the votes of the

members

logic,

imagination,

32

BURGUNDY

it

and harmony have no place in party politics the whip is the thing. Born at Syracuse in the fifth century B.C.,
;

the art of rhetoric was perfected in Greece

passed hence to Rome and was taught by the Romans in Gaul and Britain. In Western

Europe, France

may
of

claim to have cultivated

the art of eloquence to the highest degree,

and no province

France can boast of a greater number nor of more eminent orators than the old province of Burgundy. St.
Bernard, Bossuet, Lacordaire, Lamartine, and

many other illustrious men whose voice moved

deeply their contemporaries, were born in

Burgundy.
hills

And

it is

also

on the Burgundy

that those wines are

made which com-

bine strength, clearness, and charm, possessing in a superlative degree that persuasive

power which

is

the hall-mark of eloquence.

The old province of Burgundy was done away with at the time of the French Revobut so were the sous and the livres ; yet, at the present day, everybody in France
lution,

buys and sells by sous and livres, and men tell you with legitimate pride that they
still

33

WINE AND SPIRITS

are Bourguignons

who would no more dream

" Saone et to say that they are natives of Loire " than to ask how many dicimes they

owe.
is

names die hard, and Bourgogne too old a name and has survived too many

The

old

vicissitudes ever to die.

The

oldest Burgundians recorded in history

were a purely German tribe, who defeated the Alemani, and who, migrating west, founded a kingdom, in the country lying between the

Aar and the Rhone. The fortune of war and marriage settlements resulted in the old kingdom of Burgundy being divided, reunited, and again subdivided on many occasions, until one Richard was created Duke of Burgundy by Charles the Bald of France. This first ducal house of Burgundy lasted from 841 until 1361, when the duchy was seized by King John, of France, who, in
1363, presented
it

to his son, Philip the Bold,

as a reward for his bravery at the battle of

Poitiers.

" Thus

commenced the famous

line

of dukes which played so great a part in the

history of France during the fourteenth and

fifteenth centuries,

and by the splendour

of

34

BURGUNDY
its

achievements, and the magnificence of

its

patronage, rivalled the greatest dynasties of

the time."
of

The most

brilliant of the

Dukes

Burgundy, Charles the Bold, was

;

also the

last

at his death in 1477, his only daughter,

Mary, married the Archduke Maximilian, and

the duchy of Burgundy returned to the French

was eventually raised to the rank of a province, bounded on the north by Champagne, on the east by Franche Comte and Bresse, on the west by Bourbonnais and Nivernais, and on the south by Lyonnais and Dauphine. At the time of the French Revolution, when
Crown.
It

the limits of the old provinces were wiped out

and the country was

divisions

known
hills

as

split up into smaller " departements," the

chain of

upon which the

of

dian

vineyards

finest Burgunwere situated formed the

towards the south, where a greater quantity of wine is made but none of the same high excellence, formed the Departehills

Department of the same

Cdte

d'Or, the continuation

ment

of Sadne et Loire, whilst to the north-west

of the

Cote d'Or, the Departement of Yonne

35

WINE AND SPIRITS

includes the famous white wine district of

which Chablis is the centre. The Cote d'Or Departement is bounded northnorth by the D6partement of Aube east by the Hauteeast by the Haute-Marne
;

Saone and the Jura

Loire
;

south by the Saone et

and west by the Nievre and the Yonne. Through the centre of this departement runs a chain of hills which separate the basin of the Seine from that of the Saone, forming the connecting link between the Cevennes and the Vosges mountains. It is that chain of hills which gives to the Cote
d'Or
its

name

it is

about thirty-six miles

in

length,

and stretches from Dijon to Chalonaspect

of
its

sur-Saone in the direction of the north-northeast to south-south-west, the

vine-clad

slopes being

principally towards

the east, south-east, or south.

These hills have a height of from two hundred to three hundred feet their soil is chiefly calcareous,
;

whilst the sub-soil

is

either

marl or rock.

In the Cote d'Or, the vineyards usually begin on the upper third of the hills, never
ascending quite to the brow, and they streteh

36

BURGUNDY
down
the incline towards the plain, sometimes even extending for a mile or two in the plain itsell

The

best vineyards, however,

are usually to be fbund on the middle or the

lower part of the

hillsides,

which are nowhere

very steep.
Dijon, the ancient and proud capital of the

Burgundian dukes, used to be surrounded by some of the most famous vineyards of the whole countryside. This is no longer so, chiefly owing to these vineyards having been
planted

with

commoner

species

of

vines,

yielding a greater quantity of grapes but of

distinctly inferior quality. The finest Burgundy vineyards may be said to extend from Gevrey, some five miles south of Dijon, to

Santenay, close to the limits of the Departement de Saone et Loire. Gevrey is an oldworld village, the name of which has faded
before the fame of
yard, Chambertin.
its

most celebrated vineChambertin is not on the

maps
of the

of the world, yet its

name

is

known,

and has been known

blest with

for centuries, in all parts

world wherever there have been

men
37

an appreciative palate, and with

WINE AND SPIRITS

the means of obtaining the good things of the
worldi

From Gevrey
straight

to Beaune runs one of those and broad roads so dear to the heart

of the motorist.

To the

left

of that Route

Nationale vines grow and prosper on the rich

soil of

the plain, but the wine they yield is

for local consumption, whilst,

only

fit

on the

right of the

growths of
within the
bertin
of
is
;

same road, the most celebrated Burgundy are situated.

Foremost among these are the Clos de Beze,

Commune

of Gevrey, like

Cham-

then, in the neighbouring

Commune

Morey, the Clos de Tart. The Clos de Tart not only one of the finest but also one of
It

the most ancient vineyards of Burgundy.

was purchased in 1141 by a religious order, and Pope Lucius III confirmed them in the
possession thereof in 1184
;

ever since, vines

have been cultivated and excellent wine has been made there. Next to the Commune of Morey is that of Chambolle, Where the sub-soil is chiefly rock
instead
of

clay

and marl.

The name

of

Chambolle, like that of Gevrey, has

little

38

BURGUNDY
significance abroad, but the
bolle's

name

of

Cham-

most famous vineyards Musigny is ever on the lips and in the heart of all who value
After Chambolle,
of

fine wine.

we come
is

to the

Commune

Vougeot, where

situated the

Clos de Vougeot, a growth which enjoys a

more ancient and world-wide popularity than any other vineyard in the whole of Burgundy. The famous Abbey of Citeaux was given some vine-land at Vougeot, in mo, and from
that date until I336, the property of the

monks was increased by purchases or gifts in such a manner that they ended by possessing
one of the
vineyards ever known, a square piece of the best vine-growing land
finest

with a superficies of over one hundred and twenty-five acres, planted with the finest
species of vines,

the whole surrounded by

high walls which exist to this day.

tunately, the
their vines

Unfor-

and have now passed into the hands

monks

are no longer there

of a relatively large
of

number

of growers.

All

them make

excellent wines

from

their little

share of the Clos de Vougeot vines, but, good

as such wines are to-day,

they cannot

all

39

WINE AND SPIRITS

same high quality which was uniformly theirs so long as the famous Clos
possess that

remained entirely the property of one owner. Next to Vougeot is the Commune of Flagey,

where some very fine wines are made from the Grands-Echezeaux vineyards, but these are hardly known in England, where they are handicapped by their difficult name. Still pursuing our way towards Beaune, we

now come

to Vosnes.

Of all the Communes of France the most modest is assuredly that of Vosnes. Who knows it ? Quiet and unobtrusive like the
ballet-master

whom nobody

thinks

of

or

inquires after, Vosnes glories in the

her

brilliant
all

fame of daughters whose names are

famous
that

the world over, as great favourites

that they never grow old,

as the greatest dancers of the day, but with

difference
stale,

never grow
older.

and are more admired, more

unknown, but the vineyards

dearly loved, and more precious as they get

Vosnes

is

of Vosnes are

Richebourg,

Romanee Conti
of

(the only vineyard

which takes precedence

the Clos de Vougeot),

La Tache, Romanee

40

BURGUNDY
St.

Vivant, and,

many more
enter
is

of lesser

fame

abroad but of equally remarkable excellence.

After Vosnes,
Nuits.

we

Nuits
fine

itself

upon the Commune of more than a village,

of its

and the
it

mansions

quile the air of a town.

merchants give Moreover, Nuits

its

has not allowed the fame of even

celebrated

most
to

vineyard,

viz.,

St.

Georges,

usurp its place in the annals of the world.

great

The

wines of Nuits include the produce of a

many
of

vineyards in the neighbourhood,

which are extremely fine, whilst others are of more moderate quality. The same remark applies to the wines made from the
vineyards of the neighbouring

some

Commune

of

Premeaux, which are usually shipped abroad under the better-known name of Nuits. After Premeaux, there is a short gap in the hills of the C6te d'Or, and we get no

more good vineyards

Aloxe
that
is

until the

Commune

of

entered

it is

there that the famous

Gorton vineyards are situated, and there also

what

is

known

as the Cote de

Beaune
if

begins.

little

to the west, there are the

extensive vineyards of Savigny, but

we
4i

WINE AND SPIRITS

keep to the Route Nationale, which we have followed from Gevrey, we soon arrive at the
quaint
fine
still

little

town

of Beaune,

where some

remains of the ancient fortifications are

to be seen,

and where the old Hospice,

founded in the fifteenth century, still carries on its work of mercy, exactly in the same way
as five

hundred years ago.

still

The nuns wear

;

the same curious,

high-shoulder garb

the

drugs are
pottery
;

kept in

now

priceless mediaeval

and the ivory-white faces of the old

century four-posted

folks, lying in fifteenth

beds,

seem also to belong to days of long ago. Remarkable as the Hospice de Beaune
is

assuredly

in

many

respects,

it

is

quite

unique in the source of its yearly income. The old Hospice is not dependent upon State
grants, municipal largesse, nor public gener-

osity

its

chief

sale of the

income is derived from the wine made every year from the
for

vineyards

which,

centuries

past,

have

been bequeathed to that benevolent institution from time to time.

The vintages
in

Beaune have been famous Great Britain for a longer time than any
of

42

BURGUNDY
other Burgundy wines.
of

In 1512, Louis XII

thirty-six
cleret "

France sent a present of puncheons of " Vin de Beaune

to

James IV

Lisle imported ten casks of

Lord Beaune wine, which were shipped to him from Rouen to London. Amongst the most celebrated growths of the " Cote de Beaune " are those of Pommard and Volnay, the wines of which justly enjoy
of Scotland, and, in 1537,

a world-wide reputation.
Farther south, some very good white wine
is

made from

the vineyards of the

still,

Commune

one comes to the famous Montrachet vineyards, which proof Meursault and, farther

duce a white wine equal, if not superior, to the finest white wines of France. The Com-

Santenay is the last within the Departement of Cote d'Or it adjoins the Saone et Loire, where many fair vineyards are to be seen, and much good wine is made* but none which can compare in quality with the best growths of the Cote d'Or. The best red wines of Saone et Loire are those of Macon, and the best white wines those of Pouilly. Further south, in the Departement of
of
;

mune

43

WINE AND SPIRITS

Rhone, extensive vineyards are to be seen upon the hills of the Beaujolais, and they produce a sound red wine much lighter, but also very much cheaper, than the Cote d'Or wines.
In quite another direction, to the north-west
of the Cote d'Or, the

part
The
in

of

Departement of Yonne which used to be within the limits

of the old province of

large quantity of
first

Burgundy produces a both red and white wines.

were formerly greatly appreciated England, where they were known as

" Wines of Auxerre."

Thus Henry VIII had

some Auxerre wine sent to London,, via Rouen, in 1536 and 1537. On several occasions, in 1537, 1538, and 1540, Lord Lisle also imported some Auxerre wine, which was sent by barge from Auxerre on the river Yonne to Montereau, where the Yonne meets the Seine, and hence by the Seine to Rouen. The red wines of the Yonne Departement have
long ceased to be popular outside the district

where they are made, but the fame of the white wines of Chablis is as great and as
justly deserved as ever.

Burgundy
44

is

the most fragrant of

all

red

BURGUNDY
wines
;

all

the best growths have a distinctive

and a
it

striking bouquet.

Burgundy

is

equally
;

pleasing to the eye as to the olfactory sense

possesses a fine, clear, dark red colour, which no mixture of grape juice, spirit and sugar can ever approach. Burgundy fulfils on the palate the promises held out by its fine colour and charming bouquet it possesses a certain softness, warmth and delicacy harmoniously blended together in a manner that the art of man never can hope to imitate Burgundy never is soft and velvety, " sugary " warm and generous, it never is
;

" spirity "

As is vapid. Burgundy leaves the last sip is swallowed, on the palate a most pleasing " farewell," never a watery nor fiery taste. The popular belief that Burgundy is a heavy, inky wine
;

delicate;

it

never

is

due, like

many

such

beliefs,

not to facts

but to

The black vinous brews sold under the name of " Burgundy " or the appellation of " Burgundy-type," by retailers often more ignorant than dishonest, are a gross libel upon the highly bred, delicate and
fiction.

delicious wines of

Burgundy.
45

V:

CHAMPAGNE
"

Champagne with foaming whirls As white as Cleopatra's melted pearls."

Byron {Don Juan, canto

xv., st. 65).

REPREHENSIBLE as extravagance may

be in
itself, it is

not without grandeur,

Cleopatra's melted

and
ness
is

it is

often fascinating whilst mean-

always despicable.

and the Niagara Falls are but examples of woman's and Nature's magnificent extravagance, without which the history of the world would lose its greatest charm and the
pearls

face of the earth be robbed of

much

of its

beauty.

To be extravagant
pleasure,

is

an

art, as well as a
gift,

which

is

not everyone's

for

the mere fact of wasting

to be tolerated.

money

to satisfy a
is

vulgar craving for self-advertisement

not

be
46

self-centred,

Extravagance should never and it should always bear

the hall-mark of refinement and beauty.

He

CHAMPAGNE
who never
life
is

extravagant lives a

dull, selfish

within ever-thickening walls, which are

constantly raised around each of us

cares

by worldly and prejudices or sordid aims and

;

cravings

these are the barriers, stifling the

higher aspirations of our mind, which extrava-

gance must be allowed to break down from

Extravagance cleanses the ship from the barnacles which cling to it in evertime to time.
increasing
fate

numbers

it

shuffles the cards of

and gives us the chance of starting afresh with a better hand or the hope that it may
Could the
strongly built
river's course

soon be ours.
regulated

be

by

dams

if

it

were

not for the overflows, the waste weirs, without

which the riverside fields would be inundated and the dams carried away ? In exactly the same way, economy without the
safety valve of occasional extravagance will

result in flood

and

desolation,

drowning in us

and noble feelings. all generous Extravagance is the weir which saves the soul from, this destructive flood, and its foaming whirls are sparkling Champagne. Champagne has always been, still is, and
instincts

47

WINE AND SPIRITS

will

ever be an extravagant wine, and the

most charming and fascinating of wines. When King Charles " enjoyed his own again " in 1660 the melancholy austerity of the Roundheads fell into discredit, whilst

the Royalists,

who had always

attitude
of

affected the

gay and

careless

the

man

of

pleasure, in opposition to the rigid severity

of their antagonists, found in loyalty a

new

pretext for hard drinking and merry-making.

It

was

at that auspicious time that

Cham-

pagne, sparkling
exhilarating,

Champagne

and extravagant
his

was

light,

elegant,

first intro-

duced in England.
beautiful

The Merrie Monarch,

gallant

his

mistresses,

courtiers,

and

all

who

could afford to procure the most

all

fashionable of

wines, drank

Champagne

and were responsible for its immediate popuDuring the following two larity in town. hundred years, Champagne was scarce and expensive throughout England, and it was
only after the wine duties reduction in 1862
that the vintages of the

country in large

Marne reached this quantities, and that their

wealth

moderate
48

price, as well as the increasing

CHAMPAGNE
of the nation, brought

reach of the middle

Champagne within the classes. In 1762, Chamfor

pagne was sold at Vauxhall Gardens

8s.

a bottle, whilst a bottle of red port or

2s.

sherry cost but

In 1794, Champagne sold

by auction

in the City fetched 90s. per dozen,

whilst port of the 1788 vintage only fetched

In 1802, the price of a bottle of Champagne at Vauxhall Gardens was 14s.

2iSrper dozen.
'

in 1818, Grillion charged 16s.

Hotel 17s. per bottle.

ever,

and the Albion In the 'sixties, howfacilities

the reduction of the wine duties, on

the one hand, greater transport

better vintages

and

on the

other, resulted in a

sensational decrease in

the price of
6s. at

Chamany
of

pagne,

when the very

best cost only 5s. a

bottle at the

Union Club, and

the Bodega bars.

Since then, the price of

Champagne has
mind that all commodity have
this

risen steadily but not abnorif

mally, nor even excessively,

we bear

in

luxuries as well as every other

likewise increased in price.

It is only natural that the best things of

world should also be the most expensive,

since

they are

always in greater demand

49

WINE AND SPIRITS

than the others, whilst their supply is always limited. In almost every vine-growing country of Europe, America and Australia, they

cheap and quite drinkable sparkwhich are supposed to resemble Champagne, but there are a few people in the world who can afford to have the best, and there are a great many more who cannot afford it but who will have it all the same,
fairly

make

ling wines,

so that the
to or greater

demand

for

Champagne
is

is

equal

than the supply, with the result

that the price of

Champagne

high.

The

wealth of the world has increased, and the

love of good things, ease,

and comfort has

increased

still

more, but the supply of Cham-

pagne has not. The trouble is that Champagne can only be made to perfection from a
certain
species
restricted area
soil,

grown within a upon a very peculiar calcareous

of

grapes

only to be found in a certain part of the

valley of the Marne.

The

characteristics of

the wine obtained from the

suitable

Champagne
soil

vine-

yards are due to the poor

vines

on which

are

grown,

to

the climatic

conditions obtaining in the district,

and

to

50

CHAMPAGNE
the

mode

of cultivation of the vineyards

man

as well as Nature striving to produce

quality at the expense of quantity.

The great majority of the grapes grown in the Champagne district are black. When
they have been picked, they are put in the press and the mass of over eight thousand pounds of blue-black grapes, which go to

make one

pressing,

would certainly lead one

is

to believe that red wine

going to be

made

and not white.

of the press is

But when the heavy oak lid slowly lowered and crushes the

grapes, the sweet juice which these yield as

they burst, immediately runs

down

into a

separate vat placed for that purpose below

the press, whilst the skins, pips, and stalks

are left high

and
if

dry.

The

juice of the grapes

being of a greenish-white colour, would only

become red
that
it is

left
all

in contact with the skins

which contain

the colouring matter

so

possible to cheat Nature

and to
con-

make white wine out of black grapes. The juice of the grapes, or " must,"
tains a great deal of sugar,

which the natural

5i

process of fermentation transforms into alcohol

WINE AND SPIRITS

and carbonic acid gas
;

the alcohol stays in

the wine, whilst the carbonic acid gas loses To keep part of this carbonic itself in the air.
acid gas in the wine
is

the chief feature of

the art of making sparkling wine. In the spring which follows the vintage, the newly-

made wines
Champagne
of its

are bottled, tightly

and securely

corked, and laid to rest.

still

Bottled thus early,

contains a certain proportion

original

grape sugar, which will be

transformed in due course by fermentation

into alcohol

the latter

remains in
After

and carbonic acid gas, and as no longer free to escape, it the wine which it renders sparkling.
is

it has been bottled a certain time, the wine ceases to ferment it then contains its maximum quantity of alcohol and the pro;

portion of carbonic acid gas corresponding to

the amount of sugar which was in

bottling time.
tains a

it

at the

Unfortunately,

it

also

con-

good deal of sediment as a

If it

result of

were not for this sediment, the wine would be reddy for consumption, but it cannot be allowed
to leave the cellar until
it is

fermentation and of ageing.

absolutely " star

52

CHAMPAGNE
bright,"
little

and

this

means more work and no

placed on specially

ingenuity.
bottle
is

Each

made
is

perforated tables, neck downwards, and

shaken gently every day for weeks in such a way that the sediment which has been deposited on the glass in the bottle is gradually
there.

made

to fall

upon the cork and

to settle

When
all

cork and
collected
loss

has been achieved, the the sediment which has been

this
it

upon

are removed with as

little
is

of

wine as possible.

Another cork

immediately driven in to replace the

one,

first

and the wine

is

then ready for con-

sumption, both sparkling and bright

a
is

fully

and naturally fermented wine.

After the wine has been freed from the

sediment

it

contained,

a second time,

and before it some sweet syrup

corked

of sugar

candy
this is

is

sometimes added to sweeten it, but only done to suit the taste of those
like a

consumers who
not affect in any
quality of
If

sweet wine

it

does

way whatsoever the sparkling

limits

Champagne. one bears in mind the

outside

53

WINE AND SPIRITS

which no wine
entitled to the

may

be made which
of

is

legally
if

name

Champagne, and

one

realises that it takes

untold care,

many

experts

a considerable time, and skilled work-

men

to transform crude grape-juice into a

wine which contains not a particle of sediment and neither a lack nor an excess of carbonic

becomes quite easy to understand why Champagne has always been and still is a most expensive wine. To ignore or to
acid gas,
it

overlook this truth

is

to court disaster

the

homely sardine is infinitely preferable to stale caviare, and an honest draught of bitter beer is greatly to be preferred to bad Champagne. Champagne, like criticism, is most wholesome when it is sound, but, also like criticism, it is both despicable and dangerous

when bad. Champagne never was common nor cheap, but it is bound to be even less common and much more expensive for some years to come.
During
full

four

years

the

vineyards

of

Champagne have been under German fire and German poison gas. The lack of proper
care has ruined beyond
all

hope many acres

54

CHAMPAGNE
Champagne vines. Labour was already scarce in Champagne before the war when the vineyards were flourishing, and when Reims was a fair and busy city. Where and how will the necessary labour be
of the fairest

found to replant the desolated vineyards, and to rebuild the martyr city ? It must be

done and it shall be done, but time is wanted and time is money So your Champagne will cost you more. Champagne is dearer to buy than before the war worse luck but it should be dearer
!

to our heart, too, for

it

has

won

the war, not

once only, but twice.

In 1914, when the all-conquering Huns were sweeping everything before them, they
overran Reims and Epernay and there they
stopped.

Their savage hordes dived

down

into the deep

Champagne

cellars

and there

drank themselves drunk. In 1918, the panting but still savage beast had once more crossed the Marne it encircled Reims almost completely and was but a mile from Epernay. Had Reims fallen, General Gouraud's army, further north, and
;

55

WINES AND SPIRITS

Verdun,
further
east,
;

were

lost

and the

whole front broken gave Reims did not

;

but the hinge never

fall

and

it

gave General

on the 15th of July, the counter-offensive which was the beginning of the end. Why did Reims hold Mangin
his chance of launching

out

Had

the order been given to defend the battered city at

!

what was

left of

all

costs

On

the contrary

There were two French

divisions in Reims, or strictly speaking under

The Army Commander sent them a written order to evacuate Reims and fall back towards Epernay. That order seemed
Reims.

most reasonable then the supply of food and munitions was most difficult and might become altogether impossible at any moment no Army Commander likes the prospect of two whole divisions being surrounded and taken prisoners. That order may be made public some day, when the official history of the war comes to be written, but will the reason be stated at the same time why it never was carried out ? Probably not. There was but one reason and a very good one the men refused to obey. They swore
: :

56

CHAMPAGNE
that so long as the stocks of

Champagne lasted

it

Reims would hold out against all odds, and did. These men drank deep and made
gaps in merchants' stocks, but they
still
;

large

fought better

and made

larger gaps in

German ranks
like swine,

they drank like heroes, not

and they did not drink all. But wonder not and grumble not if your Champagne costs you more.

57

VI:

MADEIRA
MERDIN,
or " the

CLAS

sea-guarded

green place,"
British

was England's ancient

name, a name denoting alike and natural protection. The her fertility green fields and oak forests of Old England tempted many unwelcome guests Romans, Norsemen, Danes, and Normans to cross over to this fair island, which had for cenBoth turies no other protection but the sea. conquerors and conquered realised at an early date that a strong navy was indispensable to ensure safety at home and success abroad. A drawbridge without stout chains to raise

it

when the enemy approaches

is

a foe instead
;

of a friend to the defenders of the castle

in

the same

way

a sea-girt island without a

navy

hopelessly at the mercy of the inUnable to build and man a strong royal navy, the Plantagenets and their immediate successors always gave the mercantile
is

vader.

58

MADEIRA
marine every encouragement in their power. Merchant vessels in those days were more
than training schools for sailors of the king's navy they were usually armed and always
;

ready to fight for their

flag.

Up

to the thir-

teenth century, the ships of England seldom

ventured through the Straits of Gibraltar to dispute with the Genoese and Venetians
of

any share of the Levant trade. The attention merchants in England was drawn to the
Mediterranean chiefly by the tales of those
Hither-

who returned from Richard's crusade.

to,

the bulk of the English wool exported

bringing in

abroad was shipped to Flanders, where the

Venetian galleys called for
it,

and Indian exchange spices, sweet The most highly prized and universilks.
wines,

popular sweet wine at the time, both in England and on the Continent, was the produce of the island of Candia it was
sally
;

generally

known
in
it

as Malvoisie or Malmsey.
sale of

During the fourteenth century, the

Malmsey
tant that

London alone became

was the object

so impor-

of royal ordinances

and municipal regulations on many occasions.

59

WINE AND SPIRITS

In 1365, the Mayor and Chamberlain of the City decided to keep the sale of sweet wines in their own hands, and to devote all profits
derived therefrom to the repair and cleansing Such a step of the City walls and ditches.

was a bold one for a Lord Mayor to take, and His Worship very soon realised that it was very difficult for the Corporation to retail Malmsey profitably in City taverns. Three months after their first attempt, the Mayor, Aldermen, and Commonalty of the
City leased to one Richard Lyons, vintner, for

a term of ten years, and at an annual rental

two hundred pounds, the three City taverns which were to enjoy the monopoly of serving
of

sweet wines to the public

they further pro-

tected the citizens from any abuse

of his

by Lyons

monopoly, and decreed that he was

not to retail Malvesyn, Candy, or any other

such sweet wines at a higher price than

sixteenpence a gallon.

monarch to assert the right of the kings of England to the sovereignty of the sea, and he took the keenest
III

Edward

was the

first

interest in all naval affairs

he

is

the Only

60

MADEIRA
English sovereign
person,

who

gained,

in

his

own

on one occasion until his ship actually sank.

two

signal naval victories, fighting

He
in

placed

Venetians

many difficulties who wished to sell

in the

way

of

their

Malmseys

England, and his ambition was to see his own merchantment go to the Mediterranean with English wool, returning with the wines
of

Candia and other commodities from the

Candia, latterly

Levant.

known

as Crete,

was from

under the domination of grew such an abundance of wine It that, during the fifteenth century, the Venetians derived, according to Bacci, no less than a hundred thousand ducats (about 22,500) per annum from the export taxes levied on the wines of the island. These wines were known as Malvasia Candice or Candia Malmsey, Creticum vinum or wine of Crete, and also as Rotimo, from the name of a certain The more usual name district of the island. in England was Malmsey, which became the
1204 until 1645
Venice.
distinctive

appellation of a style of sweet

wines.

