ht then
and leave standing six weeks longer, so the wine may fatten on the lees.
Back off carefully, filtering the muddy part at the bottom through
several thicknesses of cheese cloth. Put in a clean vessel for two
months longer, then bottle and seal. If the bottles are laid on the
side, and the wine carefully decanted it will show a bright golden
yellow with much the translucence of topaz. It reaches perfection at a
year. Being rather heavy it is improved to many palates by adding
ice-cold vichy after it is in the glasses.
_Grape Wine_: Pick from stems, wash, drain, and mash thoroughly, ripe
sound grapes. Add measure for measure of full-boiling water, and let
stand twelve hours. If very deep color is desired, and the grapes are
black, let stand twenty-four. Strain, measure juice, add to each gallon
three pounds of sugar, stir till dissolved, then put in a clean vessel,
filling it only three-parts, cover the mouth with lawn, and let stand in
clean warm air until fermentation ceases. Close tight then, and let
stand a month longer, then rack off, filter last runnings through triple
cheese cloth, bottle and cork tight. Keep where it is dark and warm,
rather than cool, but away from any sort of taints.
_Muscadine Wine_: Troublesome, but worth the trouble. Wash dead-ripe
muscadines, and pop them one by one, out of the skins. Throw away the
skins, after squeezing all juice from them--if the pulp stood with them
their burning, musky taste would ruin it. Cover it with half its bulk of
boiling water. Let stand a day and night, then strain, and add to each
gallon of juice three pounds of white rock-candy. Stir every day until
the candy dissolves. Cover with cloth until it is through fermenting.
Back off, bottle immediately, and seal, or tie down the corks. The wine
in perfection is a pale pink, very clear, and of a peculiar but
indescribably delicious flavor.
_Fruit Vinegars_: Any sort of acid fruit--as strawberries, raspberries,
gooseberries, currants, black or red, affords a refreshing drink. Pick,
wash, put over the fire to scald--when it has boiled a minute or two add
half as much cold water as fruit, and bring again to a boil. Skim clean,
take from fire and let stand till next day. Strain, then measure juice,
add two to three pounds sugar to the gallon, according to tartness
desired, put over the fire, and simmer for twenty minutes, skimming
clean. Boil in it spices most liked, tied up in thin muslin. If it seems
water
|