Although

these

were

produced

to

61

WINE AND SPIRITS

greater excellence in Candia, where the climate

and the nature

suited to

of the soil

were admirably
similar

the culture of the vine,

wines, which were also sold as Malmsey, were made in the island of Cyprus and in most
of the islands of the

Cgean Sea.
of the fifteenth century,

At the beginning

the Venetian trade with England was in a

nourishing condition, but the English mer-

marine was in a very bad state. The great galleys of Venice came regularly to
cantile

English ports with their Malmseys, but English

merchants did not go to Candia.

The

inevitable consequence of this state of affairs

was that the Venetians, having no competition

to fear, gradually raised the price of their

wines, reduced the size of their casks, and

demanded ready money,

refusing

to

take

English woollens in exchange for their wines, " to the greate enryching of theym self and
greate deceit, losse, hurt,

and damage "

of

the good people of England.

The surest remedy to this and many other was a strong navy and an active mercantile marine. Both had, unfortunately, been
evils

62

MADEIRA
sacrificed

during
centufy,

the

greater

part

of

the

fifteenth

whilst

the

Roses desolated the land.

VII's
to
first

Wars of the One of Henry

on ascending the throne was give to the merchant service great encouracts

agement, with the result that larger ships were built, mariners repaired to the Mediterranean

numbers, sold English woollens in Italy at higher prices than they fetched in Flanders, and brought back to England and
in

greater

to

Flanders

large

quantities

of

Malmsey,

which they carried as return cargo, charging

but four ducats freight per butt instead of
seven which the Venetians were wont to
charge.

This change and the rapid growth

marine were viewed by the Venetian Senate with alarm and

of the English mercantile

by discovering had already robbed Venice of the monopoly of the eastern trade which her merchants had long enjoyed, and the Senate was all the more anxious to
jealousy.

The

Portuguese,

a waterway to India via the Cape,

secure for the Venetian galleys the freight of

all

the wines shipped from Candia to England

and Flanders.
*

To

this

end they imposed, in 63

WINE AND SPIRITS

1489, an export duty of four ducats per butt of Malmsey shipped from Candia in other

than
in

Venetian

vessels.

This
of

new impost
retaliation,

levied on English shipping

was greatly resented

England,

and,

by way

Henry VII attempted to transfer the wool The king decreed staple from Venice to Pisa. that English merchants should not go to
Venice, but
sell

their

wool at Pisa, where

the Venetians were to

come and

fetch

it

if

they chose, bringing to Pisa their Malmseys preatly incensed for sale to the Englishmen,

by such a
strict

decree, the Senate of Venice issued

no Malmsey whatsoever should ever be shipped from Candia to Pisa, and negotiations soon followed between the Republic and the English Court, which lasted
orders that
for

many

years.

In

1491,

the

Commons
all

placed an extra duty of 18s. per butt upon

Malmseys brought to England by foreigners, but the King promised to take off the new duty as soon as the Venetians should discontinue their export tax of four ducats, or about
1 8s., per

butt on Malmseys shipped in English

bottoms.

64

MADEIRA
This struggle between Venice and England for the preponderance of their respective

when Venice and repealed the tax of 18s. per butt levied in Candia upon English shipping. The demanded at the same time that Republic the similar tax be repealed which had been laid upon Venetians bringing Malmsey to England. Henry VII had personally promised to do so, and the Commons had made it expressly known, when the new tax was imposed, that it should be removed as soon But no as the Venetians removed theirs.
merchant
yielded
fleets lasted till 1499,

pledges

nor promises
of
"

could

overcome the
Venice was

instinctive dislike

English statesmen to

take off a

temporary " impost.

at that time faced with grave difficulties in the Adriatic and unable to retaliate the
;

ambassadors to Henry VII, Wolsey, and Henry VIII, but all they obtained was a reduction,
Senate sent
letters

many

and

several

never a remission, of this tax.

In the seventeenth century, Candia fell into the hands of the Turks, and Candia wines

became more

difficult

to obtain, and, even-

65

WINE AND SPIRITS

they ceased to be shipped altogether. In England, although the consumption of Malmsey fell off considerably, this wine never
tually,

ceased altogether to be imported.

Malmsey
its

had been too long appreciated throughout the

land for
its

popularity not to outlive

actual supply.

In order to meet the demand,

merchants imported and sold as Malmsey similar wines to those of Candia which they
procured in Greece and Italy, or at Cyprus,
Teneriffe

During the and other islands. eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, by far the best Malmsey in England was that from
the island of Madeira.

The Infante

Dom Henrique is

credited with

having imported the Malmsey grape from Candia to Madeira as far back as the fifteenth

a medium-sized grape, known in the island as " Malvazia Candida," of a

century.
It is

rich golden colour

when

ripe,

and

yielding a

luscious white wine with a peculiar bouquet.

The wines of Madeira, like those of the Douro and of Marsala, owe much of their excellence and of their reputation abroad to English enterprise. The wines of Madeira
66

MADEIRA
were of poor quality and of no repute in 1745, when a young Englishman, one Francis Newton, set himself the task of improving viti-

culture

and existing wine-making methods. The loose volcanic soil of the hills and the admirable climate of the island were, and still
are, so perfectly suited to the culture of

the

vine

that,

in

spite

of

the ignorance

and

indolence of the natives, excellent wines were

made by Mr. Newton and

Cossart,

his friends,

Gordon,

Murdoch, Johnston, and Spence. They began by exporting their wines to the West Indies and North America. High tariffs or irksome regulations made it difficult for either France or Spain to send their wines to the English colonies, but the wines of Madeira were not considered to be a European commodity, and they were allowed to be imported
direct.

Newton took advantage

it is

of this fact,

as

was to be expected, and

even probable

that this was the principal reason which led

him

to choose Madeira as the scene of his

activities.

During the American War, English officers were scarcely able to they obtain any other wine than Madeira
commercial
;

67

WINE AND SPIRITS

learnt to appreciate
it,

and on

their return

home they and their friends materially helped to make Madeira popular in England, where The taste it had been little known until then. for Madeira at home and in the colonies
became so general
at the close of the eight-

eenth century that the supply barely kept

pace with the demand.

In India, the con-

sumption of Madeira used to be considerable, and much of this wine was also sent to Bombay and back to London in order to mature it more rapidly. Madeira is a generous wine which matures
slowly but keeps better and longer than most
wines.

Soon

after it is

made

it is

kept for

some months

in

heated chambers, where,

owing to the evaporation of a large proportion of its aqueous parts, it acquires greater
alcoholic strength.

Good, old Madeira Malmsey is one of the finest dessert wines, and not the least of its many charms is that it is so seldom met with.

68

VII:

MARSALA
that fatal day in 289
first

SINCE
1913,
city

B.C.,

when

captured and sacked by the Gauls, until the year of grace

Rome was

when the

chief magistrate of the eternal

was a Socialist Jew named Nathan, disasters and humiliations have many a time overtaken, and been heaped upon, the most
marvellous city in the world
lifts
;

but
all

Rome

still

her head proudly above

the cities of

London may be the largest capital in the universe, and Paris the most brilliant, but both London and Paris owe to Rome a debt of gratitude that no homage can ever adequately repay. Who made those marthe world.

which brought the traffic of the country to the capital, and enabled him
vellous roads

who

held the capital to

?

around

make his sway felt Who, but the Romans ? Both

England and France pride themselves on their civilisation and their civilising power
69

WINE AND SPIRITS

in every part of the world
their civilisation
;

but what would

civilised

be had they not been

?

themselves

by Rome

And would

their

great colonial

empires ever have existed had

they not been taught by

Rome how

to rule

And

if

we

look

across

the Atlantic,

and

consider the

laws of those vast countries

life

throbbing with young

and energy, from

Canada to the Argentine Republic, we shall see that their laws like our own in Europe are permeated with the spirit, and sometimes
contain even the letter, of the old
Civil

Roman

Law.

Cedant arma togae ; the Roman lawyers and administrators were even greater men than the Roman captains what the soldier conquered the lawyer kept and administered. Think of the numerical strength of the Roman legions, and of the empire they had to police, and you realise that the Roman empire would never have been so vast nor lasted so long had it not been administered by strong and wise laws. The Roman law was eminently constructive. The Roman law was strictly, even cruelly, just, and herein
;

70

MARSALA
lay
its

greatest

strength.

A woman who

attempted to

set fire to

a theatre containing

upwards of seven hundred men, women and children would have been put out of harm's way by the Romans, whether she claimed to be a political agent or a lunatic. Votes for women would have grievously shocked the common sense and logic of the Romans. They never could have understood our sentimentalism or our forbearance.
Mr. Leif Jones

would have amazed them, and they would have looked upon as grossly immoral such wills as that of a Mrs. Sarah Egglestone, of Upper Norwood, who died a few years ago, leaving eight hundred pounds' worth of Consols to provide for her dog Paddy, on whose demise the sum is to revert to the R.S.P.C.A. The Roman law was a manmade law, and it treated women kindly but firmly, withholding from them rights which they were likely to misuse, and privileges which were beyond their appreciation. It was thus that the Roman law forbade women and Roman custom was for to drink wine centuries opposed to women having their
;

7i

WINE AND SPIRITS

meal at the same board as men.
censures
Cicero even
calls

somewhat severely what he

the

indecent custom of

wives

to

introducing their convivial reunions. " Quis enim

men

Romanorum pudet uxorem

vivium ?

inducere in con"
?

Aut cujus materfamilias non primum

their wine, as

tenet locum, atque in celebritate versatur

The Romans drank

most things,
recreation

they did

methodically and thoroughly.

Their chief meal was supper, and their chief

was conversation. With their food they drank wine diluted with water, but once the eating tables had been removed a dessert was brought in, and different wines were served which helped rhetoric to flow and wit
to sparkle.

Many and
Italy,

excellent were then the wines of

but none more highly prized by the

in all

Romans, nor more widely celebrated

:

parts of the empire than the Falernian, which Martial calls " immortal "
" Addere quid cessas, puer, immortale Falernum
?

The fame
72

of the Falernian vintages has long

since passed away, but not so the reputation

MARSALA
of the wines of Italy.

Italy

is,

after France,

the largest
world,

wine-producing country in the

and it may be likened to one vast vineyard from Lombardy and Tuscany in the

north

down

to

Sicily

in

the

south.

In

England the

earliest

known

Italian wine

was

the Vernage, or wine of Vernaccia, which is mentioned by Chaucer in the " Merchant's

Tale "
"

He

drinketh ipocras, claree and Vernage

hot, t'encressen his corage."

Of spyces

Vernage was reputed one of Italy's finest wines a hundred years before Chaucer's time, when Pope Martin IV used to stew his Bolsena eels in Vernaccia wine a refinement of luxury for which Dante makes him suffer in Purgatory

"

purga per digiuno

L'anguille di Bolsena in la Vernaccia."

During
centuries,

the

seventeenth

and eighteenth

the wines of Tuscany enjoyed a

great popularity in

England where they were

sold mostly under the

name

of Florence wines.

to have been imported in flasks, not in casks, and to have always been ex-

They appear

73

WINE AND SPIRITS

pensive.

On January

8th, 1661,

in his Diary that he had,

Pepys noted on that day, drunk

some Florence wine at Lady Sandwich's house, and that her ladyship had given him two bottles of the same wine for his wife. There are records of Florence wines being sent to England from Italy in 1661, 1668, 1669 and 1670, but always in very small quantities. Towards the end of the seventeenth century,
the imports of Florence wine increased greatly.

From October

29th, 1682, to February 1st,

1683, there were only thirty-three chests of

Florence wine imported into London,

seventy-three
chests

but

during the month of

30th, 1698,

February, 1683.

From October

to August 23rd, 1699, the imports of Florence

wine in London rose to two thousand tuns. Many London taverns then sold Florence wine in place of French wines, the importation of which had been prohibited' by William of Orange. Thus Richard Ames in his " Search
after Claret " (1691)
:

" At the Shepherd when boldly for claret we askt He told us he'd very good Florence was flaskt."

74

MARSALA
"

He
But

assured us of claret he had not a gill, of delicate Florence we might have our

fill."

Writing to James Vernon, on August 27th, 1698, Matthew Prior praises " Lacrima Christi

and White Florence." The wines of Tuscany were imported in greater plenty into England by the Genoese
to supply the place of the Malmseys, after

the conquest of Candia

yintages
in this country,
fairly

by the Turks. Tuscan .however, never became very popular

not only on account of their
also,

high price, but

and

chiefly,

because

they did not last well. In his " Journal to Stella," Swift wrote, on January 9th, 1711 " To-day Ford and I set
:

apart to go into the city to

buy books but

we had only a scurvy dinner at an alehouse, and he made me go to the tavern and drink Florence four and sixpence a flask damned
;

wine

"

little later

the same author men-

tions having received

of Florence wine,

from St. John a chest which the Grand Duke was

says,

in the practice of sending over to the chief

ministers,

and which, he
;

" he

liked

mightily "

but, within a fortnight from the

75

WINE AND SPIRITS

time he got
it,
:

he wrote in his " Journal,"

"

April 5th, 1711

Do you know

that

I fear

my

whole chest of Florence is turned sour, at least the two first flasks were so, and hardly drinkable. How plaguey unfortunate am I

and the Secretary's own

tasted "
!

is

the best

ever

Italy

now

exports a great variety of wines,

light beverage red wines,

such as Chianti or

Barolo, white wine from the island of Capri,

sparkling wine from Asti,

and

others,

but

none which can compare as regards quality,

and

suitability to the English climate, with

the Wines of Marsala.

Some one hundred

of

miles to the south-west

Palermo, the ancient city of Lilybaeum

used to be the chief fortress of the Carthaginians in Sicily

island in

and the
times.

finest port in that

Roman
lord

It

was completely

ruined, however, not

by

its

own
it,

by an invading host, but and master, the Emperor

city destroyed, in 1532, for

Charles V, who, finding himself unable to

defend
fear it

had the

might fall into the hands of the Turks. The Turks did come all the same, and they
76

MARSALA
named the
desolate

port

Marsa-Allah,

or

" God's Harbour," a

city bears to this day.

name which

the Sicilian

The wines

of Marsala possess

a beautiful

amber colour and they are both generous and delicate. They owe their peculiarly attractive

bouquet to the loose volcanic soil upon which they are grown, but they owe
their brilliant colour, high alcoholic strength,

and generous body to the care and with which they are made.
Necessity
certainly
is

intelligence

may
the

be a stern master, but

best

it

master.

The

vine-

Champagne and of the Moselle valley would make little wine if they did not prune their vines hard, manuring them properly, and tending them assiduously all the
growers of
year round, in order to obtain sound ripe
grapes.

There

is

no doubt that

if

the care,

and money spent every year in France and Germany upon the proper cultivation of the vine were spent equally on Italian vineyards, the wines of Italy would be better than they are to-day; But the richer soil and sunnier climate of Italy are such
labour,

77

WINE AND SPIRITS

that grapes grow

and mature without requiring much attention, and the grower who
little difficulty is

gathers his vintage with so

prone to take no more trouble in the actual making of the wine. The only exception to
this rule is at Marsala,
is

where the wine industry

largely

in

the hands of two important

The man who first taught the Sicilians how to make their wine fit for shipment abroad, and suitable to the taste of
English firms.
Northerners, was a native of Liverpool, one

John Woodhouse, who

settled at Marsala in

the eighteenth century. His firm, which is still extant, supplied " His Majesty's Ships
off

Malta," under the

less

command

of Nelson,
of wine,

with no
in 1800.

than

five

hundred pipes
later, in 1805,

few years

a Yorksoul

shireman, Benjamin Ingham, started business

in Palermo,

and gave himself heart and

to the wine industry.

His patient research

improve very considerably both viticulture and the art of wine making in Sicily. The firm he founded
at

and study enabled him to

Marsala,

in

1812,

still

exists,

the last hundred years

these

and for two English

78

MARSALA
have succeeded in making wholesome and generous Marsala wine one of the most justly popular of all wines in the
firms

world.

79

VIII

CAPE WINES
other part of the British Empire

no IN has

the vine been cultivated on such

a large scale and for so long a time as Johan van Riebeek, the pioneer at the Cape. of Dutch civilisation in South Africa, im-

ported vines in 1653, and cultivated them The vine successfully in Table Bay Valley.
appears to have taken kindly to the South

from the first, and in 1658 van Riebeek's success induced the then Commander of the Colony to lay out the first
African
soil

Government vineyard
sisted of 1,200 vines

at the Cape.

It conat

and

it

was situated

what was known

at the time as Wijnberg,

where is Bishop in South Africa. Viticulture spread with such rapidity and the vines proved so prolific that ten years later there was already a glut of wine at the Cape. In 1670, the Dutch
East India Company sought to encourage 80

to-day the residence of the Anglican

CAPE WINES
the growers of South Africa to export their

wines to Batavia, but the attempts made then and renewed on several other occasions

proved quite unsuccessful

ently suffered so

the wines apparfailed to

much

during the sea voyage

from the Cape to Java that they

give satisfaction
to the

that island.
to as a

Distillation

Dutch settlers on was then resorted

but the been very

means

of disposing of the surplus

production of wine at the Cape,

primitive

methods employed must have and the spirit obtained failed to prove acceptable even in the Colony. Very praiseworthy efforts were then made to improve the quality of the wines. Vine cuttings were imported from France, the Rhinegau and Spain, and in 1686, the Governor, van der Stel, issued a proclamation making it a
punishable
before he
offence

to

gather

one's

grapes

and a special committee of experts had fixed the day upon which the vintage was to begin. Two years later, in 1688, many Huguenots arrived and settled at or near the Cape, most of whom had a thorough and practical knowledge of viticulture and wine81

WINE AND SPIRITS

Vineyards continued to be planted, and in 1710 the number of vines at the Cape

making.

had increased so much as to reach nearly

three million, whilst in the Stellenbosch and

Drakenstein
gress

districts,

such marvellous proof wine

was made that the production

in

rose from 1,639 leggers in 1735, to 12,000

leggers

1800

(one

legger

equals

about

128 imperial gallons).

Needless to say, the

production of wine increased far more rapidly than the white population of the Colony, so
that the Administration sought repeatedly to
create an export trade which might prove a

source of wealth to growers as well as to the

Cape Exchequer. Constantia wine was exported to Europe as early as 1722, and it was very favourably received in Holland, where it fetched from 10 to 16 per legger.
Unfortunately, the quantity of wine

made

at

Constantia was very limited, and no other

wine proved acceptable.

The produce

of the

many
to

other South African vineyards appears

unfit

have been very abundant, but quite

to bear a long sea voyage.

six small casks of

In June, 1719,
to

Cape wine were sent

82

CAPE WINES
Amsterdam and Batavia, then a few large casks were shipped to Amsterdam and Middelburg, and, finally, a thousand bottles were

shipped, but, in each instance,

when the wine

reached

it was found to be Yet in spite of their failure to establish a profitable export market for their wines, the farmers found viticulture

its

destination

unfit for

consumption.

sufficiently profitable

not only to maintain but even to increase the number and extent of their vineyards so long as the country

remained under Dutch domination.

slave labour,

On

the

one hand, labour was then almost entirely

and consequently very cheap

on the other hand, the population of the Colony was steadily increasing and all the

Dutch East India Company, both outward and homeward bound, called at the Cape, where much wine was purchased
vessels of the
for their use.

an Agricultural Department was created, and the improvement of Cape wines was confidently entrusted to it. The new Administration had been so
In 1800, under British
rule,

struck

by the

flourishing state of the Colony's

83

WINE AND SPIRITS

extensive vineyards that
it

entertained great

hopes of deriving an important revenue from

the export of South African wines.

To

en-

courage the growers, as well as to gain their

goodwill and loyalty, Parliament lowered the

duty charged on both wine and brandy shipped from the Cape to Great Britain. In 1811, the number of vines growing in the Colony was 18,607,278, producing 11,010 leggers of wine and 1,014 leggers of brandy. In that year, the Administration issued a circular to all the wine growers of the Colony, calling their attention to the importance of improving as much as lay in their power the quality of their wines so as to make them acceptable in England at the same time, an official taster was appointed, whose office it was to see that all wines intended for
;

export

good quality to stand the voyage and to do credit to the Colony. No wine could be shipped abroad
were' of
sufficient

without the " taster's " permit, and, judging

from

results, this official

must have acquitted

office

himself of his delicate task in a very conscientious

manner

his

only

lasted

84

CAPE WINES
fourteen years (1811-25), during which the

exports of wines from the Cape rose steadily

to

67,985

leggers.

This rapid increase in

for the wines of

the

demand from abroad

the Colony resulted in European wines being

actually sent to the Cape,

with the local

wines.

and there mixed wines to be reshipped as Cape

increased

The

greatly

demand

for

Cape wines in England was to a large extent due to the reduction, in July, 1813, of the duty on these wines from 43 to 14 7s. More vineyards were planted, until the Colony could boast of 30,000,000 vines. The export trade, however, began to decrease after 1825, but, nevertheless, it remained quite important until 1835, when the duty on French wine was reduced to 6s. per gallon, and that on Portuguese wine to whilst the duty on Cape 4s. per gallon, wines remained fixed at 2s. per gallon. Later on, the duty on Cape wines was raised to 2s. gd. per gallon, but the greatest blow of all was when the duties were
levied

no longer according to the country they came from but according to their
85

WINE AND SPIRITS

alcoholic strength, whatever their origin
be.

might

In 1825, the value of wines exported from the Cape was greater than that of any other

commodity exported from the Colony. Soon after, however, wool and hides took the first in 1865, wine was fifth on the list of place exports, and it sank to the eighth place in
;

1868.

The loss

of the English

market was naturally

severely felt in South

Africa, but the growers

did not lose heart.

Far from abandoning

their vineyards they planted more,

and they

successfully checked the inroads of the oidium

dreaded disease made its appearance early in the 'sixties. In 1875, there were 68,910,215 vines growing in the Colony, covering an area of 8,588 morgen, 65 roods, and producing 4,485,665 gallons of wine and

when

this

1,067,832 of spirits, figures which are

all

the

more remarkable when compared with those

relating to
spirits

the total exports of wine and

;

these amounted to from the Cape only 197,748 from 1873 to 1879. What really happened was that the decline in the 86

CAPE WINES
demand
for

Cape wines

in

England took place

during a period of unprecedented prosperity

Diamonds were discovered in 1869, the Diamond Fields were annexed in 1871, Kimberley and De Beers were also " discovered " in 1871, and full responsible government was conceded in 1872 furtherin the Colony.
;

more, ever since the incorporation of Basutoland in 1869, other territories were constantly

annexed or incorporated, east, west, and and as the Colony grew so also grew its population, till the consumption of wine within the Colony was such as to absorb practically the whole of the local supply. Ever since, with the exception of a period of acute depression which followed the war of
north,

1900-1902, the local

demand

for the wines

and brandy of the Cape has increased at the same ratio as the production thereof, with the result that the growers have paid little attention to the making of wines suitable for export, and merchants have not been tempted to make any great pecuniary sacrifices to reintroduce Cape wine to the notice of the British public. The most dreaded scourge
87

WINE AND SPIRITS

of the vine,

the phylloxera, was

first

dis-

covered in South Africa at Howbray, near

Cape Town, on January 2nd, 1886, and in four years it had spread to Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Paarl, and the surrounding
districts.

The Administration spent

nearly

50,000 and destroyed two million vines from 1886 to 1890 in the hope of checking the
progress of the pest,
It

but without success.

was then decided to import and propagate hardy American stocks to replant the desolated vineyards.

From 1891
16s.
5d.,

to 1894; 623,891

plants
cost

were
of

imported

from

France,

at

1,476

amongst the the Government the most suitable varieties were propagated locally, and in thirteen years 19,237,259 grafted vines were replanted
tributed
;

and were farmers by

dis-

in the Colony.

In 1891, there were 73,574,124 vines in the Colony, producing 6,012,522 gallons of wine,
1,423,043
million
after,

gallons of spirits,
of raisins,.

and over two

pounds

For a few years

the replanting of the vineyards did not keep pace with the destructive industry of

88

CAPE WINES
Thus, in 1899, the colony produced only 4,826,432 gallons of wine and 1,167,344 gallons of spirits but since the replanted vineyards have withthen
the phylloxera.
;

stood so
pest,
spirits
is

much
the

better the

attacks
of

of

the

that
is

production
rapidly

wine
the

now
to

equal to that of
in

and 1891 and

near

likely

increase

future.

The
to

fruitful

vine

is

cultivated in

many
most

parts of Cape Colony, and vineyards are also

be found

in the Transvaal, but the

all

important vineyards are

districts,

situated in the
;

south-western districts of the Cape

in other

such as Graaf-Reinet, and in the Eastern Province, grapes are chiefly grown
for raisins, or,
is
if

pressed, the wine they yield

usually distilled.

By
is

far the

most famous

of the

Cape wines

that of Constantia, pro-

duced at a wine-farm of that name, founded about 1690 by Simon van der Stell, at no great distance from Cape Town, and practically at the foot of Table Mountain. Next to
Constantia in point of quality, the best wines
of South Africa are those of the

Cape proper,
89

WINE AND SPIRITS

Stellenbosch, Somerset West, Caledon, Paarl,

which are produced by the vineyards of what may be

Wellington, and Malmesbury,
all

of

called the coastal area.

Farther inland, at

Worcester, Robertson, Montagu, Ladysmith,

and Oudtshoorn the vines are cultivated on rich alluvial soil in sheltered valleys, and
produce a greater quantity of grapes than
is
it

anywhere else, yielding as much as 1,600 gallons of wine per acre, which is more than double the greatest yield
possible to obtain

obtainable in the coastal districts.

Quantity,

however,

is

never obtained but at the expense

of quality,

and the bulk

in the inland districts is

otherwise than of
ally the

made and never can be indifferent quality. The

of the wines

vines cultivated in South Africa were origin-

same Riesling as on the Rhine, the same Pedro Ximenes as at Jerez, the same Shiraz as at Hermitage, the same Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, or Verdot as in the Medoc but these vines grow in much richer soil
than their species ever knew in Europe, and their growth is assisted by mild winters,

showery springs, and

90

fine,

dry summers, the

CAPE WINES
like of

which has never been seen in any

other part of the world.

As a result, the same vines bear an enormously greater proportion of grapes in South Africa than in

either France,

Germany, Spain, or Portugal

when

these grapes are pressed, their sweet

juice is

found to be quite different from the

juice of the

same

species of grapes
;

grown

in

European vineyards it contains a great deal more sugar and water, but the other component parts do not increase in nearly the same ratio, so that the wine, which is eventually made from South African grapes may be more luscious and possess greater alcoholic strength than the wine made from similar grapes grown in Europe, and it will certainly
be totally different. This being the case, the wine merchants of South Africa cannot be too highly commended for selling Cape wines

under local names such as Red Tafelberg, Constantia Pontac, Riebeek Kasteel, Drakenstein,
etc.,

instead

of

usurping

the

better

known names
or
all

of Claret or

Sherry.

All the more honourable

the

more deserving

Burgundy, Port and of success is he

9i

WINE AND SPIRITS

who
of
it,

fights for

his

own

flag,

and who strives to when he could save trouble and would it more profitable to sail under
colours.

who is proud make it respected,

find
false

92

IX

THE WINES OF
the amenities, the excomforts of civilisation,

CALIFORNIA

FAR away from citement and

in the

bleak

and lonely

district

of

Eskdalemuir, in Dumfriesshire, there lives a brave man whose life-work is to look for trouble.
Constantly

watching

uncanny

instruments

known

as seismographs, or poring over the

literature of seismology, the hermit of

Esk-

dalemuir derives great satisfaction and no little pride from being in charge of one of
the best-equipped geo-dynamic observatories
in

the world.

His business

is

to

tell

the

where and when earthquakes may confidently be expected, and also, after it is all over, where, when, and how they occurred. His warnings are little heeded by the world when the earthquake announced alters the
world shape of some extinct volcano at the bottom
of the

Pacific

ndbody minds, and when

it

93

WINE AND SPIRITS

causes an appalling death-roll as at Messina
or Valparaiso the expert has the gratification
of saying to the

world

"

You

see, I

had

told

you so." But who thanks him for his pains, and who troubles to learn the lesson he would Our optimism is admirteach ? Nobody In theory the pessimists able and incurable
! !

are right, but in practice the optimists are

seldom wrong. There was one man in San Francisco who, long before it actually occurred,

had been expecting and preparing for the San Francisco earthquake he was the Chief of the Fire Brigade, and he knew that when
;

the expected calamity took place the greatest

danger of

all

would be the cutting

off of the

water supply and a general conflagration.

He

was a pessimist, but he was right, and for weeks and weeks he worked night and day to perfect a plan which would have saved the great city from the horrors of fire and panic. The fatal day at last came, and the far-seeing pessimist was the first man to be killed by The the first chimney-pot that fell down others the thousands of men, women, and children unreasoning optimists all, most of
!

94

CALIFORNIA WINES
them escaped unhurt and have rebuilt their destroyed homes as if nothing had happened, and as if nothing could ever happen again.
World-shaking earthquakes
are,

happily,

few and far between, and most of us have every reason to hope being spared by them.
There
are

other

dangers,
is

surround us, and there

Priests
of
all
;

which one calamity which

later.

however,

we know must overtake us sooner or

creeds
are

very

much

like

seismologists

they warn the unheeding multitudes of the shock that is coming and bid
for

them prepare for it. But who thanks them it, and who troubles to learn the lesson Our optimism they would teach ? Very few and incorrigible. is truly incomprehensible
!

Nearly

all

the great

men

of the world

have

been pessimists, most of them have lived an

unhappy

life,

and many have suffered a

violent or miserable death.

The

great

man

does not aim at being happy but at making

others happier, better or greater,
lies

and therein

his

own

greatness.
;

Such men are the

salt of

the earth

they are the exception to

the rule, and they are seldom appreciated

95

WINE AND SPIRITS

during their lifetime by
multitudes
pieces
selfish

and greedy

who

acclaim them or tear them to

slightest provocation.

upon the

And

yet history shows us that the instincts of

the masses are usually right, and that the

greatest

men have made

all

the greatest mis-

some time or other. A country or even a town peopled exclusively by heroic men and women, made on the pattern of the
takes of
at
greatest intellects the world has ever pro-

absolutely unthinkable. Could even house be inhabited entirely by great a single men without bloodshed and turmoil being

duced,

is

the immediate consequence

A
This

little
little
is

salt

with one's meat with

is

excellent,

but a

meat

much

salt is detestable.

so true

that an all-wise Providence has so ordained

we live in that really great and good men and women are scarce, and everything in the world that is really great and
the world

good

is

equally scarce or limited in extent

this is

why

it

is

all

the more deserving of

our regard and appreciation.

The quantity
96

of

wine which

may
is

claim to

possess exceptional excellence

exceedingly

CALIFORNIA WINES
almost insignificant when compared with the enormous quantities of ordinary wines made in all parts of the world. There are a few casks of a very fine and delicate
small,

wine made at Berncastel, for instance, from the " Doctor " vineyards, but for each one cask of this precious liquid about a million gallons of very moderate wine are made from the vineyards of the Moselle. The quantity of wine produced at Ay, RomaneeConti and Haut-Brion is but a very small
fraction of the truly stupendous quantity of

wine produced in France, most of which, however, cannot boast of any other claim
to public favour than that
it

is

ordinary,

sound, wholesome wine, sufficiently abundant

to be

moderate in
aristocrats

price.

The

among wines stand by

themselves, and they are not only beyond the

means but also beyond the appreciation of the immense majority of mankind. They are
the
exceptions,

very

valuable

exceptions,

of quality so that others

which stand boldly for the highest standard may be guided in

the right path.

But, next to the exceptions

97

WINE AND SPIRITS

and
there
far
is

more important for everyday use, and the rule is sound, the rule
;

wholesome, ordinary wine,

refreshing

made from

the

naturally fermented juice of the grape, both

and elevating, the most natural and comforting beverage within the reach
of

the great

bulk of

civilised

races,

the

most powerful aid to the digestive organs,

the most admirable food for the brain.
Plain, honest

wine

is

made

all

the world
is

over,

and

its

universal appreciation

suffi-

ciently proved

by the

fact that a greater area

is

of the world's cultivated lands

its

devoted to production than to that of anything else,

Chili,

the growing of wheat excepted.

Argentine, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay,
in

the

and Bolivia,

have their vineyards, where large quantities of wine are produced for home consumption. In North America, Mexico and Canada also produce wine, but only in very small quantities compared with the quantity which is made every year in the United States. The vineyards of the United States may be divided into two very distinct categories the one east and the other west"
all

South America,

98

CALIFORNIA WINES
of the Rockies.

The

vines which

grow in the

eastern States are species indigenous to the

country
lific,

they are very hardy and very proand they possess a remarkable power of
;

resisting the attacks of the phylloxera.

is

This

the reason

why European
;

growers have

adopted these American vines to replant their

.

devastated vineyards
longer

their roots resist

much
to

than those
its

of>

European

species
is

subterranean pests, but their

allowed to bear

wood
;

not

natural crop
is for

they are
;

used as the hardy briar

flowers
species
of

standard roses

the grapes they produce in Europe, like the the standard,

are those of the

grafted

on them.

In

the

eastern

States, however, the indigenous American vines grow in their natural state and produce a large quantity of grapes, from which a very moderate kind of wine is made which requires

national prejudice or local idiosyncrasies to

be appreciated.
Conditions are very different, indeed, on the

western side of the Rockies, along the sun-

bathed coast of the

Pacific,

in

California.

Not only are the climate and

soil of California

99

WINE AND SPIRITS

better suited to the culture of the vine than

any other part of the States, but the species of vines grown there are some of the best European species, and they are cultivated in a most scientific manner, with the result that
the reputation of the wines of California has
long since travelled farther than the limits
of

and has spread from America to the older civilisations of Europe and Asia.
its

native State,

California

is

the westernmost State of the

In

U.S.A., extending from parallel 32 deg. 28

mins. to parallel 42 deg. north latitude.

the north,

it

adjoins British Columbia, and

it

in the south,

reaches Mexico, whilst the

Pacific to the west

Sierra

and the great range of the Nevada to the east form its natural
California

boundaries.

has

coastline

of

over goo miles and an area of 158,360 square

what such one should compare them with

miles.
realise

To

figures

mean

those, of more
for
instance,
is

familiar

lands,

remembering,
its

that the total area of Great Britain

88,000

square miles, and that

greatest length,
point,

from Land's End to the northernmost

100

CALIFORNIA WINES
Dunnett Head, is 600 miles. The immense area and the peculiar geographical position of
California

make

it

impossible to speak in
soil,

general terms of the climate, the

or the

produce of the land

its

climate
vegetal

is

both arctic

and

tropical,

and

its

and mineral

wealth varies very considerably, both in kind and in extent, within so vast a territory. In
all

but the most northern

is

districts of Cali-

fornia the climate

well suited to viticulture.

The

early Spanish missionaries

and explorers
found

who brought
the land
;

civilisation to California

the wild vine growing luxuriantly throughout

they were the

first

to cultivate the

native species of vines in California and the

first

to import cuttings of

neither they nor their

European stocks but immediate successors

;

appear to have succeeded in producing a wine sufficiently palatable to be appreciated

anywhere else but locally. For many years, the gold mines of California proved too great an attraction for viticulture to receive much immigrants streamed into the attention country whose one idea was to satisfy with the least possible delay and at all costs their
;

101

WINE AND SPIRITS

gnawing hunger, insatiable
sed craving for gold.
It
thirst, and accurwas not until the

mines began to show signs of exhaustion that immigrants turned from the inferno of the

mining pits to the paradise of sheltered valleys, where undulating vineyards yielded

abundant and refreshing fruit, which more than repaid the little care they demanded. It was only in 1875, a quarter of a century after California had been admitted to the
Union, that the State authorities took
country.
California
official

notice of the wine-making industry of the

In that year, the Legislature of

realised
for

the

first

time that

be encouraged and that it might become one of the most important branches of agriculture within the State and one which was more likely than any other to attract a desirable class of immigrants that
viticulture should
;

is

to say,

men who would work and

settle

on

the land.

was appointed, and it sent to Europe an expert whose mission it was to bring back cuttings of the most suitable European species of vines. This
Viticulture Commission

102

CALIFORNIA WINES
Commission did but little good, probably owing to the limited powers and means it possessed, but it made it evident that the
natural resources of the country were such as
to render viticulture

and the wine industry

enable

most

profitable,

if

only the State would lend

effectual

help at the beginning to

experiments being

being accorded to the growers.

made and encouragement The result

was the creation by the State Legislature, in March, 1880, of a State Board of Viticulture and the grant thereto of the necessary funds. The wine-growing area of California was then divided into seven districts, and the Board consisted of one Commissioner from each of these seven districts and of two other Commissioners

representing
to

the

State.

This

work immediately, started experimental stations, and issued periodical

Board
set

reports giving to the growers valuable advice

as to the species of vines they should select
for their vineyards according to the climate,

aspect,

and

soil of

each different

district.

In 1880, before the creation of the State

Board

of Viticulture, fthere

were about 35,000

103

WINE AND SPIRITS

acres in California planted with vines, and

only about
1888,

twenty per cent, of the grapes then grown were of European varieties ; in
the

vineyards of California

covered

150,000 acres and ninety per cent, of these

species of vines.
of wine

were planted with suitably chosen European In 1877, the total amount

made
;

in California

gallons

in

1886,
;

it

was only 4,000,000 had increased to

Cali-

18,000,000 gallons

and the average yearly

of wine

production for the years 1908-1912 in

fornia

was 43,465,565 gallons

are
large
less

and

2,189,908 gallons of brandy,

there
quantities

besides which
of

table-grapes

than 53,829 acres of land being entirely devoted to the culture of table-grapes. Of all the differences which necessarily exist

grown, no

between California and Europe, the greatest and most characteristic is assuredly the

human
care

element.

In the old world, farmers

cultivate small vineyards of their

own

with

and they mostly aim at producing a better wine from their small
and
pride,

estate

than

their

neighbours.

When

the

growers

sell either their

grapes or their wine,

104

CALIFORNIA WINES
they receive widely different prices in the

same districts, according to the exact position and aspect of each vineyard, and according to
the degree of excellence of either grapes or

wines

a road or even a path

may

divide

vineyards the produce of which will fetch

widely different prices and yield wines which

will

never be blended together, being sold

under the distinctive names to which they are entitled, and with the mention of the year

when they were made.

The proper

appreci-

ation of the particular merits of different

vintages and of different growths

is

one of

the greatest charms wine has for connoisseurs,

wine declare that to learn how to appreciate wine more than amply repays the little trouble and expense it necessitates. In the old world, wine-making is an art in

and lovers

of

America,
alone, in

it

is

an industry.

One concern
;

California,

has over ten million

" dollars invested in the local wine" industry in 1902, they crushed 225,000 tons of grapes
their

stocks

of

wine are over 30,600,000

of their stores alone holds

gallons,

and one

10,000,000

gallons.

Compare such

figures

105

WINE AND SPIRITS

with the quantities of wine

made

or stocked

by the wealthiest champagne or port shipper, with the production and stocks of wine at
Steinberg, Clos de Vougeot or Chateau Mar-

gaux.

There

is

no comparison

possible.

The

30,000,000 gallons held

quality, but

by the one

Calif ornian

concern referred to above cannot be of uniform

if

sold under its

each individual wine had to be own name and according to its

would be a tremendous and money, all of which can be greatly minimised by judicious blendintrinsic merit there
loss of time, labour, ing.
It
is

thus that a comparatively few

all of

types are offered to the public,

are

which
year.

made up
it is

to a certain standard of quality

which

possible to maintain year

by

advantage of creating amongst the public a well-deserved feeling of

confidence in the constant type
quality of these wines.

It also has the great

and standard
that they

To know

can rely upon getting a wholesome, full or light, sweet or dry, red or white California
wine when they ask
for
it,

is

of far greater

importance to and more truly appreciated by

most people than

106

if

they had to pick and

CALIFORNIA WINES
choose between the wines of different vintages

produced in the counties of Tulare, Santa Clara, Alameda, Napa, Santa Cruz, Contra Costa, Fresno, or Sonoma, and from sundry
vineyards of more or
these counties.
less

repute in each of

107

X THE VINEYARDS OF
:

AUSTRALIA
and our helplessness ever to achieve our most cherished ideals are mercifully hidden from our view, so that we struggle on hopefully or thoughtlessly from day to day. Ancient dynasties have shone brilliantly great men have and ended miserably
efforts
;

THE

irony of fate, the futility of our

raised their country to the highest pinnacle of fame or precipitated it into the lowest

depths of desolation
delusions

noble illusions and

futile

have led whole nations

either to
;

glorious conquests or irreparable ruin

find

and we

on every page
proofs

of the history of the

human
usually

race

that

the

unexpected

happens, that the improbable often does and

that even the impossible sometimes proves
possible.

The
10S

British

Empire

is

one of the most

AUSTRALIAN WINES
striking examples of
of God's Providence.

man's insignificance and Without any carefully

method or continuity of policy, the British Empire has grown up haphazard and its strength, cohesion and stability are all the more admirable that they
plan, rational

drawn

are almost inexplicable

prehensible.

if

not wholly incom-

a remarkable instance of the assistance which a kind fate may render

Australia, also,
is

to

short-sighted,

blundering men.

Banish-

ment was first ordered as a punishment for rogues and vagrants by statute in Elizabeth's reign, but no place was there specified. The
practice of transporting criminals oversea
said to
victs
is

have commenced in 1619, when confirst sent to the American colonies. The War of Independence and the Peace of Versailles deprived the English Government of their favourite dumping ground for undesirables, and somebody having suggested that they could not be sent too far, Parliament decided, in 1786, to make a convict settlement at the " other end of the world," at Botany Bay. The following year, in 1787,
were
109

WINE AND SPIRITS

the
first

convict fleet sailed from England

as well as

carrying seven hundred and seventy-six con-

some cattle, Wales in 1788. and it reached New South Nothing was then known about Australia, and the people of England were far too much interested in the debate upon the Prince of
victs,

men and women,

Wales' marriage with Mrs. Fitzherbert to give a thought to that far off land of the convicts,
where, travellers reported, the birds had no

song nor had the flowers any smell where neither corn nor fruit-trees grew, where there
;

were neither horse, sheep, dog nor rabbit where all that which is required for the needs
or comfort of

man was

wanting.

It

was not

until the beginning of the last century that

the mere outlines of the whole coast were

known, and no prophet would ever have dared to hint, a hundred years ago, that such splendid cities as Sydney and Melbourne would ever spring into existence. And yet, in spite of tremendous chfnculties and a most inauspicious start, Australia has become within an astoundingly short space of time a land of Canaan the wheat of its fields, the
;

no

AUSTRALIAN WINES
wool of
its

sheep, the carcasses of

its cattle

and the wine of its vineyards compete in all the great markets of Europe with the produce
of the richest lands of the world.

The vine
sions

is

said to have been

first

imported

into Australia in 1815

since,

and on

several occa-

any success until the year 1832, when James Busby brought to Sydney an important collection of vines selected from the Luxembut
apparently

without

bourg collection, in Paris.

important
districts

The climate

of

many parts of Australia, and the soil in several

are eminently suited to

the culture of the vine.

The only
or climate

fault to
is

be found with either

soil

that

both are too good.

peach grown

in

Eng-

land in the open will mature slowly after many vicissitudes and several alternate periods

and sunshine, but it will be more juicy and possess a far finer flavour than peaches grown in greater plenty and under a much more genial climate in the South of France or in Italy. It is the same with grapes the more uncertain the climate and the crop the poorer the soil and the smaller
of rain
:

in

WINE AND SPIRITS

the yield, the greater will be the excellence

and the

finer the

bouquet of the wine.

if

On

and climate of Australia be too good, the same cannot be said of the labour market. The native races of Australia are of a very low type both physically and mentally they are altogether unfit for the intelligent and conscientious work required in a vineyard. Up to 1838, convict labour was practically the only means
the other hand, the
soil
;

of tending the vines,

but such labour, although

inexpensive, was not altogether satisfactory,

and, at any rate,

it is

no longer

obtainable.

To import French

or

German

vine-dressers

has been resorted to on several occasions and

has given by far the best results, but
it

has

the great drawback of being a very expensive

undertaking

Chinese labour might solve the problem and give a great impetus to Aus;
;

tralian viticulture

the Chinaman
is

is

a cheap

commodity

still

he

naturally industrious,

and hard-working, and he would soon become an expert vine-grower,

precise, conscientious

but he
112

is

much

too good a worker ever to

Australia.

have a chance of being allowed in

AUSTRALIAN WINES
The dearth and great
culture.

cost of skilled labour

viti-

in Australia is a serious handicap to

On

the other hand,

it

has caused

vine-growers to seek and adopt some ex-

tremely ingenious mechanical labour-saving

devices in the manufacture of wine.

Wine-

making

in Australia
of

is

accordingly less of

an art but more

a scientifically conducted

industry than in Europe.

The
in the

vines are planted in rows

same

direction

and usually as the most prevalent

hot winds.
is

The

distance between each root

appreciably greater than in most European

vineyards, so that multiple furrow ploughs

may
hoe.

be used instead of the hand spade or

The vintage usually takes place

in

March, beginning sometimes during the latter part of February, and no machinery has yet

been discovered to replace manual labour

for the picking of the grapes
;

pickers, like all

workers in Australia, are

difficult to find

and

expensive to pay, receiving on an average more than double the wages paid to vintagers
in Europe. in

Once picked, the grapes are sent trucks to the winery where they are
113

WINE AND SPIRITS

and pressed by machinery. The treading of grapes which still obtains in many vine-lands of Southern Europe may be picturesque and give excellent results it
crushed
:

certainly has the greatest antiquity as

its

and it is no less cerand somewhat wasteful. But tainly slow things are more up to date in Australia if
best recommendation
;

one enters one of the big wineries at vintage

time, one

may

rightly be astonished to find

work there powerful hydraulic presses of the latest pattern some are formidable lookat
;

ing pieces of machinery, entirely steel framed,

with a twenty-four inch diameter cylinder

and worked from a pump with high and low

pressure plungers, automatically governed so

that the pressure can be set for either plunger,

and no further attention need be given by the attendant during either day or night
these presses are masterpieces of scientific

labour-saving mechanism

The grapes

are

first

of all "

stemmed,"

or

mechanically detached from their green stems

and then crushed and dropped into fermenting tanks, the mass of juice, skins and pips

114

AUSTRALIAN WINES
forming what
is

called the " marc."

From

the fermenting tanks, the "

into iron-bound cages
carriages

marc is placed mounted on portable

"

and run on lines to the hydraulic press, where it is pressed and drained, the press being capable of a pressure of two hundred and twenty tons on the " marc." The cage is then run under a gantry, where it
hoisted over a dray, the dry husks being dropped out and eventually carted back to the vineyards where they are used as manure. Meanwhile, the juice or " must " is pumped
is

through hoses into polished cement vats where it is left until the fermentation is
completed.

Fermentation

is

a very remarkable phe-

nomenon which

in the old world is allowed

a considerable share of liberty.

casks of wine which he

The Jerez

grower discovers that after fermentation, ten

the grapes of the

wines of different

had pressed from same vineyards contain grades of quality, and the
is

only explanation he can give

that they

have each been affected differently by fermentation. In Germany, too, the wine of one

"5

WINE AND SPIRITS

fuder will be found to be either superior or

the reverse to the wine of another fuder

from the same Estate again, fermentation blamed or praised, as the case may be, and
;

is

it

is

said

to

give

each individual

fuder

its

special value.
tralia

This never happens in Aus-

where fermentation does not take place haphazard but under the most scientific
supervision.

The heat

of the early

summer

sometimes
a

rises to

120 degrees in the shade,

it

temperature which makes

absolutely

necessary to adopt
devices,

some ingenious cooling and other methods of artificially

also cause consider-

regulating the fermentation.

So great a heat would

evaporation,
if

able losses, owing to expansion

and
;

excessive

the wines were kept in hogs-

to avoid heads or comparatively small casks customary to store new wine in large this, it is
vessels,

some

of

which hold as much

as

5,000 gallons.

In some districts, the heat is so great that a very thorough system of irrigation alone

makes it possible to grow grapes making and distilling purposes.

116

for wine-

On

the

AUSTRALIAN WINES
whole, the vineyards of Australia suffer from
excessive heat at certain times
rain
;

and a lack

of

this

is

particularly

the case in

the

Mildura district where, however, the

raisins,

finest

sultanas

and currants are grown,

the average output of

thanks to

scientific irrigation.

Before the war,

Australian wine was about six million gallons

per annum, or half the pre-war average output

of Serbia

and about a fourth

of the pre-war

average output of either Bulgaria or Rou-

mania, but whilst these Balkan States had little margin left ever to increase their production of wine,
easily

that

of

Australia

might

be a hundred times greater should the demand warrant it, and even then, it would still be less than half the average production of wine in France. Australian wine looms large on the station posters the enterprising way in which those responsible for its sale in England have ad;

vertised

it is all

the more effective that

it

has

practically
field.
if

no competitor in the advertising Systematic and intelligent advertising,

117

consistently persevered with, will always

WINE AND SPIRITS

bear
it

fruit,

and, as regards Australian wines,

for the fact that just before

was responsible
less

the war the

Commonwealth shipped

to Eng-

than ten per cent, of its average yearly wine production, which represented about five per cent, of the total consumption But whatever of wine in the British Isles.
land no

money may be
advertisements,

spent upon posters and other

it

would be

futile

to hope

maintain, and far less increase the popularity

of Australian

wines in this country, unless

sound wines are offered to the public at comparatively low prices. Good value for money and not sentiment is the only solid basis upon which to build a lasting commercial reputation. There may be a certain number of enthusiastic

imperialists

who

will

respond to

the

appeal

drink

of Australian wine-growers to " imperially," whatever the conse-

quences, but the bulk of the population in

these islands, although equally loyal to the

Empire,

will

not drink Colonial wines simply

;

on
for

modicum
118

they will insist on a enjoyment and benefit in return their money.

of

patriotic grounds

AUSTRALIAN WINES
to land

Canada refuses to allow British subjects upon her shores if they hail from India, but she opens her arms to Poles and Armenians. And yet, the British Empire

outside Great Britain comprises about a quarter of the whole world, including untold

numbers of men and women of all creeds and races, who are kept within the Empire,
if

not actually in subjection to

it,

by barely

ten million white people of European origin.

There must be a strong bond to unite such a stupendous and heterogeneous population as
that of the British Empire.
sheer
folly
It

would be

to

expect the native races of

their loyalty is
it

Asia and Africa to be sentimentally devoted

to the

Empire

due neither

to love nor to fear, but

fact that the majority of

is

based on the

they have

much

to

them realise that gain and little to lose by

Hindus and Moslems, Kaffirs and Maoris enjoy greater comfort and more freedom under British rule than if they were left to misgovern themselves or if they were ruled by any other European nation. There is no stronger bond than the bond of interest
being loyal.

H9

WINE AND SPIRITS

which unites
;

all

races

within

the

British

be sapped Empire may by the misplaced sentimentality of wellmeaning idealists Love does not depend upon reciprocity but Many a fond mother has loved interest does. an ungrateful child and many a devoted wife
this strength never
!

has loved a callous bully, but a merchant

does not
those to
sell his

wares except at a

profit,

and

them buy them only because they cannot buy better or cheaper
he
sells

whom

goods elsewhere.

This

is

why

the trade be-

tween Great Britain and the oversea Dominions must necessarily be based upon the mutual interests of buyer and seller irrespective
of
all

sentimental

or
is

political

consideration.

Australian

wool

sold

in

London at the Wool Exchange at the same time and in the same way as fleeces from the Argentine. The bidders are a cosmopolitan crowd, whose sole ambition
is

to

buy
gain
of

the best wool at the lowest price

the better

they succeed the greater

will their

own

be and the greater

120

will also

be the gain

the public eventually.

It

was the same with

AUSTRALIAN WINES
Canadian and
Russian

wheat

open com-

petition results in either higher quality or

lower prices and in either case the consumer does or should benefit. Wine is no exception
to

the

rule

like
life,

wheat,
it

wool

and other

necessaries of

is

produced in large

quantities within the limits of the British

has to compete with the wines of the world whenever it is sent to

Empire, but
it

these islands.

This

is

resented

by some
unfair

of

the

Australian
of

wine-growers

as

to

Empire, who, they claim, should be helped by the Mother Country, forgetting that they themselves heavily tax
children

the

the goods which are sent

It is true that

them from

"

home."

France does not tax Algerian wines but Algeria does not tax French goods, Australia canwhilst both tax the foreigner
;

not demand what she refuses herself to grant. The sale of Australian wines in England does great credit to the enterprise, energy and
intelligence of those

who

are engaged in that

branch of the wine trade; the success they

have achieved

is

all

the more meritorious

that the difficulties which they have

had to
121

WINE AND SPIRITS

overcome have been and still are very conthey have to pay higher wages in siderable Australia than in any other vine-growing country their total production of wine is much smaller than that ot any European
:

vine-growing country, not excepting Switzer-

have to be shipped from a far greater distance and at greater cost than those of Europe or Africa and, unfortunland
;

their wines

ately, the style of Australian

wines

is

such

that they have little chance of ever successfully competing with any but the cheapest descriptions of European wines which are pro-

duced at much smaller

larger quantities

cost, in

enormously

and so much nearer home. brave must they be who accepted them, and praised should
Truly such are terrible odds
;

they be who so truly deserve the success they have won.

122

XI:

BRANDY
art of distillation, taken in its

THE

most
water
of

comprehensive sense, was known to

the Ancients,

who

distilled sea

and certain perfumes.

distillation

But the process

does not appear to have been

applied to wine before the end of the eleventh

when Marcus Graecus wrote the oldest treatise we possess on distillation. Doctor Albucasis, who lived at Cordoba, in Spain,
century,

during the twelfth

century,

also

wrote a

detailed description of a distilling apparatus

in use at that

time for the

It

distillation of rose

water and of wine.

tion of wine
basis

was only during the

thirteenth century, however, that the distilla-

was placed on a more scientific by R. Lulli and Arnaud de Villeneuve.

of burnt wine, or brandy, then

The merits

began to be recognised in the schools and at the courts of Europe. " Some people call it

Eau de

Vie," wrote

Arnaud de

Villeneuve,

123

WINE AND SPIRITS

" and this name
it is

really

is remarkably suitable, since a water of immortality. Its vir-

tues

are

beginning
life,

to

be

recognised

it

prolongs

clears

away

ill-humours, revives

the heart, and maintains youth."

At that early
of distilled

period,

the

distillers

were
con-

quite infatuated with the marvellous qualities

wine

they imagined that

it

tained some of the attributes of the

fire

which

had helped to make it

distillation

they sought to prolong

as
possible,

as

much
let

and they

endeavoured to
liquid in the

the contact between the

of the fire be

still

and the heat

as long as possible, thinking that such was

the surest means of obtaining a more

spirit.

fiery

During the fourteenth century} much prowas made in the art of distillation, both in France and Germany, and the medicinal
gress

use of burnt wine or brandy was then very

general on the Continent.
of distilling wine were

The early methods both slow and wasteful, and as they were long adhered to, brandy remained comparatively expensive, and beyond the reach
124
of the

mass

of the people until

BRANDY
the eighteenth century,
of

when the

distillation

wine on a large and commercial scale was

rendered possible hy scientific appliances of

modern invention.
In England,

Aqua

Vitae does not appear to

have enjoyed any popularity before the sixteenth century, although some knowledge of the art of distillation was probably brought to this country by Raymond Lulli, during the
reign of

Edward

III.

In 1525, a translation of Jerome Braunschweig's important work on distillation was published in London under the title of " The
Vertuose Boke of Distyllacyon, for the help

and profit of surgeons, physicians, pothecaries and all manner of people." The " Vertuose Boke " is the earliest work of any importance published in England with a view to popularise

the art of distillation

it

bestows glowits

ing praises

upon Aqua

Vitae,

but advocates

Aqua Vitae," we use in strict moderation. read in the " Vertuose Boke," " is commonly
called the mistress of all medicines,
for
it

"

easeth the diseases

giveth also

Coming from cold. It young courage in a person, and

125

WINE AND SPIRITS

him to have good memory and It purifyeth the five wits remembrance. and of all uncleanliness of melancholy when it is drunk by reason and measure
causeth
;

that

is

to
."

understand,
fasting,

five

or

six

drops

in the

morning,
.

in

a spoonful of

wine.

In 1559, when Peter Morwyng published his " Treasure of Evonymous," wine was no
longer distilled solely

by apothecaries

to be

doled out in counted drops for medicinal

purposes.
distillers

There were then in London some whose trade consisted in distilling

the wine-lees and unsound wines which they obtained at low prices from the vintners and
coopers.

This practice was considered not

lent results.

only legitimate, but also likely to give excel" Aqua Vitae," wrote Morwyng,
is

"

drawne oute

of

wyne, but, wyth

us,

out

of the

wyne
it,

lies [sic]

only, specially of

them

that sel
livying.

and by

this onely

almost get their

it

And

peradventure
it

is

never a
of

whit the worse that

lees
;

is

drawne oute

for Lullus teacheth that it

may
if

be wel
be
dis-

distilled

of corrupt wine, yea,

it

126

BRANDY
tilled

often

it

shall

be made the more effectual

and drier." The rapidity with which the popularity of even this crude, home-made spirit spread in England is evidenced by the numerous editions Two editions of of the works on distillation.
(that is to say) hotter

the " Treasure of

in 1559
>

Evonymous " were

printed

little later,

another treatise on the

same subject by Conrad Gesner, and translated by George Baker, was published under the title of the " Newe Jewell of Health," and the demand was so great that several editions had to be issued within a short space of time. In the " Jewell of Health," we read that good wine was sometimes used for distillation, but the process was then considered very wasteful " The Burning Water, or Water of Life, is sometimes distilled out of pleasant and good
wine, as the white or the red, but oftener out
of the wine-lees of

corrupt wine.

a certain eager-savour or Further, when out of pure

is distilled, I

wine a Water of Life

out of a great
little

hear that

quantity of good wine, a

yield or quantity of

to be distilled,

Burning Water is but out of the lees of wine

127

WINS AND SPIRITS

a

much

[greater]

yield

and quantity

[are]

gathered."

Needless to say, the brandy which was

from sound wine, in those countries where wine was sufficiently cheap and plentiful, was far superior to the spirit obtained from wine-lees and sour dregs. When the foreign article began to be imported on a more important scale, in the early part of the seventeenth century, it was found so much better than the home-made product that, in
distilled

spite of the difference in price, the competition

threatened to ruin completely English

lers.

distil-

But, far from proving a death blow to

the rising national distilling industry in England, the competition of the infinitely better

foreign brandies proved to be its best friend.

Realising the hopelessness of their position,

English

distillers

any

kind of wine,

abandoned the distillation of and devoted their energies

grain.

entirely to distilling a perfectly distinct spirit

from home-grown

Brandy, or

distilled

wine, continued to be imported in England

during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, in spite of ever-increasing duties

and

128

BRANDY
prohibitive
tariffs,

for the rapid and, gling.

which were responsible extensive growth of smug-

Brandy is a spirit distilled from wine it has no geographical significance whatsoever. Brandy may be distilled anywhere in the
;

world where there

wine to be distilled. brandy has been imported into England from many districts
is

For the
of

last three centuries,

France,

from

Portugal, Tenefiffe, and,

Germany, more

Italy.

Spain,

recently,

from

the Levant, Cyprus, the Cape, Australia, and

California.

But, just as the wines of different

and of different districts same country differ considerably in style and quality, so also the brandies distilled from all such wines have very distinct characteristics and greatly varying degrees of excellence. The brandy which may
parts of the world

within the

rightly claim precedence over all others,

in
is

both

point

of

antiquity

and

of

excellence,

the brandy of Cognac. Cognac is the name of a small town on the river Charente, in the heart of a wine-growing
district of

France, famous

all

the world over

129

WINE AND SPIRITS

for

the excellence of

its

back as the reign of

As King John, and

brandies.

far
for

many
to

centuries

afterwards,

the

wines

of

Saintonge, Aunis and Angoumois were shipped

England as Rochelle wines and sold at cheaper rates than any others. These wines were then thought to be somewhat thin and rather light, and such are still their
characteristics to-day
;

but,

if

the wines of the

they

Charentes have always lacked body,

yield,

when

distilled,

a brandy of exceptional

and inimitable character. The " brandy entitled to the name of " Cognac only is that which has been distilled from wine produced by the vines grown within a strictly
excellence

limited district

known

as the Rigion dilimitie.

This comprises the greater part of the two

departements of Charente and Charente

ferieure,

In-

and a small area

in the

two other
Sevres,

neighbouring departements of
to the north,

Deux

and Dordogne, to the south. The vineyards of the Cognac district may be divided in two main classes' the Champagnes and the Bois. On the left bank of the river Charente,

130

BRANDY
and in the western part of the Charente
Departement, are situated the vineyards of
the Grande
;

pagne Cognac brandies, whilst on the opposite side

of the river, the Borderies district also pro-

Champagne and Petite Chamthese produce by far the finest

duces Cognac brandy of remarkable excellence.

In the Grande Champagne, Petite

Champagne

and Borderies districts the soil is distinctly calcareous, and it differs materially from that of any other part of the officially recognised area outside which no brandy may be distilled whi6h is entitled to the name of Cognac. It is chiefly due to the peculiar nature of the
soil

of

the said three districts that

their

vineyards produce a distinctive and constant type of brandy of greater finesse and better
quality than

any

other,

and one which no

connoisseur can

fail

to identify.

Outside the above-named three districts, the quality, flavour, and distinctive properties of the Cognac brandies made in the rest and by far the greater part of the Region d&limitie

vary to a very considerable extent, according

to the nature of the soil

and the

climatic

131

WINE AND SPIRITS

conditions of each particular locality.

There
soil

are vines, for instance, growing on clay

in the eastern part of the RSgion, whilst those

of

the western vineyards,

situated in the

immediate proximity of the Atlantic, grow on sandy soil and in a more moist atmosphere. The wines made from the grapes gathered in
vineyards so widely different will naturally

have
but
the
sold

different characteristics,

which

will

be

noticeable in the brandies they will yield,

all

such brandies are equally entitled to

of " Cognac,"

name

whether they are

together. In other words, the appellation " Cognac " has

;

by themselves or blended

a strictly limited geographical meaning

it

denotes a spirit distilled from wine made from the vineyards of the Region Ailimitie, of which Cognac is the centre. Such a spirit, however, may vary considerably, according to the many differences existing between the soil, climate and aspect of each particular growth or terroir within the Cognac region,
as well as according to the

able methods of distillation

more or less suitemployed locally

blending

and to the more or

132

less judicious

BRANDY
operations of distillers

and merchants.

Fur-

thermore, the words Grande or Fine

expressions

Cham-

pagne and Petite Champagne are geographical

corresponding
to

the

peculiar

chalky

soil

formation of a small and very

Cognac region, where the best Cognac brandies are made. Farther south, in the Departement of Gers, some very good brandy is made, which, after that of Cognac, is the best produced in
distinct area within the

France.

and

it is

Armagnac brandy, very highly prized by some connoisIt is

known

as

seurs.

very large quantity of brandy

is

also distilled in the

south of France, in Spain,

and, generally speaking, wherever vines

grow

and wine is made on an extensive scale. Brandy, like all spirits, when they leave the it acquires a still, is at first quite white
;

pale

amber colour

after

being kept some

however long it may be left in cask, and however new might be the wood of the cask, brandy never acquires of its own accord a dark brown colour and a sweet taste, such as are often found in the brandies of the hotel and restaurant type.
years in cask, but,

133

WINE AND SPIRITS

Both colour and sweetness are added by the
seller

varying degrees according to the taste or absence of taste shown by the buyer.
in

Caramel, prune

juice,

patent spirit and even

moderate quantity are not unwholesome, and, when intelligently blended together, they form a fairly safe mixture which may give a certain amount of satisfaction at very little cost, but he whose tastes lean towards simpler things, and who has a
water in
sufficiently well-educated palate to appreciate

the pure distilled juice of the grape, should

know

that

little

well-matured

brandy,
is

particularly a

good Cognac brandy,

the

essence of ten times the

;

same quantity of that the money which was necessary wine to purchase the said wine and to distil it
has been unproductive for

many
been
is

years, during

which

the

brandy
;

has

slowly

and
in

naturally maturing

that the district which

produces Cognac brandies

its

very limited

extent,

and that the demand has

of late

increased

much more

rapidly than the pro-

duction
levies

that the Chancellor of the Exchequer

a tax of eight shillings and elevenpence

134

BRANDY
on every bottle of brandy at proof strength. When these facts are borne in mind, one realises that, whatever the label or the catalogue description

may

be, a bottle of

brandy

from the right

at

district, of

the right age, and

the right

alcoholic

strength

cannot be

retailed in this

country at a lower price than

a poulterer asks for a good Surrey fowl.

135

XII:

WHISKY
is

IF fairy

there

such a thing as a child

bore

whom
the

tales

and who

prefers

study of algebra to a game of hazard, he or she is merely a freak of nature much more deserving of pity than of envy. Our
tastes

and our

inclinations,

our habits and

all

our surroundings, our means and our aims

vary considerably
less,

but we

all are,

neverthe;

subject to certain natural laws

occasionally with

they

may be broken

impunity by individuals, manity as a whole. To satisfy one's hunger by food, for instance, is one of the fundamental
laws of Nature, and although such a law

more or less but never by hu-

may

be successfully broken by law-breaking, window-smashing suffragettes, the principal daily business of the immense majority of a suffering

humanity
:

still

is

and

is

likely ever to

remain
needs.

how to procure food for one's daily To eat, to drink, and to sleep are

136

WHISKY
needs which are
alike all the

common
;

to

man and

beast

world over

to herd together,
offspring

to bully the weak,

are instincts

and to love one's

majority of
ours only,
of the
of

men and
is
;

which are equally natural to the animals but ours, and

;

the ever-present consciousness

unknown
is

the instinctive love or fear

what
;

beyond the world and beyond our

ken

the insatiable curiosity about our

;

own

and ultimate end the restless longing to move aside farther and farther the heavy veil which hides from our view the admirable laws and marvellous secrets of Nature. Our thirst for knowledge is not only one of
origin

the characteristic privileges of the race.

is

It

also the

most ancient

and cravings, since

human instincts our mother Eve was

of all
It

moved thereby
thirst for

to pluck the fatal apple from

the Tree of Knowledge.

was

this

same

knowledge which led our forefathers to seek the " life " principle which rendered their beverages both palatable and comforting.

Plain water

is it

an abundant and a cheap

quenches one's
thirst

commodity

more
137

WINE AND SPIRITS

effectively

than
it

alcohol,
is

and much

more

economically.

This

so evident that some

to understand

people find

difficult

why
it

Nature's abundant supply of water has never

been so keenly appreciated by

man

as

is

by

all

the other animals which people the

earth.

From

the very earliest ages

day,

down

to

the present
spent,

we

find

that

men have
money to From the

and are

still

spending, a considerable

part of their time, energy, and

manufacture alcoholic beverages.

civilised

lowest type of savage to the most highly

of

and cultured races, the same waste trouble and treasure still goes on to-day as
the result
of

at the opening of the annals of the world's

history, as

our

craving

for

alcohol

and our
It
is

wilful persistence in ignoring

plain water.
of alcohol

cannot be said that our love

1

a luxury

an acquired tasteor
tiaras

one of the means devised by the idle rich to

get rid of their superfluous gold.
classes

have their diamond

the

The wealthy and motor

to
classical

cars

middle
fill

classes

go

concerts or

suburban gardens with bulbs

and seeds
138

the lower classes go into elaborate

WHISKY
mourning or wear pearl buttons
;

all

vie with

each other in the universal race for show

and

luxuries, heedless of cost or consequences.

flowers,

Jewels,

or crape are the result of

civilisation.

They are luxuries, since we used to do without them and could easily dispense with them. Not so alcohol, since the love of
alcohol
is

not peculiar to either rich or poor

or
uncivilised
;

civilised

man

modern

or

ancient history

hot or cold climates.

Alco-

holic beverages are to-day

what they have

and console him

always been

all

the world over^-Nature's

to comfort

own

gift to

man

during his weary days on earth.

The world
than
it

could

no more do without
fire,

alcohol

without

but, also like

fire,

alcohol has

been the perdition and the end of

is

many

the flame which

warily

warms him who approaches but which consumes him who comes
it

too near.

Whether

be wine,

ale,

metheglin, or any

other beverage

known

of old, they all con-

tained alcohol as the inevitable consequence

of natural

fermentation which transformed

into alcohol the sugar of the grape, of the

139

WINE AND SPIRITS

any other fruit, root, and sap used in the making of ancient drinks. Our forefathers saw their fruit juice or honeyed
apple, or of

mixtures " boil " but they did not under-

stand the mechanism of fermentation.

They

knew that
a"
life

their fermented liquors contained " principle, a" fire " which comforted,

elevated, and, perchance, intoxicated them,

but they were a very long time in finding

out that the " soul " of their beverages was

what we now call alcohol. To separate the " soul," or the more volatile part, from the " body," or the grosser matters, of any fer-

mented

liquid occupied the time

and

exer-

cised the ingenuity of the old alchemists for

centuries.

They

at last succeeded,

and the
is

process which

made

their success possible

known

as the art of distillation.

Strictly speaking, the art of distillation, as

applied to spirits, consists in isolating

by heat

the

different

elements

of
It is

which
is is

alcoholic

liquids are

composed.

by fermentation
formed, so
to obtain,
liquid

not by

distillation,
first

that alcohol

that the

care of the distiller

by means
140

of fermentation,

an alcoholic

WHISKY
or mash, which

he
it

shall distil in order to

separate the alcohol from

some

of the water

and other matters

contains.

Different elements are affected differently

by

heat.

The

heat, for instance,

which

will

melt butter will not melt lead, and the heat which will suffice to melt lead will not melt

one had a piece of mineral composed of lead and copper, one could
copper
;

so that,

if

separate

them by heat because the

first.

lead

would melt

In the same way, the boiling point of water being ioo degrees Centigrade, if one

were to heat some sea water to ioo degrees the water would be vaporised, that is to say.
it

would become vapour

or steambut the
is

salt

originally contained in the sea water would remain intact because a temperature

about

ten

times

greater

necessary

to

vaporise salt.
If one realises this difference in the effect of " heat upon different elements, the " mystery

of distillation

becomes quite
at

vaporised

by heat

Water is ioo degrees and ethyl

clear.
if

alcohol at 78 degrees, so that

we

place over

141

WINE AND SPIRITS

the
fire

some

alcoholic liquid,

careful to regulate our fire

and and to

if

we

are

see

that

the temperature of the

mash never

reaches

ioo degrees,

we ought

to obtain vapours of

alcohol as soon as the temperature reaches

78 degrees and so long as it remains there. If this were the case, distillation would be

very

much

simpler than

close affinity exists

it is but such a between water and alcohol

;

that the former

latter,

is

always ready to follow the

it.

and seems loath to be parted from

It is
is

true that pure ethyl alcohol (anhydre)

vaporised at a temperature of 78 degrees,

but a liquid containing 50 per cent, of alcohol and 50 per cent, of water requires a temperature of 83* 1
whilst

degrees to
of

be vaporised,
-

temperature

g2 6

degrees

is

necessary to vaporise a liquid containing but

10 per cent, of alcohol, and 92-6 degrees

is

dangerously near the 100 degree limit when

all

the water will be vaporised.

This being

the case, the vapours which will be produced

by heating any

alcoholic liquid will not be

;

vapours of pure alcohol

142

they

will still con-

tain a certain proportion of water

and

of

WHISKY
the other elements contained in the the
still.

mash

in

These vapours are then condensed

in

by cold and collected

If

a separate receptacle.
is

the proportion of alcohol they contain

too small, the
;

found to be
fire is

same ordeal by

again resorted to

the liquid placed in

the

still

over the

fire will

then contain more

alcohol than the first time, with the result

that less heat will be required to vaporise

it,

and when the vapours obtained will be condensed and tested they will be found to
contain
before,

same quantity of alcohol as smaller amount of water. By repeating the same process long enough
the

but a

much

it

is

theoretically possible to extract

all

from
not not

any alcoholic liquid

therein.

the alcohol contained

In

practice,

however, this

is is

absolutely so, and, in

most
object

cases,

it

even desirable.

The

of

distillation,
is

when applied to potable

separate
all

spirits,

not to

or nearly all the alcohol

ethers,

from

the water,

essential

oils

and other
liquid.

component parts of any alcoholic

light

wine and strong beer,

for

instance,

are very different alcohplic liquids,

although
143

WINE AND SPIRITS

both contain some ethyl alcohol. wine and beer could be distilled
distilled or rectified until all
If

both
re-

and

the ethyl alcohol

contained in
spirit

each pure
it

had been isolated, the thus obtained would be identical in case, it would be simply plain or
each
plain or

spirit,

pure not only because

would be free from all water, but also and chiefly because it would be free from
such
by-products as
are

all

always

con-

tained in grape juice or malted barley.

On

the other hand,

if

the proportion of water

contained in both wine and beer has been

reduced by distillation to 20 per cent, of

their

volume

in each instance, the result will be

a grape spirit and a malt spirit as distinct as the wine and beer they were distilled from.

The
will

alcohol, at the chemical point of view,

be identical in each
it is

case,

but the bydifferent,

re-

products or impurities will be very

and

these by-products which are

sponsible for the distinctiveness of

all spirits

other

than

highly

rectified

spirits

which

should contain none.

the ethers, essential

In
oils,

all alcoholic liquids,

mineral and vegetal

144

WHISKY
and other component parts vary greatly, some being retained with advantage after distillation, whilst others must be elimimatters

nated altogether.
it

Thus, wine

distilled until

contained 99 per cent, of ethyl alcohol would be purer as spirit, but worse as brandy,

than wine distilled to 75 per cent. On the other hand, a liquid fermented from mouldy
potatoes, old rags, or sawdust,
if

distilled to

50 per cent, would be unfit for

human

con-

sumption and 49 per cent, worse, as well as less pure, than a spirit obtained from similar
sources but distilled to 99 per cent. Spirits owe their different characteristics to

and proportions of the by-products they contain, and these vary according to the nature of the alcoholic liquids from which different spirits are distilled and also according to different methods of distillation. Whisky is a grain spirit of which there is an unlimited number of types, styles, and varieties. For many years Whisky was the
the nature

only spirituous beverage within the reach of

the Irish
distilled

and Scotch poorer classes. It was in a simple pot still and over an open
145

WINE AND SPIRITS

fire.

Its taste

and flavour varied

consider-

ably according to the

dried his malt

way each

distiller

had

according to the different according to the fuel

burns from which the water had been drawn

to

make the mash

to distil it
;

and according to the place and the way in which the newly-distilled spirit had been stored. All these distinctive
used
characteristics
still

exist

to-day

amongst
little

Whiskies which are

of Scotland

distilled in different parts

and

of Ireland,

but they are

known and will never be appreciated by the millions who now drink Whisky all the world
over.

spirit distilled

from malted barley

oils

contains certain

essential
it

and

volatile

bodies which render

very distinctive, but

not necessarily palatable to others than those

whom
tice

heredity, early training, or long praclike

it.

have taught to

This

is

why

Whisky never attained to more than a very limited and purely local reputation until the advent of the blender. The blender is not troubled by the rival claims to superior
excellence of the Whiskies produced in sundry
districts

and by various

distilleries in

each

146

WHISKY
the blender does not ask whether better or worse results are obtained through
district
;

peat

fires

or steam-heating
stills.

or through pot
is

or patent

The

blender's business

to

understand what the public require, to give

the public confidence in the article he has to
sell,

satisfactorily

and to supply the wants of the public and profitably. The blender

has succeeded in this three-fold object, thanks to the judicious use he has made of the patent
or silent
spirit.

Needless to say, there

is

much Whisky one can obtain in the making

of

which no patent spirit was ever used, but the fact remains that the bulk of the enormous Whisky trade which has been built up during
the last fifty years in England and the world owes
enterprise
its
all

over

existence chiefly to the

and intelligence of the blenders. With the produce of every still in the Highlands differing from each other in flavour and taste, how could a world-wide trade have been built by any one firm unless means had been devised to gain and retain their customers'
uniform quality of the Whisky covered by the firm's name or brand ?
confidence
in

the

147

WINE AND SPIRITS

It is quite true that the old-fashioned defini-

tion of

Whisky:

"A

is

from malted barley by pot still has had to be abandoned, but

not so great, after
all
;

grain spirit obtained "

distillation

this sacrifice

the change has

been brought about by the blenders, but it has benefited the distillers -and satisfied the public. Is not such an end ample justification of the means which gained it ?

148

XIII:

RUM
philosophy of public-house signboards has exercised the ingenuity of

THE

many artists and moralists of old. He or she who sold ale or wine in ancient times
used to simply hang over his or her door a bunch of ivy or evergreens. This " bush "

was both a sign and a symbol it led the thirsty to a sure retreat and it also bade them seek in the ever-flowing bowl new courage and fresh hopes, however scorching the summer heat might be, however severe the winter frosts. For a long time, both on the Continent and in England, roadside hostelries
;

indicated the nature of their trade only by the" bush " which they hung over their door,

and there are still some inns in existence which do not possess any other sign. In towns and cities, however, where inns and
taverns were numerous and in close proximity, competition

made it necessary to

attract

149

WINE AND SPIRITS

patrons

and to enable them to recognise

easily their favourite

haunts by adding to the " bush " some other sign, both striking

Such signs were not mere boards upon which a more or less gifted artist had painted some subject of his own most mediaeval sign-boards were a profession of faith publicly made by the innkeeper who desired to do homage to some exalted personage whose patronage was deemed valuable. Those who placed their trust not in the lords

and

distinctive.

of the earth appealed for protection to the heavenly hosts- hence the many " Angel

sign-boards

earth

hence

or

to their representatives on the " Pope's Head," " Cross

Keys," " Cardinal's Hat," " Mitre," etc. A large number of innkeepers, however, believed
that they were giving to Caesar that which

belonged to Caesar when they put up the " head " or the " arms " of their Sovereign

Lord the King, or one of the royal attributes such as the " Crown," or the " Sceptre."

Many

publicans chose as a sign the arms,

badges, or crests of the noble lord whose

residence

was near

their inn, in the

hope

of

150

RUM
gaining thereby the patronage of his
retainers

many

and partisans. Thus, when Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, elected as his town

residence the palace of St. Laurence Pountney, " Rose " taverns blossomed out in the neigh-

bourhood.

The

rose

the royal houses of

its

was also the emblem of York and Lancaster, hence

Harts, lions,
ot

great popularity as a sign.

horses,

bulls,

and dragons

improbable

shades, as well as magpies, crosses,

cents,
all

and

cres-

have some heraldic

origin.

In

many
totally

cases,

however, the innkeepers being

unacquainted with the proper heraldic

parlance, noble " lion gules " became " Red Lion " in the vernacular of the sign-board,
still greater loss of dignity " leopards argent " of the Dorset thus the

and others suffered

coat-of-arms were
as

hung over the tavern door

mere cats. There were also many publicans, more practical than imaginative, who
simply chose a sign indicating the class of goods they sold, such as the " Vine," the
" Grapes,"
etc.,

the "

Hop

Pole,"

the " Tun,"

whilst others adopted as a sign the

class of

arms
151

or

badge of the

customers they par-

WINE AND SPIRITS

ticularly

wished to attract to their house

thus, he
soldiers

who wished

for the patronage of

would hang two crossed swords or Marlborough's " head " as a sign, whilst another, whose tavern stood near the wharf or quay, would depict on his sign-board a ship, an anchor, or the " head " of some famous naval hero. Great as are the number and the variety of sign-boards, there never was one which mocked and deceived the public half so much as the motto written over all public buildings by the French Republic " Liberte, Cruel irony Egalite, Fraternity." The different orders of society have never been farther from one another nor has class hatred ever been so general as it is now, and one cannot ride in any public conveyance nor even walk in the streets or parks without being
:

constantly

faced

with

prohibitions
all

of

all

kinds and the threat of

sorts of penalties.

We

have gained some liberties, it is true, but we have lost others, and the balance remains

practically unchanged.

We

are

now

free not
;

to work, but

we

are no longer free to work

152

RUM
no master
break a contract he has entered upon with his men, but the men are
is

free to

any contract they have have abolished slavery abroad, but we have set up trade union tyranny at home. Have we really gained more than we have lost ? The sugar-cane planter who lived amongst his slaves and made them work on the land saw that they were fed, they and he had privileges and he pertheir children chance abused them, but he also had responsibilities and he seldom shirked them. Was he a worse type of humanity than the owners or past owners of some of our largest commercial undertakings who owe their immense
at liberty to break

signed.

We

wealth to sweated labour

knew his slaves and his any case, they never were left to starve but the modern commercial magnate ignores entirely the poor brave things whose starving wage has built his own fortune. Have we not really lost more than we have gained ? Opinions may
in
;

The slave-master slaves knew him, and,

?

vary on this subject, but one thing

certain
:

is

quite

Rum is no

good old days of

was in the coon songs and merry slaves.

longer what
it

153

WINE AND SPIRIT

The sugar-cane
is

a kind of stout reed which

grows to greater perfection in the

warm and
of

moist climate of the West Indies than any-

where

else.

There are
all

many

varieties

sugar-canes and
teristics,

possess their

own

charac-

but, on an average, about 72 per

cent, of their weight is water,

16J per

cent,

saccharose,

arose

is

and g\ per cent, cellulose. Sacchwhat chemists call Ci a H S2 On, a

carbohydrate, just like ethyl alcohol, which

chemists call

C B H

the difference between

the two

lies in

the quantity and proportion

of the three bodies of

which both are comis

posed and, needless to say, the difference most important.

When

the sugar-canes are ripe they are cut

close to the

ground

they are shorn of

their

leaves which are excellent cattle food, and the

bare canes are thrown into a pit from which

they are picked up by an endless chain

nished with hooks
canes
to
;

fur-

this chain brings

mill,

the

crushing

up the composed of
all their

successive pairs of rollers through which the

canes are forced, with the result that

sweet juice runs into a tub plaqed on a lower

154

RUM
plane to receive
it,

whilst the bark

itself is

and woody
In former

substance of the cane

shot out else-

where and used as fuel later on.

days,
spirit

when labour was cheap,

Rum

was the

obtained from the fermented sugar-cane

some earthenware pot and slowly distilled over a bark or wood fire. Such a process was distinctly wasteful, but its results must have been excellent. There
juice placed in
still is

a certain quantity of real

Rum made
locally

in the

West

Indies,

sugar-cane juice
it

but

that
it is

is

to say, distilled

consumed

now ceased to be a commercial article. What we call Rum now, in Europe, is known
has
as "tafia" in the sugar-cane
spirit distilled

growing countries from molasses. After the a canes have been crushed and their juice separated from the wood, the juice is treated with sulphur dioxide and neutralised with
it is

lime

to

prevent

fermentation

it

is

then

heated,

open or

skimmed and evaporated either in vacuum pans, or else in mechanical

evaporators with the help of steam pipes.

According to the process used, the product

may

contain uncrystallisable syrup which

is

155

WINE AND SPIRITS

removed
chines
;

bj'

draining or in centrifugal ma-

be solid enough to pack for export and refining without requiring further treatment. In one or the other of
or
it

may

these

ways the bulk

of the sugar originally

is

contained in the cane- juice

it

extracted and
purify
it,

only remains to wash

it, filter it,

and

refine it to the desired degree.

But, at

the different stages of crystallising the sugar

of the cane- juice, there are

sundry impurities

and by-products which are eliminated, and

they remain in an uncrystallisable syrup, a
thick, sticky,

dark-brown semi-liquid which

is

contains both cane-sugar and invert sugar

this

sweet residue

called molasses.

Molasses

usually contain from 55 to 65 per cent, of sugar which fermentation transforms into alcohol.

When
mash
tafia,

molasses are fermented they produce a

or alcoholic liquid which
result is
is

distilled,

and the
the
it

spirit

locally

known

as

but which we know in Europe under

name of Rum.
still,

Rum

is

quite white when

leaves the

like all spirits,

but

it

is

coloured with some burnt sugar, or caramel,

and the longer

156

it is left

in cask the darker

it

RUM
becomes, as
it

draws from the oak-staves

therein.

of

the cask a certain proportion of the colouring

matter

contained

The

best

Rum

comes from Jamaica, but excellent Rum is also distilled at Demerara, Martinique, and in most

West Indies, whilst Mauritius, Madagascar and all sugar-cane growing countries also produce Rum. Rum is more satisfying, more comforting, and possesses a greater food value than any other spirit this is due to the
of the
;

fact that it is

usually distilled at a lower

it

contains " impurless proof spirit per volume but more ities " or by-products of the alcoholic mash

strength than most spirits, so that

from which

it

is

distilled.

It

is

to

these

" impurities " that

owes its distinctive characteristics, and as they are all primarily derived from sugar-cane juice they are wholesome and nourishing. This is the reason

Rum

why
the

Rum

is

so excellent at sea,
still is

and why

it

has long been and

the staple spirit of

it

Royal Navy.
distasteful

Strange as
it

may seem

and

as

must

certainly be to

Mr. Leif Jones and other fanatics, the Gov-

ernment

still

buys on an

average

three

157

WINE AND SPIRITS

thousand puncheons of the cheapest Rum produced in any of the British West Indies. Each puncheon contains about one hundred
gallons of

Rum at

the strength of 40 degrees

little

over proof, costing a

per puncheon, so that,

less

than 10
spirit

when the

has

been broken down with water to drinking strength, Admiralty Rum costs less than beer.

Rum
ship
;

is

to the sailor what the sea

is

to his

dry dock ordeals are beneficial to both occasionally, but they put them momentarily
out of action.
follow
Sailors are not permitted to
:

Mahomed's precept " No wine and more wives " and they have not yet shown
; ;

much enthusiasm for Mr. Rowntree's advice "No rum and more cocoa " they still drink

Rum to the tune of tens of thousands of gallons

every year, and they are apparently very
of
little

concerned by the fact that, for the same sum

money, they all could be given chest protectors and the last but one edition of
the " Encyclopaedia Britannica " in half-roan
binding.

158

XIV: GIN

IT that drunkenness, a sin as old as humanity

itself,

was only during the seventeenth century

first

developed into the vice of

efforts to

alcoholism, which has baffled three centuries

of strenuous

but often misguided

Intoxication
is

eradicate
result of

it.

but the chance

it is
;

drunkenness, whilst

the aim as

well as the result of alcoholism

the difference
is

between drunkenness and alcoholism

great,

very

not only at the moralist's point of view,

but also as regards the pathological effects of

intoxication

on the human body. Excesses in drink were not unknown nor even of rare occurrence in England previous
but their convivial origin

to the seventeenth century,

rendered them essentially of an intermittent and occasional character. These

excesses, reprehensible as such,

had

little

or

no

evil

consequences.

When men met

at the

hospitable board after the chase or

on some
159

WINE AND SPIRITS

and drinking more than strict moderation demanded, they benefited by, more than they suffered from, occasionally flooding their system with wholesome freshly-brewed ale or new and unfestive occasion,

eating

sophisticated wines

even

if

they happened
the better
for

momentarily to
be
it

lose their usual gravity or to

noisily elevated,

they

felt all

the next day, and they never experienced

that accursed craving which urges the victim

of alcoholism to

new

excesses.

Chronic intoxication and industrial drinking

that

is,

the drinking of alcohol as a

to
work;

necessary

incentive

mediate causes of alcoholism

greatest curses of

are the one

1

imthe

of

modern
is

times.

The

initial

cause of

all

the trouble

usually said to be
at

the introduction of spirits into England

the

close

of

the

sixteenth

century;

this

happened to coincide with the break up of feudalism and the re-organisation of society on the capitalistic basis, which facilitated the
introduction of alcoholism
straining

by removing
whilst

re-

bonds

and

controls,

the

formation oi large towns and ever-growing

160

GIN
industrial

centres helped

to

spread intemThis
is

perance

among

the working classes.

the view which most historians have held

since

Camden, and the evidence must be

of
spirits

acknowledged to be overwhelming that the

introduction
followed
enness.
at

into

England was

by a considerable

increase of drunkAlthough brandy had been known

an

earlier

date to the medical profession

and the wealthy classes, who alone had the means to procure it, the taste for spirits among all orders of society may be said to have been rendered popular in England for
the
in
first

time by the soldiery

who

returned,

1585, from the campaigns in the Low The improvements which were Countries. introduced at that time into the art of
distillation and, more particularly still, the commercial utilisation of grain in the making

of spirits,
at

made

it

possible to produce spirits

a cost which brought therh within the

reach of the
stant

common

people,

and

their con-

employment as a stimulant quickly

Early in the seventeenth

became general.

century, alcoholism

had already made con161

WINE AND SPIRITS

siderable
strides,

and
of

pervade

all classes

was beginning to the commuuity, from

it

parson to labourer.
shall

" If the minister bee a drunkard," wrote Dr. Hart, in 1633, " how

he reprove
hee doe,

this sinne in his parishioners

or

if

may

they not reply

Medice
!

" cura te ipsum Physitian heal thy selfe The worthy doctor is also very indignant at people no longer being drunk by night only " as was the custom," but " now people are come to that height of impudency, and have

so steeled their foreheads against

<

all

shame,

that they dare even

yea, in the

in the sight of the sun

;

open view ot the world yea, even before God and all his heavenly hosts pf " angels reele drunk up and down the streets
!

Previous to the reign of Charles

I,

there

does not appear to have existed any control

over the manufacture of spirits in England. Everybody was then free and many were

encouraged by local municipal authorities to distil spirits from whatever source they
pleased and in whichever

way they
poisonous

chose.
of

This liberty was undoubtedly the cause

much unwholesome and even

162

spirits

GIN
being distilled from sour wine-dregs and putrid

beer-wash

spirits being the only ones within the reach of the poorer
;

and such

vile

they were consumed by many who became a prey to the curse of alcoholism, and handed it down to their children and their
classes,

children's children.

became so evident and so grave that Sir Theodore de Mayern, the King's physician, and Dr. Thomas Cademan, medical adviser to the Queen, made Charles I realise that some steps should be
evil

The

taken in order to prevent so far as possible

the manufacture

and

sale of injurious spirits.

The
the

result of their timely intervention

formation of the Distillers'

was the Company, to which

monarch granted
spirits,

their first charter in

1638.

In order to protect the public from

the
it

unwholesome
"

Company

issued

regulations in 1639,

when

was stated that

Brewers,

No

Afterworts or

Wash (made by

etc.),

called Bleu John, nor musty, unsavoury,

unwholesome tills, or dregs of beer or ale nor unwholesome or adulterated wines, or lees of wines nor unwholesome sugar waters musty, unsavoury, or unwholesome
or
;

163

WINE AND SPIRITS

returned beer or ale
;

nor rotten, corrupt, or

unsavoury

fruits,

druggs, spices, herbs, seeds

nor any other ill-conditioned materials of what kind soever, shall henceforth be distilled,

drawn into small spirits, or low wines, or be any other ways used, directly or indirectly, by any of the Members of this Company or their successors at any time
extracted, or
hereafter for ever."

Unfortunately, the regulations enacted by

the

Distillers'

Company

failed

to

ensure

greater purity in English-made spirits, be-

cause the given

Company

did not enjoy any of the

trading monopolies which alone would have

it

the means of exercising an effective

control over the distilling industry of the

country.

On

the other hand,

III
of
distillation

Charles

II,

James
order

II,

and William

repeatedly en-

couraged the
to

home

grain in

promote allowing all Englishmen to distil spirits from Englishgrown wheat and barley. It was then that gin appeared on the scene. Gin was a great improvement upon the unwholesome spirits obtained hitherto from every kind of refuse
agriculture,

164

GIN
it

was a

spirit

distilled

from home-grown
with juniper

grain

and

rectified or redistilled
it

berries

which gave

a distinctive and greatly

The immediate popularity of gin was at first its undoing. The demand became so large and so many tried
appreciated flavour.
to
profit

thereby that deadly competition

all

raged in

big towns between gin-distillers

getting the largest share

who were bent upon

possible of public support, and, to this end,

lowered their prices to such a level that they

were quite unable to supply the right quality

of
spirits.

The climax was reached when,

:

a gin-shop newly-opened in South" Drunk for id., wark, put up as its sign
in 1786,

Dead Drunk for 2d., Clean Straw for nothing." To be correct, " Drunk " should have been
replaced

by" Drugged,"

for the

poor creatures

did not drink to excess but were poisoned

by the noxious spirits they were given Sudden deaths in gin-shops were frequent, and the scandal became so great that the Government of the day was at last moved law was passed, in 1736, laying a heavy tax on gin and prohibiting its
into

action.

165

WINE AND SPIRITS

sale in small quantities.

This law, known as

the Gin Act, did but

little

good on the one

;

hand,

it

brought into existence a host

informers

of

common
visions

who became the

curse of

the land, whilst, on the other hand, the proof

possible

the Act were evaded manner and without much

in

every

difficulty.

Ever since the eighteenth century, when notable improvements were first introduced,
the art of distilling gin has
gress that
it

made such

pro-

be said to have been brought nearer to perfection than the Of all potable distillation of any other spirits.
rightly
spirits gin is

may

the purest, that

rectified

is

to say, the
con-

most highly
tains

and the one which

of the grain

by

far

the smallest quantity of the

it is

impurities
distilled

and by-products
is

from.
the country where the largest
is

Holland
greatest
place.

quantity of gin

distilled

and where
spirit

the

consumption of England is second

this

takes

in importance,

some of the gin distilleries Plymouth date back to the eighteenth century and distil some of the finest gin made.
166

and of London and

GIN
There are notable differences between the gin of various distilleries, and this is due to the fact that this spirit is not always sold
to the public at the
is

same strength that some sweetened with sugar; and that some is
;

sometimes flavoured with coriander, cinna-

mon,

angelica, or other aromatical substances.

167

XV: PUNCH

LONDON

may

rightly claim to possess

a greater number of sumptuous hotels

and gorgeous clubs than either Paris or Buenos Aires, or any other city on earth. The appointments of such resorts are magnificent
;

from the
to the

hall

porter on the steps

outside,
furniture,

vieux-rose carpets,

ormolu

Crown Derby coffee-cups, dainty any one of the firstfare, and choice wines class London hotels leaves nothing to be desired as regards comfort, ease and luxury. All the big clubs, too, provide their members with palatial accommodation at comparatively very small expense. Both in clubs and hotels the food and the furniture, the drink and the service are above reproach, and both in clubs and hotels the company is by far the worst
;

feature of the establishment. The " nut " who smokes his cigarette

off

and on throughout dinner and the

168

millionaire

PUNCH
who
of a

started

life

hawking

fish in

the streets

sea-port before he emigrated to Chicago are types of humanity which are by no means new. It may be that the number
of objectionable people in the world, the

German

without manners and the

are not

men men without brains, more numerous now than in the past,
is

but
of

it

cannot be denied that there

to-day a

number of men who are possessed means than there ever was before, and their money is the key which allows so many more people to enter upon the stage of life where a strong and merciless limelight shows up their shortcomings. It may be a sad thing to relate, it may sound uncharitable and unfair, but it is nevertheless true that if one enters any one of the most fashionable hotels or clubs at the dinner hour and surveys the company assembled, the verdict must be that there are many people in the room the
far greater

acquaintance of

whom

one

is

not anxious to

make, and very few whose friendship one

would wish

for.

At the close of the seventeenth century and during the reign of Queen Anne, London
169

WINE AND SPIRITS

was not graced by such noble piles as the Ritz, the Savoy, or the Automobile Club
there

were only taverns

taverns
On

of

very

small dimensions compared with even the more

modest restaurants of to-day.

the other

hand, the old-fashioned taverns were far more exclusive than any of our public places

them were the rendezvous of people having the same views, the same tastes, or some common bond of personal sympathy. For instance, while the poets and the wits met at Wills', in Covent Garden, men about town gossiped at the Grecian, in Devereux Court, and the gay and young " sparks
most
of

dined at Locket's or Pontack's, which were

noted houses for the excellence of their cuisine

and

their wines.

The

Pall Mall taverns were

frequented by people of " prime quality

lived in St. James's Square
streets."

who

and the adjoining

The Whigs met

;

at the St. James's,

the last house but one at the bottom of

St.

James's Street

the Tories congregated at

and the Jacobites schemed Cocoa Tree," on the south side of Pall Mall. At the corner of Bow Street and
Ozinda's, close by,
at the "

170

PUNCH
under the patronage of Dryden, the headquarters of the literary men of the day, whilst Addison made
Street,

Russell

Wills'

became,

the fortune of Button's Coffee House in Russell

Street.

Military

men met

at

Young Man's

Scotchmen at the British or at Forrest's lawyers at Nando's or at Dick's, near the Temple churchmen at Child's, in St. Paul's stockjobbers at Old Man's Churchyard merchants at Garra way's or Jonathan's Frenchmen at Giles's or Old Slaughter's, in doctors at Batson's, by St. Martin's Lane the Royal Exchange, etc. Our tolerance is admirable in many ways, but it could no more have been comprehended by the men of Marlborough's epoch than we
; ;
',

can realise their exclusiveness.

They could

certainly never have appreciated our

many

acquaintances, so convenient even

so superficial
;

if

they are

but we very seldom, if ever, meet with such friendships as they enjoyed. The spirit of partisanship which character-

ised the greater part of the eighteenth century

was carried to such an extent that

affected

it

even
171

the taste or fashion of

men who

WINE AND SPIRITS

frequented the taverns.

Whilst the Tories

drank wine and the most expensive vintages of France, the Whigs were the first to introduce punch, and it was for many years eminently and primarily a Whig drink. It was so universally recognised as such that many taverners, both in town and country,

who wished

to

attract

Whig customers
Punchbowl "

to as

their tavern, put

up

the "

their sign, either alone or in addition to their

older sign, with the result that, in

some

cases,

the " Punchbowl "

is still

found to this day

on some tavern signboards, combined with the most heterogeneous objects. There are,
for

instance,

or there were until lately, a

" Crown and

St.

Punchbowl " at Somersham,

a " Magpie and Punchbowl " in a " Rose and Punchbowl " in Bishopsgate a " Ship and Punchbowl " at Stepney; Wapping a " Red Lion and Punchbowl a " Union in St. John's Street, Clerkenwell
Ives
;
;

Union Jack and Punchbowl " in High Street,

Punchbowl" at Lymm, Warrington, Cheshire a" Half-Moon and Punchbowl " in Buckle Street, WhiteWapping;
a

"Dog

and

172

PUNCH
chapel

and Punchbowl " at Aldringham, Suffolk a " Fox and Punchbowl " at Old Windsor and a "Punchbowl and Ladle," near Truro. Ned Ward, the notorious vintner, whose punch was perchance better than his doggerel
;

" Parrot

poetry, kept a punch-house close to Gray's

Inn, in Fulwood's 'Rents;, Holborn, from about

1699 until his death in 1732. Anticipating the policy still adhered to by some Soho restaurateurs
in the

who
hope

serve

eighteenpenny Iuncheon s

of attracting wine-bibbers,

Ned

Ward used
customers.

to give

away

roast beef to his

Ward's sign was the " King's Head," and another well-known punch-house of the same period was the " Queen's Head," at St. Katherine's, kept by one Collison. Punch hails from the West Indies, and its basis is rum. When the English took Jamaica from Spain, in 1655, they found that the panacea for all ills, the water of life, was the distilled juice of the sugar cane, an imperfectly rectified spirit which they called rum. The sailors appear to have taken kindly to rum from the beginning, and it is probable
173

WINE AND SPIRITS

that they drank
it

at

first

very

much

in the

same way the West

drunk to-day in rum and water with sugar and some rind of lime. Such a
as

Punch

is still

Indies, viz., cold

mixture forms a delicious beverage, cooling, refreshing, and at the same time sustaining.

There
that

is

every reason to believe, however,

when the sailors of old returned home with some of the precious rum, their instinct led them to drink Punch hot instead of cold, and some hardened sinner may possibly have
reduced the proportion of water to a negligible quantity. There is no doubt, in any case,
that

Punch was from the

its

first

a hot drink

in

England, that

basis

was rum, and

that

the other ingredients, whether they be water,

green tea, lemons, oranges, nutmeg, or other

spices calculated to

long one's thirst,

keep cold out and to prowere always left to the

discretion or indiscretion of the holder of the

whose duty and pleasure it was to mix the Punch and dispense it. Punch was at first a Whig drink, and the Tories despised what they called hot water with sugar, good enough for a Whig or an
ladle,

174

PUNCH
old

woman, but never to be the drink of a They were quite wrong Punch outlived both Whigs and Tories, and reigned supreme in tavern and hall long after the quarrels of Jacobites and Orangemen had been forgotten. The reason was that Punch becjame a Whig drink only by accident, whilst it deserved and was to enjoy universal favour.
gentleman.
;

Of
to,

all

the beverages the

is

human

race

is

heir

Punch
:

the most sociable of

all.

As

the late Lord Pembroke once said to his guests " There, gentlemen, is my champagne,

my
give

claret, etc.

am no

great judge,
of

and

you these on the authority

;

merchant
for I

but
it

can answer for

my wine my Port,

The host not only makes Punch himself, but he makes it above board, in front of all the company assembled

made

myself."

the quantity of each ingreand expectant dient to be put in, the advisability of adding or leaving out such or such spices, the proper heat-to drink Punch at, all and every detail
;

is

discussed round the table

reminiscences

flow as the glasses are refilled, tales of great

deeds in the past are told, and hopes of great

175

WINE AND SPIRITS

things in the future are raised
cares of every
;

the sordid
;

day are

for the
life

nonce forgotten

the petty worries of

fade into

insignifi-

cance

the careful

and grasping mind unis

bends, and the heart

set free

straight,

honest, true words are spoken,

and the

friend

knows

his friend.

Shades of Mr. Pickwick

to-day

Where

are the

men

who can

trust

themselves and trust their friends sufficiently

to meet round the punchbowl
other's conversation

and enjoy each and company ? Where

to talk
it

are the

men

to-day

who know how

or ever attempt to think except

be talk

and thought

of themselves, of their score on

the links, their speed on the road, their luck

on the racecourse ? They are no more, and with them the punchbowl has passed away. There is a species of Punch which one
is

given
;

occasionally,
it

particularly

at City
of

dinners

is

milk Punch, a concoction

spices

milk and

rum with sundry

and

herbs,

properly clarified and happily blended so as

to form quite an agreeable drink to follow
turtle

soup.

There
of

is

also

Swedish Punch
in bottle

and other kinds

176

Punch imported

PUNCH
which

be drank either cold or with hot water, but there never can be any real Punch but the Punch that one makes and ladles out to one's friends from the steaming punchbowl.

may

177

XVI: LIQUEURS

THE
readily,

poet, the artist, the politician, or

whosoever possesses a vivid imagina-

tion

may charm

his fellow

men more

but he never shall convince them

logician, the mathe-

more thoroughly than the

matician, the statistician, or whosoever deals

with figures and numbers.

although you

Listen to the

pitiful tale of the old beggar

woman, and
will

may throw

her a coin, you

smile at the absurdity of her impossible story,

never dreaming of giving the poor creature

the credit for having spoken the truth.
yet, a

And

few minutes

later,

you

will listen eagerly

to
will

your stockbroker's
act

fairy-tales,

and you

upon

his advice unhesitatingly, in

spite of the fact that time after time you

have bitterly regretted doing so. Such is the magic of figures, the force of logic Logic is a most excellent gift, but it can unless it be easily be abused or misused
!

178

LIQUEURS
guided
will

by common

sense

and sympathy,

logic

lead to the narrowest bigotry, to the

most heartless cruelty, and to truly stupendous absurdities. Nero and Robespierre were
1

apostles

of

logic

of

that inexorable logic

all

which purposely ignores

mental
not
feelings.

purely emotional
also

Mohammed
blind logic

apostle of logid

of
;

was an which knows

common

sense.

Man

should not break

and as the birds in the air, the fish in the sea, and the brutes on land drank no wine and did in no way restrict their rights and privileges of males, so did
the laws of Nature the law of the law of Nature.

Mohammed Had

adhere to such logic prevailed

logically

from the beginning of the world's history, we

should never have
civilised at all.

known any

of the fine arts

and we should probably never have been

If

we

carry logic into the

camp, may we not ask him why we should be content with drinking nought but the plain water which quenched the thirst of primitive man, unless we be prepared to return to the cave dwellings and to the diet of roots and raw flesh which also satisfied
logician's

179

WINE AND SPIRITS

him ?
For countless ages past, the
inquisitive
restless

genius of
activity

man
has

has imagined, and his

procured,

ever fresh

luxuries,

which soon become necessaries as he becomes accustomed to them.

Thus, although Nature has given us two
legs to

move about

within reasonable distance

where we were born and where we were meant to live, we have never ceased
of the place

and save fatigue, ever was a man bold enough to leap on a horse's back and one daring enough to venture on the sea, until our own time when the air, too, has been conquered. Thus it is also that, although Nature has provided us with a supply of water more than adequate for our needs, we have never ceased to try and invent new beverages, being moved thereto by that incessant craving for greater material happiness, which is one of the mainsprings of human progress. In the making of wine whether it be a perfectly natural
to try to gain speed
since there

wine such as

claret,

a sparkling wine such as

champagne, or a

fortified

wine such as port

the art
180

of

man

intervenes only to

make

the

LIQUEURS
best use possible of Nature's

own

gift,

viz.,

the juice of the grape

the colour, the aroma,

and the taste of wine are due to the species of vines which yielded the grapes, to the soil upon which they grew, and to the climatic conditions which allowed the fruit to develop and ripen more or less perfectly. But, in the making of Liqueurs, man has a much wider field wherein to exercise his ingenuity he
;

is

at liberty to give to his Liqueurs practically

any shade or colour he thinks best to attract the attention, raise the curiosity, and charm he also has at his command all the the eye fruits of the earth from which to extract an almost unlimited variety of aromas and flavours, wherewith to please the most fastidious taste and flatter the most jaded palate. The first man who thought of making Liqueurs was he who first thought of adding honey and a few leaves of sage or mint to his sour wine or flat aid and that must have happened at a very remote time of the In England, there appears world's history. to have been a marked liking for sweetened and aromatised wine from an early date, and
;

181

WINE AND SPIRITS

the greatest favourite of
all

cordials

was that

known

as hippocras.

The " Ressaite to

make

Ypocras," according to Arnold's Chronicle, was as follows " For a galon and a pynt of
:

red wyn, take

synamon

iii

uncis, gynger dryed

an unce, greynes and longe peper di unce, cloves and masys, a q'rt of an unce, spignard a quatir of an unce, sugar ii lb." " Aqua composita " was also an old favourite, which was described, in 1527, in the " Vertuose Book," as being made of strong wine without lees, to which were added spices, herbs and roots of different kinds. When the process of distillation became better understood and more generally practised in England,

a great many more cordials and liqueurs were manufactured with spirit,

aromatieal plants, roots and seeds. In the " Jewell of Health," such concoctions are praised as " laudable, comfortable, commend-

and singular cordial wynes." in the making of which the use of borrage, endives,
able,

ginger, long pepper, sage, galingale, cloves,

fennel,

nutmeg, etc., is advocated. A few fifteenth century cordials were quite simple, 182

LIQUEURS
such as " Absinthe," which was
leaves of

made
of

of dried

wormwood in equal parts

Malmsey

and of " burning water thrice distilled." Most of them, however, were as complicated
as the wildest imagination could devise,

and
little

some
less

of the ingredients used

were only

remarkable than the cures they were said have effected. There were cordials which would bring him back to reason who was " wholly mad," whilst others restored the
to
sight

of

blind

folks,

or

prevented " evyl

comming to minde," or else " strengthened any weake member of man's body." The most efficacious of all Liqueurs was that known as " Quintessence," which
cogitations

was said to restore old and feeble " evangelik

"

men

to the strength of their youth, and to save men from death " except when struck

by thunder."

In the Sloane MS. 73 (circa the poor and feeble evangelic men, 1460-70),
led a godly
life

who had

and been spared

thunderblast, are given instructions how to make " Quintessence " " You shall pray a
:

rich

man who

a good florin

your friend to lend you Such is the of Florence."

is

183

WINE AND SPIRITS

beginning, which reminds one of the " First catch your hare " of Mrs. Glasse's cookery

Once the feeble old man had extracted the gold coin from his rich friend, all that remained for him to do was to get as much of the metal as he could in strong wine and spirit, and drink it when he felt weak The days of good old " evangelic " men are gone, and so are the rich friends who would lend golden coins to save the feeble and dying. All that was fantastic in the old methods of compounding cordials and distilling liqueurs has long since disappeared, and has been replaced by science, even as the chemist has
book.
!

replaced the alchemist of old.

The artist who wishes to paint an oil painting must have a suitable canvas or panel to paint upon he must have proper oil with which to mix and lay his paints he must have a
; ;

sufficient variety of paints to

choose from

and, above
art,

all,

he must know the

to

rules of his

and how

make

the best possible use

and of his materials. It is exactly the same with Liqueurs. The distiller
of his

subject

is

the

artist,

the spirit

is

his canvas, sugar

is

184

LIQUEURS
his oil,

and

his paints are all the fruits, plants,

herbs, roots

and

seeds.

As the
subject,
is

artist

chooses
is

the panel or the kind of canvas which

most suitable
distiller

for

his

so

has the

to choose which

the most suitable

spirit

for the kind of

Liqueur he wishes to

make. His choice rests principally between five

kinds of spirit, viz., brandy, whisky, gin, rum,

and highly
picture;

rectified or silent spirit.

In any

case, the spirit

it is

must not show through the

Liqueur to "stand," and tp

its

but the basis which allows the last without losing

colour

and flavour. Anyone may buy good canvas, good oil, and good
attractive
paints,

but

it is

not every one

a good picture with these.

who can paint Anyone may also

good sugar and good fruit, but the distiller shows his art and his individuality in the harmonious blending of

buy good

spirit,

differently flavoured fruits or herbs

this is

why

there are not two Liqueurs exactly alike,

although they

may
of

be made with similar or

the oldest
Liqueurs,
is

even identical ingredients.

Curacao, one
chiefly

made

of spirit, sugar

and dried orange

185

WINE AND SPIRITS

peel,

but there are a great

many

different

varieties of curacao, because there are

distillers

many

who make this Liqueur and they each have their own method. Some use more
sugar than others, some consider a certain kind
of orange better

than another, and some choose

spirit
;

brandy, whilst others use grain

are

so

that even in the case of this one Liqueur there

many

varieties, exhibiting notable differ-

ences of colour, sweetness, alcoholic strength

and

flavour.

It is the

same with other Liqueurs.

a great

There

are, for instance,

many

varieties of

cherries,

many

different qualities of brandies

and

of whiskies,

and many ways

;

of distilling

Liqueurs from cherries

primarily

cherry brandy, cherry

all all

whisky, kirsch, maraschino, noyau, are

made from

cherries,

but they

are quite distinct,

and

in each categbry of

these Liqueurs there are varying degrees of

flavour, taste, strength, price

and

excellence.

Stone
cherries

fruits,

such as apricots,

peaches,

and

sloes,

make very good

Liqueurs,
(or
is

whilst blackberries
cassis)

and black currants

Mint

also give excellent results.

186

LIQUEURS
of all herbs the
distillers

most extensively used by

digestive
properties.

in
for
it

the making of Liqueurs justly

their

popular

Whether
green,

be

called

" Peppermint "

or

" Creme de Menthe,"

left

white or coloured

made with brandy

or gin, the beneficial

is

action of such liqueurs

due to the mint. Carraway seeds are known and used in medifor

cine

action;

and carminative they are largely used in the distheir

stimulant

tillation of
fruit,

"

Kummel,"

whilst from the anise

is very aromatic and is a good " Aniseed " and " Anisette " are stomachic,

which

distilled.

These two Liqueurs are always sold

without being coloured, whilst the majority

of other liqueurs are coloured
distiller

any shade the

whether

thinks best.

All liqueurs,

they be distilled from cherries, mint, oranges

or anything elsej always are pure white

when
is

they leave the

still,

and

the colouring matter,

later,

which

may
;

or

may

not be added

only meant to render

to the eye
it

them more

attractive

neither alters nor affects in

any way

their taste or flavour.

There are more good, bad, and indifferent

187

WINE AND SPIRITS

Liqueurs distilled and pictures painted abroad

than in England simply because there are

more

distillers

and more

artists

abroad than

in England.

The Medoc, the Cote d'Or, the Marne, the Moselle and the Rhine, the Douro valley and
all produce wines which cannot be imitated anywhere in the world,

the Montilla district

no such monopoly as regards Liqueurs. If grain spirit be necessary, it can be obtained in this country of good quality and at comparatively low cost if brandy be
but there
is
;

preferable for certain Liqueurs there

is

nothing

to prevent English distillers from importing

good brandy, and it will mature in the moist atmosphere of the London Docks more rapidly and more evenly than at Cognac. Mint is grown at Mitcham and carraway in Essex of better quality than abroad, whilst oranges from Spain and spices from the East usually come to England before being re-exported to Holland or France. There is absolutely no
reason, therefore,

why English
;

distillers

should

not successfully compete with the foreigner

in the

making

of Liqueurs

they have

all

the

188

LIQUEURS
materials at their

command, but they must

have also the support of the public. Reynolds, Gainsborough, Romney, Lawrence, Turner, Constable, and others are there to prove that great artists may be born in England, and if there have not been more it is because the apathy of the English public has so often failed to give the artist the encouragement and proper appreciation which alone can fan
the spark of genius into a great flaming
fire.

189

XVI: BEER
time ONCE upon a a who had
there was a rich vicar
fine

orchard and more

ruddy apples than he could ever eat and there was a little Welsh boy, a hungry and thirsty little boy, who had no apples, and who thought that the vicar would never
miss one or two.

The

little

boy's

name was
for

David, and the temptation was too great

him

he climbed over the vicar's garden fence, and he saw in the grass one nice big it was bruised apple which had fallen down
; ;

and would soon rot, so David thought that he would not really be doing the rich vicar any wrong if he picked up and ate such an apple as this. For little David was no

common

thief,

but he did not

like waste,

and

he was always ready to come to the assistance and to share the burden of him who was overloaded with this world's goods. David

had no wish, however, to argue the

190

point

BEER
with the rich vicar nor with any of the rich

he quickly picked up the apple still climbed back over the fence. But the fence had sharp spikes, and faithful spikes they were one tried to stop little David, but only succeeded in tearvicar's

dogs

and

more

quickly

ing a large hole in the seat of his small trousers.

That night, David came home as late as he dared and full of fearful forebodings he
;

knew what to expect, and

were only too well realised.
wit,

his expectations

He had

a ready

a vivid imagination, and a glib tongue,

but no tale of his could explain

disfigured garment,

away the

and he could not keep his back to the wall all the time. That night, little David had a caning and was sent to bed supperless he felt very small and very unhappy and he also felt that he had been
;

treated very cruelly

sleep

but he soon

fell off

to

lying in the grass,

that

and dreamt that the rich Vicar was gagged and bound, and he, David, was sitting on his chest

eating lots of apples

and

sticking their pips

up the vicar's nose. And whilst little David was dreaming sweet dreams his fond mother
o

191

WINE AND SPIRITS

was mending
his little pair of trousers.

They

were but small, and they had but two very

small pockets, but out of those pockets came

great

variety

of

small

boy's

treasures.

There were
pheasants'
earth,

bits of rags

and

pieces of string,

feathers,

chestnuts,

stones

and

and a beerand Great was the wonder of bottle stopper. little David's mother and as she busily plied her needle she, too, dreamt of little David one day pulling all the strings, crippling the powerful brewers, grabbing the land and the unearned increment upon it. Dreams are
dried cow's dung,
;

but

fancies,

but

little
is

boys'

pockets

are

marvels, and there

not a young mother

who

has not marvelled at the quantity of

all sorts

small objects of

which a small boy

can manage to stow away in his pockets.

And

yet

how

far

thought of

it, is

more marvellous, if we only the way Nature fills a mere

There
is

grain of barley.

within a grain

of

barley that which will grow into roots and

stem under the slight provocation of gentle heat and moisture, and there is that lifeprinciple which will cause the plant to bear
192

BEER
an abundance of grain with the help of only a little moisture at the roots and some sunshine above.

Barley grows easily and rapidly in

arctic climates,
all

all

but
is

and

it is

extensively cultivated
culture of barley

over the world.

The

not only universal but also of the greatest

antiquity
the
;

it

has been and

still

is

used in

making

of

Beer amongst

all

nations from

the remotest times until the present day.

The Jews

of the

Ancient Testament and the

Egyptians of the earliest dynasties drank

Beer made from barley, as well as wine, whilst Normans, Angles, Teutons, Saxons, and all the nations of northern Europe drank nothing
but Beer until that stage of civilisation was
reached

which

rendered

communications
of the

possible with the

more favoured lands

are
all

south where wine could be procured.

Barley water and hops

absolutely essential to

that

is

make

Beer, but the

barley cannot be used in its natural state

it

must be transformed into malt.

To obtain malt, barley

in water,

is first

of all

soaked
193

then spread on a large

floor at a

WINE AND SPIRITS

depth which varies with the temperature prevailing at the time being thus spread, it
;

is

allowed to " heat " and germinate, being

day.

turned over with wooden shovels once or

about fourteen days, the germinating grain is dried in a drying kiln, and " cured " to the desired degree.
twice a

After

The
little

grain

is

then " screened," and

all

the

being dry,

which have grown out of it, There are different kinds of barley and various methods and degrees of malting, so that there are a great many
rootlets
fall off.

varieties of malts,

and the " palate,"

colour,

and quality of the Beer depend, in the first instance, upon the taste, colour, and quality
of the malt used.

When
raftlt

the brewer has selected a suitable

for the style of Beer he wishes to brew, he crushes it in a mill, and, when crushed, the malt becomes " grist." This grist is then mixed with hot water in large copper tubs, called mash tuns, which are fitted with a perforated false bottom, and it then forms

the "

mash

" or " goods."

The

first

water

which runs through makes a very strong

194

BEER
infusion of malt, but water is added over the " goods " by means of perforated revolving

arms which spray a continuous shower of water of the right temperature; this hot water runs through the malt and is collected into a copper placed for the purpose on a lower plane. A little water on much tea will make very strong tea, but the more hot water is poured over the same leaves the weaker will the tea become until such time as all the flavour will have been extracted from the In the same way, the more water leaves. there is added to the mash the weaker will the malt infusion be. The water which has run through the mash is called malt water, its aroma and colour depend or " wort " chiefly upon the kind of malt used in the
;

mash, but
taste,

its

chemical composition, strength,

and general excellence depend even more upon the quantity, nature, and tem-

perature of the water used for " mashing."

The same barley malted by the same maltster might be used in London and at Burton, but the Beer brewed in one place would materially differ from that which had been brewed at
195

WINE AND SPIRITS

the other on account of the marked differences
in the water supply.

The Burton water is obtained from marls and sandstones underlying

that

district

it

is

very hard and

slightly saline, results in the

and

gives the best possible

brewing of light Beers, whilst

is

the London water

entirely different,

and

gives better results in the brewing of dark or

black Beers.

The raw barley, the malt obtained from it, and the water used in " mashing " are allimportant factors in brewing. Once the
" wort "
is

obtained,

it

is

boiled in a large

The use of hops in brewit has not ing is comparatively modern been general in England for more than three
copper with hops.
;

hundred years, but it is indispensable to the making of Beer. Hops not only impart a particularly pleasant bitter flavour and a peculiarly attractive aroma, but they also
help to preserve the finished Beer. After the " wort" has been boiled with the hops, it is

run through a refrigerator and

with
196
all

it is

then Beer,
alcohol

the constituents of beer,

It
is

excepted.

then run into fermenting

BEER
and it very soon begins to ferment, alcohol and carbonic gas being formed at the expense of the natural sugar it contains. The fermentation lasts, on an average, six days, after which
vats, a little yeast is
it,

added to

the Beer has only to be racked into casks,

and, in due course,
it is

ready for consumption.

In the case of bottled Beers, the old-fashioned

way
leave

is

to bottle the Beer from the vat

to generate its

and
used

it

own

gas,

but the

chilling

process

is

very

extensively

nowadays. This process consists in racking the Beer from the vats into special casks,
which are placed in a freezing chamber and left there for two or three weeks under two
or three degrees of frost.

The

result

is

to

turn the Beer quite thick and it is then mixed with carbonic acid gas under high pressure

and forced through many sheets of filtering asbestos which retain all sediment and only allow a star-bright Beer to leave the filter. It is then immediately bottled and securely corked, and is ready for consumption. In certain districts, where the public taste demands it, Beers are more or less sweetened by
197

WINE AND SPIRITS

the addition of sugar
;

such a practice

is

not

reprehensible, since sugar, far from being in

the least unwholesome, adds to the food value

of Beer.
Statisticians tell us that the
of

consumption

Beer in England is about fifteen gallons per annum per head of the population, and that we spend more than one hundred million sterling on beer every year. There are small-minded
people

who

are, or

pretend to be, horrified at

such an expenditure, just as there are

blind

many
when
an

men who must have been

Mr.
multi-millionaire,

horrified

they were told that a

Widener,

American Cowper Madonna

bought Raphael's
;

for 140,000

there are also

many
stand

deaf persons

who

are unable to under-

how mad as to spend thousands every year on grand opera, concerts, bands, and wind-bags generally. But, if
people can be so

we discouraged painting because the blind cannot see, if we abandoned music because the deaf cannot hear, and if we prohibited
Beer because a small minority of the population
is

lacking in sell-control, and must either

re-

be teetotallers or drunkards, we should

198

BEER
Nature and set up as a motto the survival of the freaks instead of
verse the order of

the survival of the

fittest.

When
this is

a squadron
is

puts to sea, the speed of the whole

the

speed of the slowest ship

vessels are

why obsolete
;

scrapped or sold to Albania if they were left on the active list too long
they would cripple the action of the more

modern

units.

We

cannot scrap our morally

or physically defective brethren, but

we

place

them

in

homes

for incurables or asylums, in

safe harbours or docks, so that

they do not

hamper the march of the sound units. The drunkard and the teetotaller are both mentally
they lack the sense of proportion, and, happily, they are the exception the drunkard is blind and the teetotaller is deaf
defective

both are to be pitied, and we should avoid

resembling either.
It
is

usually the

same

men who

find that the millions spent on Beer

and the millions spent on the Navy are the most wicked waste of treasure, most of which
be saved and spent for the But greater comfort of the working classes.
could
easily

the

millions

spent on beer are practically

199

WINE AND SPIRITS

all

spent by the working classes, and

it is

to

be presumed that they would not spend their

money on Beer
refreshing fruit
it

if

they could obtain more

;

may

also

from any other source and be asked, what greater comfort

could be purchased with the

money

spent

on the Navy than the comfort the working classes enjoy in drinking their Beer without fear or trembling, secure from the attacks
of all foes oversea
?

200

XVIII:

CIDER
pleasure which the philatelist takes

THE
pinning

in sticking little squares of coloured

paper in a stamp-album, the loving care which the entomologist displays when
ugly beetles in a cardboard box,
the joy and emotion of the
discovers

numismat who a rare mint-mark on some defaced

old coin in his cabinet, these are pleasures,

and emotions beyond the ken of the ignorant. There can never be any appreciation without knowledge, and whether it be moths, Greek coins, Sanscrit grammar, or
cares,

analytical chemistry, there

is

nothing in the

world which knowledge will not render passionately interesting,

nothing the study of

But, of

which
all

will

not prove fascinating.

offers

studies, there is

none more fascinating,

field for research,
it
is

none which

a greater

none more highly interesting because

more personal, than the study

of the

human
201

WINE AND SPIRITS

race.

What

biologists

tinuity,"

and what we all is a subject of all the more engrossing interest that we still have almost everything to learn
about
it.

" genetic conknow as " heredity,"

call

We know

that, as a general rule,

like begets like,

but the exceptions to that

striking that

rule are so

numerous and so

we

it a rule. Like a bark cast on a treacherous sea, tides and cross-currents now help us on our way and now carry us away from our course. Our inclinations, instincts, and mental faculties are the in-

hesitate to call

heritance of untold generations past

we

are

those
tion

swayed hither and thither by the spirit of who have gone before us, and if temptaproves too great for us,
frailty

we can

find

some excuse for our handed to us by our

in

the legacy

ancestors.

But we

all

know

that our

first

parents must have been

free from any taint of heredity were created in a state of perfection they which we can hardly realise, and they had all they could possibly wish for. And yet

entirely

But no ordinary temptation would have ruined their lives and spoilt our chances
they
fell
!

202

CIDER
beyond description must have been the fruit which tempted our Mother Eve more beautiful than any other fruit of the Garden of Eden. It was an apple What
beautiful
!

other fruit has so ancient or so illustrious a

And' what fruit is more universally grown all the world over than the apple ? There are over fifteen hundred varieties of cultivated apples, from the crab apple to the coreless and seedless apple of Colorado. In Greek mythology the apple was the symbol of love because it was given by Dionysos to Aphrodite in Scandinavian mythology, apples were the food of the cBsir or gods and in Teutonic mythology,
pedigree as the apple
?
;

the apple

was the symbol of a mother's love. The apple-tree will grow in all soils and in
but arctic or tropical climates.

all

Many

as

are the different species of apple-trees, they

may be roughly

divided into three

main

categories according to the uses of the fruit

they produce, either eating apples, cooking

apples, or cider apples.

apple apple

is is

insipid

when

Just as a fine dessert cooked, and a cooking

cooked, so also are

tart before

it is

203

WINE AND SPIRITS

cider apples better suited to

make

cider than

to eat either

raw or cooked.

Cider
It
is

is

the fermented juice of the apple.

a very wholesome beverage of great

antiquity,

and

it

is

made

to a large extent

in different parts of England, but

nowhere

in such quantities nor to such perfection as in the West, in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire,

Worcestershire, Devonshire,

and Somerset.

The bad was to fill a

to

old way, in the good old days,

circular stone trough with apples,

which

was

added a

little

preference, dirty stagnant water,

water for which would

give a " taste."

Then a heavy stone wheel was slowly run over the apples and more
apples were added until the whole trough

was

filled

with apple juice and apple pulp.

This was then

pumped

into

a large vat,

where

it fermented for some days, after which the "Cider " was drawn into casks, and the

remaining pulp was

made

into cakes, dried,

and used
in

as food to fatten pigs.

Cider

made

such a primitive fashion

may

good, provided the apples are good.

still

be quite It was

made

in that

way a few

years ago, and

204

CIDER
may
like it now in out-of-the Normandy and Brittany. In England, Cider has long been made in a more
still

be made
of

way farms
scientific

and

less

wasteful way.

In the large
their

cider

factories,

the apples are pressed by

steam
sweet

presses,

and every
extracted.

particle of

juice

is

The apples are

where they are
is

brought to a crushing
in layers

mill,

reduced to a kind of pulp, which

pressed

by means

of steam-driven screws,

and

all

the juice squeezed out of the pulp

It is then drawn which fermentation takes place,

runs into a tank below.

into casks, in

the sugar contained

in the sweet

juice of

the apple being converted into alcohol

carbonic acid gas.

and In very good years and

when none but the right sorts of apples are used, the juice contains more sugar than will, be used up by fermentation to produce alcohol, and this excess of natural sugar makes the Cider taste sweet. In most years, however,
all

the sugar of the apple juice

is

transformed

into alcohol,
it

and the Cider

is

quite dry, but

may

be sweetened at will to suit the taste

205

of the

consumer.

WINE AND SPIRITS

When
which
is

Cider

is

allowed to ferment thorall

oughly in casks,

the carbonic acid gas

generated by fermentation escapes

;

and

loses itself in the air

it is

when
still,

it is

bottled,
is

at a later date,

quite

and such

the condition in which most ciders are drunk.

Sparkling
Cider,

however,

is

increasingly

popular, and the manufacture of sparkling

alcoholic beverages

made from apples is quite an important industry in Germany. Cider is a most wholesome drink, particularly so in the spring and summer. It is cooling and refreshing, and contains neither the ethers of wine nor the essential oils of grain spirits;
According to a medical treatise of the early
seventeenth century, Cider "
is

best for hot

livers

and dry cholerick

melancholy persons."

bodies,

hot

and

Needless to say, Cider

use

may

be drunk with impunity by " peaceful

its

bddies " and " cheerful persons," and

need not debar anyone from the pleasure

and
scale

benefit of
is

good wine.
else in

In Normandy,
larger

where Cider

made and drunk on a

than anywhere

Europe, every-

body drinks
206

Cider, but all those

who can

afford

CIDER
it

Such a practice is no modern innovation, since we have a record of it as far back as the eighth century and in
drink wine as well.

an eminently wine-producing

district, i.e., in

Burgundy.

When

people truly appreciate

at its real value that most noble liquor, " wine," they do not drink it simply because

they are thirsty.

of

Even now,
first

in

many
is

parts

France, the
is

wine one own, but

given at
la soif.

dinner

a thin, immature wine, pour

its
it

It has no merits of

quenches
of

one's thirst

and gives one the opportunity

slowly

and appreciatively sipping the better wines which are to follow. One does not sip Cider one drinks it in tumblers, and there is no better, no more wholesome, and no more certain means of quenching one's thirst. Taken in the morning, Cider acts as an excellent medicine/ more natural and more effective than all powders and pills
;

taken during the heat of the day,

the moisture

it

replaces

we

lose,

and keeps the tem;

perature of our blood cool

will

but the epicure

always refuse to insult his palate and

tax his digestive organs

p

by drinking Cider
207

WINE AND SPIRITS

with dainty and well-cooked food.
vinegar

deli-

cate but fairly acid white wine will taste like

if

drunk with cheese,

just as a fine
if

vintage .port will be detestable

fish.

served after
far

top hat and light brown boots shock

it is

more on harmony between what we drink and what we eat. If we do, if our food and drink are
important that we should always
insist

our sense of propriety, but

properly suited to one another, they will do us

much more
shall ever

good, and they will give us

pleasures

infinite

pleasures,

the

charm

of

be unknown to the ordinary man who eats and drinks with probably less moderation and certainly no more thought, no more intelligence, than the beasts of the

which

fields.

208

XIX:

WATER
and water
in.
:

LAND
live

such

is

the world
water,
living

we

Life

began

in

and
crea-

without the land

tures

many
;

could thrive in water

life

but without

water no form of

could subsist.

Land

owes

its

fertility

as well as its beauty to

The hurrying clouds and the slow ice-fields, the angry seas and the peaceful lakes, the silent glaciers and the thundering torrents, the majestic rivers and the chirping rivulets, the icy mist and the tropical rain, the gentle dew and the ruthless hail, all are nothing but the same water under different
water.
forms.

Fogs and

sleet are

forms of water which

,

be pleased to dispense with, but we cannot be too grateful to have been given by a bountiful Providence sea water
all

we should

to bathe in,

tap water to wash in and to

cook with, and mineral waters to drink.

209

WINE AND SPIRITS

There are millions of our poor suffering

humanity who drink tap water and have

very
in
little

chance of ever drinking anything

better.

There are also millions of toilers mines and factories, glass-works and

foundries,
fouler
air

who
still

breathe foul air at work and

at
rest

in

their

miserable

hovels.

But

all of

us

who have the chance

of doing so flee the over-populated centres

whenever we can find the opportunity or the means, in order to inhale the invigorating ozone of the sea, forest, or moor. And yet, remarkable as it seems, there are many who have ample means to save themselves untold
sufferings,

prolong their

life

and enjoy

it

more

fully

by drinking

suitable mineral waters

instead of unwholesome tap water, but

who
the

never think of

availing themselves

of

marvellous variety of mineral waters which

Nature provides in plenty for them

In an article dealing

with the relative

merits of different waters, Dr. A. T. Schofield " The best water is fresh spring remarks
:

water.

This, however,

is

a luxury that

is

rarer than good wine,

and the bulk

of the

210

WATER
population have no idea what such a water
is

like."

Water is a compound of two bodies, namely oxygen and hydrogen. All water, whether fresh and pure spring water, stale and impure tap water, or salt water,
the
rainfall.
is is

derived from
distilled
all

Rain water
it is

by
so

Nature, and
long as
it

the purest water of

;

remains up above

but

it

gathers

impurities
ticularly so
of

on

its

journey to the earth, parfalling

when

over or in the vicinity

After rain has

largely-populated areas.

fallen

on the

earth,

it

passes through different

kinds of

soils,

gathering

up both organic and

inorganic matters

on

its

continuously
with

filtered

way. After being through the ground,

water loses the organic matters

it

at

first,

but,

it had carried same time, the at the

quantity of inorganic matters, such as sul-

phate and carbonate of lime,

is

increased.

When

such water eventually returns to the

it

earth's surface at a spring,

contains varying

proportions

of

different

inorganic
(lime),

matter,

such as bicarbonate of calcium

presence
of

on the
of

which depends the degree

211

WINE AND SPIRITS

" hardness " of water.

But when Water

rivulet, a

flows

from the spring into a

it

municipal
tap,

reservoir, a house-top tank,

and a kitchen

carries a

mass

of matter in solution

acquires untold millions of

and microbes, which

are responsible for typhoid fever, diphtheria,

and a greater number

Formerly,

of diseases

and ailments

than we can possibly imagine.

men

lived

built near a spring,

and villages were where pure water was

to be had, but only the

more fortunate are now able to procure what has become an expensive luxury a pure, clear, soft and

limpid spring water, either entirely

still

or

impregnated with natural carbonic acid

gas.

There are some people who are said to derive a certain benefit from drinking a moderate
quantity
large
of

water,

over
all

and

above

the
conflesh,

amount we

unconsciously

sume with our milk and wine, fish and

fruit

and vegetables, for there is nothing that we eat and nothing that we drink which
does not contain a large proportion of water.

But there comes a time when excess

212

of

or of pleasure, a lack of prudence or of

work know-

WATER
a chance accident or any other cause with the proper working of that marvellous machine the human body.
ledge,

may

interfere

Such a time has come for many whose life might have been saved or whose sufferings might have been lessened had they sought
relief in

water, instead of placing their faith

and medicines. Referring marvellous supply of mineral waters, to our Hartwig says ; " How truly wonderful is the
in poisonous pills

chain of processes which

first raises

vapours

from the deep and eventually causes them to gush forth from the entrails of the earth, laden with blessings and enriched with treasures more inestimable than those the
miners
toil for."
is

Mineral water
it

rain water, which, after

sunk into the ground, issues forth again after rising through various mineral masses and becoming impregnated with
has

gaseous

admixtures

saline

or

metallic

which impart to mineral waters their partiSuch waters bear different cular properties.
names, according to their predominant constituent
;

thus

muriated

water

contains

213

WINE AND SPIRITS

chiefly

common

salt

alkaline water contains

;

carbonate of sodium
tains

sulphated water con-

Glauber's salts
salts

(sodium sulphate)
;

or

Epsom

(magnesium sulphate)
;

chaly-

beate water contains iron

contains arsenic
;

arsenical water
sul-

sulphur water contains

phuretted hydrogen, sodium, calcium, potassium, or magnesium calcareous water contains

;

earthy substances
waters
;

thermal waters signify hot

while selters water or seltzer contains

chiefly carbonic acid, carbonate of soda

and

common

salt.

Nearly every spring, however, contains a

proportion of the characteristic ingredient of

another group, so that no exact classification

of mineral waters is possible,

and the study of these waters and of their use demands considerable time and attention on the part
of the medical practitioner.
it

Unfortunately,
in this country.

very seldom receives

is

it

This

all

the more to be regretted, that

there are a great

many

mineral springs in

England which might be patronised with great advantage by people who go to foreign spas, if there were more doctors in this country
214

WATER
who took the trouble to really understand the action and uses of mineral waters.
Harrogate
is

said to possess no less than

eighty wells, which cannot be equalled for variety and efficacy. At Llandrindod Wells

and Woodhall Spa there are muriated waters similar to those of Homburg and Wiesbaden. At Cheltenham and Leamington there are sulphated waters somewhat similar to those
of Carlsbad, Apenta, Hunyadijanos, Friedrichshall

and Rubinat.

At

Harrogate,

Llan-

drindod, Tunbridge Wells, and

are chalybeate waters

Buxton there
similar to

and baths

those

of

Homburg and
Ischl,

Rippoldsan.

At At

Droitwich, there are saline springs such as

at

Salzungen,

Reichenshall,

etc.

Harrogate,

there

are

cold sulphur
etc.

springs

such as at Challes, Enghien,

At Malvern,
equal in

there are purely thermal springs

every respect to those on the Continent.

One cannot help regretting that the enormous variety and the excellence of the
mineral waters
of

England should not be

principal

taken greater advantage of than they are

at

present.

The

reason of

this

215

WINE AND SPIRITS

undeserved neglect
is

undoubtedly the ignor-

ance of the great majority of English medical

men.

One may regret, but one cannot wonder

at the ignorance of the doctors as regards

both wine and water, since the study of these subjects is most intricate, embracing an

enormous
research,

field,

requiring the
it

most minute

and yet

forms no part of the

medical curriculum.

few years ago, being in the north of Chile, I happened to be poisoned by bad food,

and

suffered

from severe
I

intestinal trouble.

On my

return to London,

inquired and was

given the
specialist,

name

of a celebrated
I

whom

Harley Street consulted, with the result

that he straightway ordered

me

to

drink

was a blow, but I received it without flinching, and meekly " What water do you think I ought asked Without the slightest hesitation to drink ? " " Drink Vichy or the great man answered This was another blow, but I Salutaris." stood it well, and quietly asked the illustrious professor which of these two waters was best for me, and he told me that there was practinothing but water.
It certainly
:
:

216

WATER
cally

no

difference

could drink whichever

to

between them, and that I it was easier for me

I

procure.

Then

forgot

all

the

great

and learned books which stood to the famous specialist, and I informed him that Salutaris water was plain water boiled and aerated, and not containing a particle of mineral matter, and that Vichy was
cures
credit of the

the

large
since

name of a French watering-place where a number of mineral springs had existed

Roman

times.

added

that

if

he
re-

thought that I wanted a perfectly pure water,

Salutaris

was an

excellent choice, but

if I

quired a mineral water I must trouble

him

to

name the

recommended at Vichy, as some produced sulphur water and others either

spring he
Waters,

muriated, alkaline, sulphated or chalybeate

and they could not all indifferently be good for me. I was then informed icily
that a doctor does not argue with a patient,

and

I realised

very vividly that there was one

it.

very good reason for

217

XX

THE CARE OF WINE

WINE

and woman require at first firm, patient and intelligent training, but they cannot be expected to retain their charm nor to become more excellent unless we show our appreciation of their unless we bestow upon virtues and beauty them the constant attention which they demand, the gentle care which they merit, and the loving regard to which they are
;

entitled.

Much of the good wine and many of the fair women meant by Providence to gladden
the heart of
ruined
ling.

man have been

irretrievably

by

careless,
is

rough or senseless hand-

What
:

delicate requires delicate treat-

ment
nor
is

orchids are not plucked like weeds,

is silk

muslin sewn like sackcloth.

There
be

nothing more delicate than fine wine, the

living blood of the grape,

and whether
cellar, it

it

laid to rest or fetched

from the

should

218

CARE OF WINE
be treated in a very different way from mere coals which are shot down and shovelled up.

There are two categories of men those money and those who spend it who hoard
:

specimens of each category are to be found

upon every rung

from both avarice and the lowest to the highest embitter the lives of rich and poor jealousy alike and both are equally beyond the logic
of the social ladder
;

of

arguments.

To
which

give to
it

wine the personal attention

necessitates,

and the

grateful ap-

preciation

which it deserves, one should value it more than the money which serves this is why wine is and shall to procure it ever be beyond the power of appreciation of the miser, of the mean and grasping man.
;

Misers

are,

happily,
will

in

minority

the

majority of

to spend their
willingly,

men own and

always be found ready

other people's

money

not only nor even chiefly upon the

strict necessaries of life,

but also and largely

upon luxuries. The miser is sorely grieved at the extravagance of heedless multitudes
;

the philosopher

219

WINE AND SPIRITS

is

neither surprised nor shocked

by

it,

but he

has to admit that, as a rule,

the dictates of
of
logic

man

disregards

common

sense

and the laws

of

in

his

expenditure in pursuit

comfort and pleasures.

you are getting when you go to the

Ask yourself whether value for money at bridge or

races.

Does

it

benefit

your mind, health or purse to the extent of the demands it makes upon your time, money

and trouble ? Does it give pleasure or happiness to any of yoUr friends ? Does it gain for you the love, respect or gratitude of anyone whom you love or respect ? If not, you are not getting value for money. How much greater and better will be the satisfaction which you will derive from a fine bottle of wine greater because it will be more lasting, stimulating your brain and quickening the beat of your heart, so that you will understand and feel more keenly than before and better too, because you will share your
!

pleasure with others.

Your

fine

wine
it will

will

not only flatter the

sense of smell, delight the eye,

palate, but

charm the

bid the heart forget past

220

CARE OF WINE
offences

and remember old

friends

it

will

and provoke the and original expressions of opinion, all that makes the intercourse between friends so charming, so entertaining and so valuable. Wine is well worth the money which needs
gently stimulate the brain
flow of kindly wit, quick repartee, fair

be paid to procure
secure good wine
;

it,

but money alone cannot

common sense, knowledge and care are necessary to buy, keep and

serve wine.

Every year there is some good, some bad and much indifferent wine produced from the vineyards of the world. Every year there is also some good wine which is spoilt by ignorant or careless treatment.

To buy wine

is

one thing, and to drink

it

at its best is another.

HOW TO BUY WINE

No
its

wine

is
is

good which

is

not sound.

Bad wine

never cheap.

However exalted
its

pedigree and however low

cost wine

which has never been or which has ceased to

be sound
is

bad.

Leave

it

alone.

221

WINE AND SPIRITS

improve with age up to a point it will then decay and become unsound. Bad wine never improves with age it grows
will
i
;

Good wine

rapidly worse.

you should first of all know what you want and buy what you want not what your wine-merchant wants you to
well,

To buy

buy.

The
best.

best wines are the wines which suit you

Monotony

dulls appreciation.

Be

catholic

in your tastes.

There

is

an almost unlimited
not eat the same
Discriminate and

variety of types and styles of wines for you

to choose from.

You do
sickness.

food day after day, in winter and summer,

in

health

and

lay

down

in your cellar suitable wines for

different times

and

occasions.

perfection

The majority of wines are drunk to greater and with greater benefit during
It
is

meals.

alleged sometimes that

it

is

bad for one to drink different wines at the same meal. This is not so. It is better not do not drink whisky to mix grape and malt But there after port nor port after whisky.
;

222

CARE OF WINE
is

no physiological reason why you should not eat fish, meat andfruit, nor drink Chablis, Claret and Port at the same meal. As a
matter of
to a
fact,

properly chosen wines

is

are

meal what music

to the dancers

they

are the best sauce for every sort of dish

and

help us materially to enjoy

food.

and

digest our

White Wines still and sparkling Wines Clarets and Burgundies and Port should form the basis of every selfrespecting cellar. Study your cellar book know what you have in your cellar and what there was before this is the only way to know what to buy, when to buy and how
Sherry,

Red

much

to buy.

not buy more than you want of any particular wine even if it is a " bargain."

Do

Never

buy wine

as

a speculation

it

is

not safe.

Cut your coat according to your cloth

buy Champagne
fair

last of all if

you mean to be
less

to the

still

wines which are

prices

expensive

but just as deserving of attention and appreciation.

The present

of

Champagne
223

WINE AND SPIRITS

confine
its

use to two classes of people

the

wealthy for

whom

it is

a luxury within their

means and the sick for whom it may be a necessity and of greater value than anything
else that

money can buy.

and from the
right

Buy
people.

at the right time

Remember that the fish who troubles

to seek his food in the rushes of the river-bed

fares

better than his brother

who
him

gobbles
in mid-

the wriggling

worm

held out to

stream at the end of a cruel hook. Beware of the tout and do not change your wine-

merchant any more than your doctor. Trust your wine-merchant or find another one who will be worthy of your trust. But train and trust your own judgment also. Train your eye, your palate, and your nose and trust them. Good wine should be brilliant and pleasant brilliant and pleasant-looking to look at wines are not all good, but dull, dead, dubious;

looking wines are

all

bad.

Then bring
critical

to the tribunal of your nasal

satisfied

appendix the wine which has

eye.

your

Smell

it

slowly and carefully.

224

CARE OF WINE
Can you detect
foul stink,
in it

any trace
?

of a

musty
sort of
it.

flavour, of a chemical smell, of

any

however

faint

If so, reject
it

You need not

what
with
is

trouble to taste

its
it.

price

may

be.
it

nor to enquire Have nothing to do

Do

not have
;

as a gift.

That wine

find a unpleasant " bouquet " and you must not listen to any argument, however

not sound

you need not trouble to

name

for that

plausible, of the

would-be seller.
!

Believe

me

Leave

you do not find anything objectionable in the smell of this

it

alone

But

if

wine, then let your nose return to

it

and

carefully. Can you not any bouquet ? Perhaps not. Be not hasty and do not reject a wine which is lacking in bouquet. It may be quite a young wine, a cheap beverage claret which is before you, and a very sound wholesome wine. The " bouquet " or aroma of a wine is due

once more inhale

detect

to the " etherification " of its acids, a process

which

is

slow and uncertain.

both your senses of sight and smell are satisfied that the wine before you is sound, then taste it and decide whether you like it
225

When

WINE AND SPIRITS

you consider that it is fair value for the money demanded. Always taste wine where you will have to drink it if you buy it. Climate and environments make no difference to the look of a wine, but they have a very considerable influence upon its actual taste. The light wine which was fetched for you from a cool cellar at some roadside inn in Italy, upon a scorching hot summer day, may have tasted more delicious than any wine you ever bought in England,but if you are wise you will go to Italy, and drink that light wine there you will not have any sent to your Hall in Yorkshire nor to your flat in London if you do, you will
and
if
:

it will not taste the be sorely disappointed same you will never be able to drink it and
;
;

you
of

will

eventually present

it

to

Chelsea

Infirmary or some such concern the inmates

have no cause to thank you. so is good quality, but Truth is elusive truth and strive after good quality. seek ever Be not hypnotised by vintage dates nor by great names, be they those ,of illustrious shippers or of even more illustrious Chateaux.
which
will
;

226

CARE OF WINE
There are few well-succeeded vintage years

when some
districts

individual

vineyards

or

even
;

did not produce poor quality wine

they are the unfortunate exceptions which

There are some years also, when the vintage is a failure in all but a few districts, or when a shipper happens to make
attend
all rules.

up a Cuvee
than usual.

distinctly better

or the reverse

Well-known shippers, well-known Chateaux, well-known wine-merchants all have a reputation to live

up

to

trust them, but trust

;

them
cate

intelligently,

not blindly

your

own judgment.
be, all

do not abdiShippers and

merchants, however honest and experienced

they

may
I
is

and

make have made and

mistakes just as you

will

make

mistakes.

There

no expert in the wine trade of any country who can tell with certainty what any new wine will become with age. Wine is harmony, but young wine is like
an orchestra at the tuning stage
;

there are

many
noise,

brass and string instruments and

much

not be any harmony until they begin to play all together under

but there

will

227

WINE AND SPIRITS

the greatest of
all

conductors " Father Time."

The experts know the tune which is going to be played they know the number and the names of the instruments, but they do not know the artists and they cannot be sure of what their performance will be. Taste often and critically try and rememmake mistakes and find out where you ber went wrong. This is the best way to buy wine
;
;

well.

HOW
It

TO KEEP WINE
is

useless
it

you

treat

provide for
cellar.

it

buy good wine unless You must first of all well. a suitable home; i.e., a good
to

good

cellar is

one where the temperature

or,

at any rate, never much. It stands to reason that no wine can possibly improve with age if

never varies at
varies very

all,

stored close to hot water pipes, as

in

is

the case

some

of the

most luxurious modern London

hotels.

A
228

cellar

should be cool and well ventilated.

possible, white wines should

Whenever

be

CARE OF WINE
kept in a cooler cellar than red wines
least, in
or, at

the coolest part of the

cellar.

harm to wine is which is cold in winter and hot in summer. An even temperature is what you should do your best to secure for all your wines. Whether you are able to do so or not depends upon the architect who built your house and it may be impossible for you to give your wines a home as cool and as even a temperature as they -like and deserve. But you can and you must, at any rate, see that your cellar shall never be otherwise than faultlessly clean. Whatever its shortcomings may be, there is no possible excuse for a cellar that is dirty. Foul smells in a cellar taint the wine
does the greatest
,

What

to be lodged in a

cellar

thereof.

Never keep vinegar

cellar.

in cask in

your wine
cellar,

When wine

is

delivered

to

your

remove straw envelopes and paper wrappers and examine each bottle.
Reject
all

faulty bottles.
of

Never lay down a bottle

wine which

229

WINE AND SPIRITS

shows signs of ullage, that is to say the cork of which has allowed some of the wine to escape and the air to get in. You have every
right to return all such bottles

and

to refuse
gift,

to

give pay for them. them a little rest and drink them as soon as you can and if you can. But do not bin away and forget ullaged wine it will grow worse, " weep " and spoil the bin.

If they are a

be binned in a horizontal position, so that the whole of the inside face of the cork be constantly in contact with the liquid, failing which the corks will shrink,
All wines should

some
If

air will find its

way

into the bottle

and
you

the wine will be spoilt.

you are so short

of cellar space that

cannot bin away your Champagne or other

cased wines as soon as you receive them, be
careful to see that the cases are lying flat

and not on
of

their side, otherwise the bottles

inside the case

would be

in

a vertical instead
;

in a horizontal position

half of

them

neck downwards and safe, but the other half would be standing up and likely to grow flat after a little time.

would be

330

CARE OF WINE
When binning Port, see to it that the white " splash " on the bottles be always uppermost
it

will

then be in exactly the same position as

it is

before

which
will

and the crust, bound to be disturbed by the moving,

reached your
cellar,

settle

grooves

down much better into the which it has made for itself in

old

the

very metal of the bottle.

bins of wine. Be on the look" weepers " so as to remove them out for any

Watch your

and use them quickly before they have become " ullages." Once the cork begins to allow the wine to ooze out of the bottle, it must be drawn and that bottle should be
drunk.
If
it is

a bin,

a number of " weepers " occur in because the wine of that bin has
first

been badly corked in the

it

instance and

may be
Watch

wise to have

it all

recorked.

your bins of wine.

out for worm-eaten corks.

Be on the lookYou will never

its little

catch nor see the worm, but you will see

work

it

usually takes the form of a

beading of cork dust round the top of the If you leave it alone, it will spread cork. to the whole contents of your cellar and ruin
231

WINE AND SPIRITS

it.

As soon as you discover worm-eaten

cellar,

corks in your

report the fact to your

It will

wine-merchant and ask his advice.

cost
of

you nothing and save you a great deal money and trouble.

HOW
If

TO DECANT WINE

you be a rich man, train a good butler to love good wine, grudge him not his share of your wines and let him decant
them.
If

you cannot afford to do

this,

decant

your wines yourself.

When
time,
it

a red wine has been bottled some

throws a sediment, part of which adheres to the glass some of it even ingrains and part of which remains loose. itself into it

The sediment of wine varies as regards both its volume and nature with every type of wine and also with every different vintage.
There are wines the sediment of which, in certain years, forms such a firm " crust that the whole liquid contents of the bottle
will

pass into the decanter and be star-bright

right through.

This

is,

unfortunately, quite

232

CARE OF WINE
exceptional.

As

rule,

there

is

certain quantity of

sandy or slimy sediment

lying loose along the length of the bottle

and ready to mix itself up with the wine upon the slightest provocation. It is in
order to avoid this mixing

up

of the

sediment
it

with the clear wine which has thrown

after

out

a slow travail of

many

years duration,

that wine needs decanting with the utmost

care.

Whenever

in the cellar, straight

your old wine from the bin. Take the bottle gently from the bin and
possible, decant
it

lay

softly in a cradle.

Remove the metal cap

Wipe the upper
lip of

or the

wax

protect-

ing the outside face of the cork.

the bottle

all

round

and thoroughly with a clean cloth. Drive your corkscrew slowly right through the centre of the cork, and draw the cork steadily without any jerks, without any
haste or hesitation.

you are about to decant some very old wine, use "nippers" and take off the neck the bottle. If you have never used of
If

233

WINE AND SPIRITS

" nippers " before, ask your wine-merchant
to

show you the way, and then try your hand on a few bottles of " Vin Ordinaire " first
of
all.

Once the cork

lip of

is

drawn, wipe the inside

the bottle with a clean cloth, take hold

of the bottle firmly in

your right hand, and

slowly pour
in

its

contents into a decanter held

your

left

hand.

Place a lighted candle or an electric bulb

behind the shoulder of the bottle and watch

the wine as
bottle.
it

passes out of the neck of the

As soon as you see some loose sediment come to the neck of the bottle,
stand the bottle up.
left in

What wine may

;

be

consumption it is far better to lose a little wine and much sediment than to spoil a bottle of good wine
the bottle
is

unfit for

with a

little

sediment.

HOW

TO SERVE WINE
at

The temperature
:

which you

will serve

your fine wines is of great importance. Avoid extremes use neither fire nor
shocks are always bad for wine.

ice

234

THE CARE OF WINE

White wines
should,

be served cold
ice

they

may

be

iced,

but no

should ever be put

in the

wine

itself.

Red wines should be served at the temperature of the dining-room. They will be spoilt if warmed up quickly, either by being
dipped in
fire.

hot water or

placed near

the

Decant old Claret one hour and old Port let them stand two hours before dinner in the dining-room where they will take the temperature of the room. Never serve fine wines nor fine brandy in small glasses. Use large glasses but never The subtle let them be filled to the brim. " bouquet " of a wine is its greatest charm, but you will never be able to appreciate it should your glass be too small or too full.
;

Fine glasses materially add to the enjoy-

ment
ciate

of fine
its

wine

they enable one to apprecolour.

brilliant

Above

all,

it

is

absolutely indispensable that both decanters

and

glasses should be faultlessly clean.

The

cloth used to wipe

and

polish glasses should

;

never be used for anything else

the finest

235

WINE AND SPIRITS

wine
cloth.
will

be completely ruined

if

served in

glasses

which have been wiped with a dirty

HYPOTHETICAL CONTENTS OF AN IDEAL CELLAR OF WHICH A GENTLEMAN MIGHT BE JUSTLY

PROUD.
of the " ideal " cellar might be divided into three classes, viz. : A. Past, B. Present, and C. Future.

The wines
Class A.

A few bottles A
grandfather, occasions.

of past

down by the
Class B.

famous vintages laid present owner's father or for use on very special

Class

fair quantity of wines ready for present consumption. Wines purchased for laving down and to be saved for future consumption.
I.

Clarets.

Red Wines.
A.
Lafite 1864.

B
Margaux 1888.
Cos d'Estoumel 1893. Cbeval Blanc 1893.
Branaiie Ducru 1899.

C.

Margaux

1899.

Haut-Brion 1871. Latoui 1875. Mouton-Rothschild 1877.

Lafite 1878.

Ausone 1900. Latour 1900. Pape Clement 1900.

La Lagune

1899.

Haut Brion

1907.

Petrus Pomerol 1905

While Wines.

Chateau

Yquem

1869.

La tour Blanche 1900.

Burgundies. Red Wines. Chambertin 1887.
II.

Chateau Filhot 1904.

Clos dc Vougeot 1858. Romance Conti 1877. Grand Musigny 1877. Romance Conti 1881.

Grand Chambertin
Cor ton 1908.

Romance Conti

1891. Clos de Vougeot 1889. Romanee Conti 1906..

Romanee St. Vivant

1915. 1915.

Pommard

19x1

Chablis

La Moutonne

1893.

White Wines. Montrachet 1908.

Chablis Clos 1904.
III.

Montrachet 19x5.
Chablis

La Moutonne

1911.

Ports.
Vintage 1908.

Vintage 1834. 1847.

Vintage 1875. 1884.

1912.

1863. 1868. 1*78.

if

1887. 1896.

236

XXI

DRINK A PHYSIOfoodstuffs contain a certain propor-

LOGICAL NECESSITY

ALL

tion of water which helps to replace

the moisture

we

require

and that But by far by the

or

which we lose daily by evaporation, perspiration, respiration

and evacuation.
is

the greater part of the water required

human organism
solely of water.

supplied

by drink

various liquids which consist mostly or even

Drink
classes
;

may
all

be divided into two main liquids which do not contain

in one,

any alcohol being placed

and

all

alcoholic beverages in another.

(^)-NON-ALCOHOLIC LIQUIDS
(i) Water.

Of
tive

far the

non-alcoholic liquids, water is by most widely used. It has no nutrivalue whatever and leaves ^he body as it
all

237

WINE AND SPIRITS

enters
it
;

it

has no oxidising action upon

it

foodstuffs,

but

may

greatly interfere with

it

digestion

and somewhat accelerate

through

physical action

when we drink it

in sufficiently

large quantities

and at extreme temperatures

of heat or cold.

Pure spring water is beyond the reach, and distilled water beyond the means of most The impurity of the water we drink people.
depends, as regards both degree and kind,

upon the source from which it is obtained, the distance from which it has to be brought and the channels through which it reaches
us.

Water
tions,

contains, in greatly varying propor-

organic

matters borrowed from the

different rocks

through which

it

has passed
al-

before reaching the surface again, and

though none

of the mineral salts nor other

solid parts held in suspension in

water have

any nutritive value, they all have a more or less marked influence upon our digestive
organs as well as others, such as the bladder,
the
liver,
is

the kidneys and even the heart.

This

particularly

the

case

as

regards

238

DRINK A NECESSITY
waters

known

as " Mineral " waters,

distinctive

many

of

which

possess

pharmaceutical

properties.

Common
or

or

" tap "

distinguished

by

are chiefly " hardness," their degree of

of

waters

the

proportion
all

bicarbonate

of

lime

which they

contain,

and

their purity, or

rather their impurity depends

plain water

upon the num-

ber and variety of evil bacilli from which

is

never

free.

(2) Milk.
Milk
is

of

all

liquids the

most valuable

as

a food and the most suitable for the young.

and carbohydrates under an eminently digestible form, and sufficient to sustain life and build up tissues without the help of any other substance. The consumption of cow's milk is much greater than that of any other milk, and its quality varies according to the health, age, breed and
It contains proteins, fats

feeding of different cows, but the following

analysis gives a fair idea of the average cow's

milk

239

WINE AND SPIRITS

DRINK A NECESSITY
both tea and coffee is the "cafein" which they contain, and the action of which upon our nervous system is sufficiently marked to
be of real assistance in cases of fatigue or
depression.
(4)

Cocoa.

The food value

of

cocoa

is

considerable ;

it

contains 15 per cent, of proteins, 50 per cent, of fats and 25 per cent, of carbohydrates, so
that

when milk and sugar

of

are added to
itself,

it,

cup
is

cocoa
of

is

a meal in

a fact which

not

always sufficiently recognised by a

people, particularly

number

among

the

poorer classes,

who drink cocoa

whilst eating

bread and cheese, thus loading their organism

with a quantity of proteins and fats in excess
of their requirements.

(B)ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.
Alcohol
is

the

name

of a class of neutral

compounds

of carbon,

hydrogen and oxygen,

This

capable of forming ethers with acids.

class comprises

a great

many members, some of

241

which, far from being volatile, are not even

WINE AND SPIRITS

liquid.

Cetyl

alcohol,

for

instance,

is

solid fat, whilst cerylic

and myricylic
which
is

alcohols

are waxy.
or triatomic

Glycerine,
alcohol

a trihydric
oil

(C,H0), fusel

or

amylic

alcohol

(C s Hi, O),

(CH O),
all

propyl

alcohol

methyl (C, H 0),

alcohol

butylic

alcohol (CHk,0)

and a great many more, have an equal right to the name alcohol. But, by far the most important member of
alcohol (C2

this large family is ethylic

H O),
e

two molecules of carbon, six of hydrogen and one of oxygen. In other words, ethylic alcohol has the same chemical
of

compound

composition as water with one of

its

hydrofive

gen atoms replaced by a hydro-carbon radical

composed

of

two atoms
speaking,

of carbon

and

of hydrogen.
Scientifically

the

term alcohol

should always be qualified, but, when used

alone,
it

is

understood to refer to ethylic

alcohol,
all

the principal stimulating agent of

alcoholic beverages.

is

The chemical composition of ethylic alcohol beyond controversy, and there is abso-

lutely nothing in the chemical composition

242

DRINK A NECESSITY
of ethylic alcohol

which would be called a poison or a narcotic

of

entitle
;

it

to

it

has none

the

chemical

characteristics

of

known

poisons,

and
is

it

does not possess any of their

that

properties.

Alcohol
is

a nutrient and a nervine

to say, a food with a specific action

upon

the nervous system.

Alcohol, like carbo-hydrates, such as sugar,
creates heat
lar

and furnishes energy

for

muscu-

work.
has

Alcohol
perfectly

a specific action upon the

;

nervous system

an action which leads to normal functional changes, and

is

causes a certain inner mental stimulation.

That alcohol

almost entirely oxidised in

the body, except

when taken

in very large

quantities, has been proved by the most exhaustive scientific experiments. " The out-

come

of the best investigation

on

this subject

may

be summarised as follows," writes ProW. O. Atwater. " The alcohol of ordinary beverages is easily absorbed from
fessor

the

stomach and the intestines into the If the amount circulation and readily burned.
243

WINE AND SPIRITS

taken
plete.
is

small, the oxidation

is

almost com-

"

When

the quantity taken

is

excessive, the

amount unconsumed is likely to be much larger. As ^the more experiments with alcohol have been more accurate, the proportion actually oxidised has appeared larger and
larger.

When
two
at

taken in small quantities

glasses of wine, or a glass of

say, one or

whisky,

a time

the

alcohol

has been

found to be burned at least as completely as bread or meat. The reason for discussing
at such length a theory discarded a quarter
of a century ago

by the leading

authorities

is

that
of

it

has remained current in the writings

some authors, and even in some of our school text-books which deny the food value
of alcohol."

The oxidation of alcohol in the body is a by science beyond all doubt, but it is far more difficult to ascertain the amount of heat and energy produced by the oxidation
fact placed

of alcohol,

and, therefore, the actual food

value of alcohol.

To compare the degree

244

of nourishing

power

DRINK A NECESSITY
of different foods,

we must remember
is

that

the caloric or heat-power of different substances differ, that

to say that the heat

and energy which

will differ

will

be produced by the

oxidation of one ounce of butter, for instance,

from the heat and energy which the oxidation of one ounce of sugar will produce. Very exhaustive experiments were
carried out by Professor Atwater and the " Committee of Fifty for the investigation of the liquor problem " which was appointed

by the United States Government some few

years ago, for the purpose of ascertaining

Pure ethylic alcohol, diluted in water or coffee, was used for these experiments, and it is claimed that
the

food

value

of

alcohol.

when the quantity of fat, sugar and starch was reduced by what would produce 500 caloric units and replaced by a sufficient
quantity of alcohol to furnish 500 caloric units, the work done and the energy given

from the body were practically the same. This proved that alcohol not only was oxidised in the body but also to the same good purpose
off

as a similar heat-giving quantity of fat, sugar

245

WINE AND SPIRITS

and starch in other words, alcohol supplied the same energy to the body as fats and carbo-hydrates. Furthermore, it was proved in the most absolute manner that, when carbohydrates were replaced by alcohol, in the
;

diet of the subject

experimented upon, there

was no need to increase the proportion of albumen included in the diet alcohol acted in exactly the same way as carbo-hydrates in saving the albumen stored in the body, an absolute proof of its being a nutrient. The fact that alcohol is a food and is oxidised in the body like carbo-hydrates,
;

such as sugar or starch,

is

only too often over-

looked, and alcohol then becomes a danger.

Corpulence, gout, dilatation or relaxation of

the heart,

and similar diseases, are more frequent amongst drinkers than abstainers, but it is scientifically wrong to blame alcohol for any such complaints they are solely due to over-nutrition, not to alcohol as such. People who eat as much proteids, fats and carbo-hydrates as they require, and even more than they requhe, and at the same time do not deny themselves the pleasure
;

246

DRINK A NECESSITY
and comfort of alcoholic beverages, should realise that by so doing they are taking more food in the shape of alcohol, and an excess of food which must perforcedly be injurious to
the

body.

Alcoholic
of,

beverages

should

be

taken in place

and not in addition to, a certain amount of fats and carbo-hydrates if the body is supplied with all the fats and
;

carbo-hydrates required to produce the necessary heat and energy, alcohol will only cause
fat deposits in organs, in

which

fat

cannot be

used.
It

might be said that, since alcohol takes

the place of carbo-hydrates, carbo-hydrates

could also take the place of alcohol, so that

by

increasing the proportion of fats or carbodiet,

hydrates in one's

one might easily

dis-

pense with alcohol.

If

alcohol were nothing but a food, this

assumption would be quite correct, but it is absolutely incorrect, because alcohol is not
only a food, but a food with a very marked As specific action upon the nervous system.
a nutrient, alcohol can be replaced

by carbo247

hydrates, but as a nervine

it

has no sub-

WINE AND SPIRITS

stitute.

Most people drink alcoholic beverages upon the nervous system and the brain, but many fail
for the specific action these exercise

to realise that alcohol also possesses a very

real food value

which

is

beneficial in itself

but becomes a serious danger, as in the case

of all foods,

when taken

in excess.

The

Specific Action of Alcohol upon the

Nervous System and the Brain.

Our nervous system
is

the most compliIt comprises a

cated part of our organism.

central nervous system, including

the brain

and spinal cord, and, leading from these, a network of nerves controlling all the organs and glands of the body.

We know
since

that alcohol excites in a specific

of smell

manner the sensory nerves

ever
also

and

taste,

we can easily detect its presence whenwe are either smelling or tasting it. We know that alcohol has a marked action
secreting nerves of glands, which
cell

upon the
it

causes to contract and discharge their

contents, saliva in the

in the stomach.

mouth
is

or gastric juices

This

the result of per-

248

DRINK A NECESSITY
fectly

normal functional changes which have

nothing in

common

with disturbances.

As

soon as alcohol comes into contact with the

mucous membrane

of the stomach, a more abundant but perfectly normal secretion of

gastric juices takes place as a result of the

excitation or contraction of the nervous end-

apparatus of the stomach.

To

ascertain experimentally the action of

upon the nervous system, and particularly so upon the brain or central nervous system, is, as yet, beyond the reach of science. Professor Kraepelin and his pupils of the
alcohol

Heidelberg school have,

it is

true, investigated

the action of alcohol on the mental processes.

The methods they employed consisted chiefly in ascertaining the speed and character of various mental exercises, and then observing how far they are modified by the administration to the subject

under examination
to

of

various doses of alcohol.

The experiments
estimate

were

devised

principally

the

acuteness of perception as shown, for instance,

by the recognition

of letters,

syllables,

or

figures presented to the sight for very brief

249

WINE AND SPIRITS

periods
;

and to demonstrate the rapidity

in

and accuracy displayed

such exercises as

reading aloud, adding rows of figures, committing figures to memory, etc.

The inherent
is

vice of all such experiments

that they are carried out under conditions

differ

from those of ordinary life. The subjects who are asked to produce certain mental efforts before, during or after
being given to drink various doses of alcoho^

which greatly

bound to be influenced to a large extent by the mere knowledge of what is expected

are
of

them.

Besides,

it is

universally recognised
all

that alcohol, like shellfish, milk, fruit, and

aliments,

and

also

will affect different men differently; that any one man may be affected

differently

by the same quantity

of alcohol,

taken in the shape of either wine, beer, or spirits. It is quite easy to understand that
a
set

German
up type

compositor,

for

instance,
is

who

usually drinks

German

beer,

not likely to

treated by the experimenting professor to some " Greek wine " or to some German brandy distilled
at a quicker rate

when

from potatoes and diluted in

250

coffee

the

DRINK A NECESSITY
quantity of ethylic alcohol

may

be the same.

but everything
ever
of the

else is so different that

whatbe

phenomenon may be observed as a result

change of diet cannot
is

scientifically

attributed to alcohol.

This

why

Dr.

W.

C. Sullivan, Medical

Officer in

His Majesty's Prison Service, and

one of the most conscientious temperance advocates of the present day, when dealing with the experimental methods applied to
the study of the influence of alcohol upon the " Of course, it will nervous system, wrote
:

be readily understood that the conclusions to which this sort of evidence can lead are, for
the most part, merely probable.

The ques-

tions at issue are of such complexity that it

is

very

difficult to

devise experiments for their

solution that will

not be open to

many and
differ-

grave fallacies

the effects of slight

ences in technique or of peculiarities in indi-

show on an and hence to produce disexaggerated scale, and even when the results cordant results
vidual reaction are likely to
;

are agreed on, their interpretation will still depend upon physiological principles regard-

251

WINE AND SPIRITS

ing

which the sharpest and most radical

differences of opinion prevail."

Although it is not possible to gauge experimentally the action of alcohol upon the nervous system with any degree of scientific accuracy, it has been abundantly proved by
medical experiments and every-day experience that
action
brain.

alcohol

has

marked
faculties

specific

upon the

creative

of

the

The human brain

passive properties
;

possesses both active

and

imagination, for instance,

is one of the active or creative faculties, whilst memory is simply passive or receptive.

The

passive and active faculties of the brain

are quite distinct.

Many

animals possess a

receptive brain

their sense of locality, their

memory, and
they

their instinct guide

them

but

are incapable of original thought, imagi-

native power, or high ideals.

On

the other
attained

hand,

men

of real genius,

who have

to great celebrity in the world of letters, arts,

have been known to lack memory and the instinct of self-preservation which even the lower animals possess.
or politics,

252

DRINK A NECESSITY
Alcohol has the very remarkable property
of

deadening to a certain extent the passive or receptive faculties of the brain, whilst
exciting
its

and stimulating,

at the

same time,

active or creative powers and the inner self

or personal psychic ego of

man.

Alcohol cannot supply brain power where

there
is

none, or

make

a selfish

man

unselfish

or a fool clever.

It will,

however, bring into

play, stimulate into action,

and intensify the

temperament and the

indifferent,
it

qualities, good, bad, or

may

be one's good or bad

artist,

fortune to possess.

Alcohol will help the poet, the

orator, to forget the petty cares

the

which

may

harass him

it

and troubles will deaden the

sense of self-consciousness

drove him
time,
it

to sterile inaction,

and diffidence which and, at the same

will stimulate his genius to greater

But alcohol will only cause the sanguine and brainless man to be jolly, the bilious fool to be irritable, and the phlegmatic it can never dullard to be peacefully happy
activity.
;

create sense where there

is

none.

In other

words, alcohol urges the gifted to remember

253

WINE AND SPIRITS

and use
less

their gifts,

and hides from the

gift-

the injustice of fate.

Dr. Charles Mercier, in his inaugural address on " Drunkenness and the Physiological
Effect
of

Alcohol,"

delivered

before

the

Midland Medical Association in November,

same truths in a more " Alcohol scientific manner, when he said has the power to unlock the store of energy
1912, expressed the
:

that exists in the brain, and to render avail-

immediate expenditure, energy that without its use would remain in store, unavailable for our immediate needs."
able, for

The Use and Abuse of Alcohol.

Ethylic alcohol
action
is

a food with a specific

this

upon the nervous system, and

it

fact not only justifies the use

of alcoholic

beverages, but

also explains scientifically

why they have been

amongst
its
all civilised

used in

all

ages and

nations.
is,

Excellent as the moderate use of alcohol

questions of diet, moderation

abuse cannot be too strongly deprecated.

all
is

In

a golden

rule,

which can never be broken without

254

DRINK A NECESSITY
grave danger.
of

All aliments
will

danger

and
any

become a source even become poison

Daily excessive in-

above a certain dose.

gestion of
fluid

the blood vessels

must burden the heart, and the kidneys whether

;

the liquid ingested be water, milk or beer, the difference will be one of degree, not of excessive drinking of water is bad, kind
;

but excessive drinking of milk or beer is worse, because of their food value. What
is

known

as the" beer-heart," for instance,

is

not the result of the action of alcohol, but of over-nutrition it is the abnormal quantities
;

of liquid,

and not the small percentage of

alcohol contained therein, which have overtaxed the functions of the heart and caused

the fatty degenerescence of that organ.

It
all

must be remembered that though they

vary consider-

contain a certain proportion of ethylic

alcohol, all alcoholic beverages

ably on account of the different elements

they are composed

of ethylic alcohol

of,

far

account of the more or

less

more than on important quantity

contain.

they

may

There

might
s

be,

for

instance,

exactly the same

255

WINE AND SPIRITS

quantity of ethylic alcohol in a pint of light
Moselle as in a glass of beer
Claret as in a glass of Port
of
; ;

in a pint of in

Champagne
;

as in one glass of

two glasses Whisky-and-

soda

in a glass of

Brandy as

in a glass of

Gin

but, in each case, different physiological

be obtained. Just as one man cannot eat beef but enjoys mutton, as another who cannot digest cabbage will eat celery with impunity, or as another for
results are likely to

whom

strawberries are a poison yet

pine-apple, so there are people

suits better

may eat whom beer

;

may

suit

than wine or vice-versa brandy one man better than whisky, whilst
the case with
It is true that

the reverse happens to be

another.
of

the chemical nature

is

the ethylic

alcohol

identical in both

wine

the many other beer, but which wine and beer are comelements of

and
are

posed

altogether

different,

and they

cannot be equally suitable in

Ethylic alcohol
the
is

all cases.

of considerable value to

economy

of our organism,

but

it

should

never be abused nor taken in the shape of

one or the other alcoholic beverages which

256

DRINK A NECESSITY
may
not be suitable to individual tempera-

ments or in particular cases. He who suffers from diabetes, for instance, must not blame alcohol if he finds that the sweet wine he

him let him take the same moderate quantity of alcohol in the shape of dry and somewhat acid wines, and he will find that they suit him admirably.
drinks disagrees with
;

Just as sugar

is

to be avoided in cases of

diabetes or asparagus in kidney diseases, so

should alcohol be avoided in

all

complaints

when inflammation or fever occurs. But, with that exception, the number and variety
of alcoholic beverages are so great, that in

health and sickness, in youth and old age,

bountiful

Nature has

provided

for

us

marvellously ordained range of wholesome

stimulants to suit
tastes
all different

temperaments,

and circumstances. Like most of God's best gifts, alcohol always has been, and still is, abused. The
sin of
in

drunkenness has been justly denounced

well as

Holy Writ, as

of

by all the philosophers ancient Greece and Rome and by all

It

moralists ever since.

was

not, however,

257

WINE AND SPIRITS

until the last century that

country

revived

some men in this Mohammed's heresy and

preached the doctrine of total abstinence.

Amongst those who to-day share the new

faith,

there are

men who have

attained to

such eminence in the medical profession that

we
it

are

bound

to ask ourselves

how and why

is that such great intellects should have adopted views in utter contradiction to the

universal experience of

mankind and
is

experi-

mental science.
It is
it

not science,

it

not commonsense,

is

not truth on which stands their faith

;

in water

it

is

their charity, their pity for

the poor deserted children of the drunkard,

the hapless young wife of the dipsomaniac.

They
great

see the evils

which are real and which are due to the abuse of alcohol,
evils

and they are so much moved by the bodily and mental misery which they have personally known to be caused by such abuse, that they
lose sight of the fact that the benefits accruing

from the proper use oi alcohol are far greater they forget than the evils due to its abuse what they often owe themselves to the
;

258

DRINK A NECESSITY
moderate use of stimulants, and what the world, what their own country owes to alcohol. They forget that from Chaucer, the son of a royal butler, to Ruskin, the son and grandson of wine merchants, every poet, dramatist,
artist

and writer

of

genius,

every
;

great

thinker, has been a wine drinker

ruler,

that every

every thinker,
and,
all

who has

ever merited

his

country's

perchance,

humanity's
of

gratitude,

abused, that

Providence

have used, most noble Wine.

and some have

gift

a divine

259

XXII

OFFICIAL CLASSIFICA-

TION OF THE GROWTHS OF

THE MEDOC
First Growths.
Lafite
-

Margaux
Latour

...
-

...
-

Pauillac.

Margaux.
Pauillac.

Haut-Brion

Pessac {Graves).

Second Growths.
Mouton-Rothschild

Rauzan-Segla
Rauzan-Gassies
Leoville-Lascases
Leoville-Poyferre

Leoville-Barton

-------------

....

Pauillac.

Margaux.

St Julien

Margaux.

Durfort-Vivens

Lascombes
Gruaud-Larose-Faure
Gruaud-Larose-Sarget

St. Julien
,,

Brane-Cantenac
Pichon-Lalande
Ducru-Beaucaillon

-----

Cantenac.
Pauillac

Pichon-Longueville
-

St. Julien

6o

CLASSIFICATION OF GROWTHS
Cos d'Estournel Montrose
St. Estephe.
it

Third Growths.
Kirwan
D'Issan
it

Cantenac.

Lagrange Langoa
Giscours

....
-

St. Julien.

Labarde.
-

Malescot St. Exupery

Margaux.
Cantenac.

Brown-Cantenac Palmer

LaLagune
Desmirail
-

Calon-Segur
Ferridre
-

Marquis-d'Alesme-Bekker

... ... ...

-

Margaux. Ludon. Margaux.

St. Estephe.

Margaux.
ti

St. Pierre

...
-

Fourth Growths.
St. Julien.

Branaire-Ducru
Talbot

Duhart-Milon
Poujet

....
-

Pauillac.

Cantenac.
St. Laurent.
St.

Latour-Carnet

Rochet
Beychevelle

Estephe.

St. Julien.

Le Prieur6

Marquis de Terme

----Fifth Growths.
-

Cantenac.

Margaux.

Pontet-Canet
Batailley
-

Pauillac.

261

WINE AND SPIRITS

Grand Puy-Lacoste Grand Puy-Ducasse Lynch-Bages Lynch-Moussas Dauzac
-

Pauillac.

Mouton-d'Armailhacq

Du

Tertre

Haut-Bages
Bedesclaux
Belgrave

.... .... ... ...... .... .....

-

>(

Labarde.
Pauillac.

Arsac.
Pauillac.
tt

St. Laurent.

Camensac
Cos-Labory
Clerc-Milon

Croizet-Bages

Cantemerle

-----.... ..... ------

St. Estephe.

Pauillac.
f)

Macau.

262

XXIII

LIST OF

PORT

SHIPPERS
Showing the Port Vintages shipped by each
during the
last fifty years.

WINE AND SPIRITS

Mackenzie.
Martinez.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Morgan.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Warre.
1873-

Tuke.

Van

Zellers.

Warre.
Martinez.
1869.
Croft.

Cockburn.
Croft.

Delaiorce.

Dow.
Feuerheerd. Fonseca. Gould Campbell.

1870.

Cockburn.
Croft. Delaiorce.

Graham.
Mackenzie.
Martinez.

Dow.
Feuerheerd. Fonseca. Gould Campbell;

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Tuke.
1874.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Martinez.

Tuke.
1875.

Tuke. Warre.
1871.

Cockburn.
Croft.

Dow.
Feuerheerd.

Feuerheerd.
1872.

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Cockburn.
Croft.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Dow.
Feuerheerd. Gould Campbell.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Graham.

264

LIST OF PORT SHIPPERS

Tuke.

WINE AND SPIRITS

Feuerheerd. Fonseca. Gould Campbell.

Sandeman.
Taylor.

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Tuke Van Zellers

1894.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Cockburnj
Croft Delaforce.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse,

Taylor Tuke.

Feuerheerd.

Graham.
Martinez.

Van

Zellers.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Warre.
1890.

Sandeman.
Tuke. Warre.
1

Cockburn.
Croft.

Delaforce.

8961

Dixon.

Cockburn.
Croft.

Dow.
Feuerheerd. Fonseca. Gould Campbell.

Delaforce.

Dow.
Feuerheerd. Fonseca. Gonzalez. Gould Campbells

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse.

Taylor.

Morgan.
Rebello Valente.

Tuke.

Van

Zellers.

Warre.
1892.
Croft.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse. Stormonth Taiti

Taylor.

Tuke.

Dow.
Gould Campbell Graham.
Martinez. Rebello Valente.

Van Zellers.
Warre.
1897
Croft.

Graham,

266

LIST OF PORT SHIPPERS

Martinez.

WINE AND SPIRITS

Fonseca. Gould Campbell.

Graham.
Mackenzie. Martinez.

Sandeman. Smith Woodhouse. Stormonth Tait.

Taylor.

Tuke.

Morgan. Quinta de Roriz (Gonzalez.)

Rebello Valente.

Van

Zellers.

Warre.

268

XXIV SOME NOTES ON PAST VINTAGES AND THEIR CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS

:

1847.

Very

fine Ports, shipped

by

all

leading shippers.

185,1.

Good

Ports, for

a long time, but too hard and dry now.

i853-

Pine Port, but shipped by a few shippers only ; practically impossible to obtain now, but exceptionally fine.
1858.

A fine year for

Port, Claret

and Burgundy.

1863.

Excellent Ports

still

retaining their freshness

1868.

and body.

which are still full of sugar, probably better now than they have ever been, and never likely to be better.

Very

fine Ports

1870.

Some Clarets and

as early promises

Ports

still

good, but not nearly so fine

had

led one to believe.

1871.

The

first

growths Clarets of that vintage are excellent.

269

WINE AND SPIRITS

1872.

Some very
shippers.

elegant and pleasant Ports shipped

by a few

1874.

Fine Clarets, some of which are still very good, and very fine Champagnes long since past drinking.
1875.

Clarets exceptionally fine and still in perfect condition. Burgundies very fine, but, with very few exceptions,

too old. Ports very delicate and to improve.

now

fine,

but more

likely to lose

than

1-877.

Clarets very good, in parts. Some have hard and dry, but a few of the best growths

now become (Haut Brion,

Margaux and Mouton Rothschild)

1878

still

very

fine,

Port, Claret and Burgundy of this vintage, if of any of the good growths and having been properly kept, should be very fine.
1880.

good all-round red wine year.

Excellent Champagne, the only exception in a year of bad crops

1881.
of them now on the dry side, but very fine. Burgundies which are now as good as they will ever be

Some good

Ports,

most

1884.

are left alone to support the reputation of this vintage. It was a very good year in Champagne, but 1884 Champagne has long since ceased to be palatable and obtainable.

Some very good Ports

27O

SOME NOTES ON VINTAGES

1885.

few very good Burgundies.

1887.

Very good Ports and some

fine Burgundies.

1888.

few Clarets pleasant, but not quite sound.

1889.

Some

excellent Burgundies.

Some good Burgundies and

pagnes.
1890.

exceptionally fine

Cham-

Some good,

sound, but not particularly fine Forts.

1

891.

A A
A

few good Burgundies.

1892.

few good Ports. Champagne was very year, but now too old.
1893.

fine in that

record year as regards both quality and quantity for Champagne, Claret and Burgundy ; wines were good, plentiful and cheap, but they matured quickly, and Champagnes are now past their best, but there are still many good sound Clarets and Burgundies.
189S.

A
A

very promising and

still

more disappointing

vintage.

1896.

very good year for Port, which was shipped as a

vintage

by

all

leading houses.
1897.

Some

very good wines

made and shipped by a few houses.

most
districts,

A fair
but

1898. of promising wine made in nothing of outstanding quality.

amount

271

WINE AND SPIRITS

1899.

very fine year for Claret's, as regards both quality and quantity. A limited output of very good Champagnes and Burgundies.
1900.

Champagnes now at their best or past their best. Clarets ready for consumption. Ports rather forward and soon to be ready to drink.
very good year
all

round.

1904
their best. Clarets good, but not uniform in quality ; require a great deal of discrimination. Burgundies generally fine. Ports sound and good, but not very fine.

Champagnes very good and now at

1906.

Champagnes good and now at their best. Clarets very uneven, but some good wines.
Burgundies a small crop, but a few good wines. Ports, a small vintage, but some fine wines shipped by a few shippers.
1907.

Champagnes, a few good Cuvees, now at their best. Clarets, a great deal of wine of fair quality, but none of
outstanding merit. Burgundies, small quantity, but some fine wines shipped.
Ports, a failure.

1908.

Champagne, a

failure.

Clarets, nothing to boast of.

Burgundies, some very good wines. Ports, some very fine wines shipped.
1909.

Very

little

good wine made in that year.

1910.

Practically

no good wine made in that year.

272

SOME NOTES ON VINTAGES

1911.

Champagnes, very good and very fair quantity. Clarets, good, but less than average crop. Burgundies, small crop, but very fine quality.
Ports, small crop, fair quality.
1912.

Disappointing year all round with the exception of Ports, which were both plentiful and fine. Some pleasant Clarets were made, which are developing well.
1913-

Small crops of average quality.

1914-1918. chiefly to the scarcity of labour and the high, cost of fertilizers, crops have been very uneven in all European vineyards, and the gathering of the grapes has been effected under difficulties. This must be borne in mind when considering Vintage reports, which may be summarised as follows Ports. Fair quality but small yield in 1914 and 1915 ; good quality and plentiful vintage in 1916 ; better quality but smaller yield in 19 17. Sherries. Fair crops as regards both quality and quantity in 1914, 1915 and 1917 ; very good crops in 1916. Claret. Yield below the average 1914 to 191 8, but some good wines made in each year ; the 19 17 wines show good promise of quality, and those of 1918 may grow into very good wines. Burgundies. Small yields have been the rule from 19 14 to 1918, but some good wines were made in 1914, some exceedingly good ones in 191 5, and it is hoped that some of the 1918'S' will turn out to be fine, although on the light

During the War, owing

side.

Champagne. No good wines were made in 1916, but some very fair wines were harvested in 1917 and 19184 The best year as regards both quantity and quality was
191 5.

In 1914 the grapes were very fine, but unfortunately

gathered too hurriedly ; nevertheless, some made in that year.

many were

excellent cuvees were

Wymav.

& Sons,

Ltd. Printers,

London and Reading.