THE VINE AND ITS FRUIT.*
THE example set not long ago by Mr., Shaw has already been followed by another wine merchant, and if the public do not soon become acquainted with the mysteries of the wine trade it will not be for wantof its leading members volunteering their infor- mation. There is unquestionably a movement on foot with regard to wine in England, and for once the public and the trade are, to a certain extent, en rapport upon the subject. It is barely a century and a half since the adoption of " muddled port," as the wits of the day characterized the compound, for the staple drink of the nation, would have been regarded as an event too absurd to be seriously contemplated. But the effects of the Methuen diplo- macy of 1715 soon uprooted old tastes and habits. Differential duties on wine in favour of Portugal to the• extent of something like 241. per pipe were not long in effecting a complete revolution. Not only, too, was this revolution in English taste the result of mere fiscal regulations, but it was rendered more thorough and durable by a still more unnatural cause—the ignorance of Portu- guese wine-producers, who, totally unacquainted with the prin- ciples of wine-making, attempted to conceal the deficiencies of their produce by the addition of large quantities of brandy, which gradually came to be considered as an essential element in the wine. It was, of course, a difficult matter for tastes formed by the use of so abnormal a vintage to be reformed ; but fiscal en- lightenment is undoing what fiscal prejudice effected, and, as we recently noticed in these columns, there is a decided reaction on foot. People are now beginning to recognize the existence of other wines than port and sherry, and wine merchants who study the signs of the times are accommodating themselves to the movement. Mr. Denman follows Mr. Shaw at no great in- terval with a work of somewhat similar design, but differing in general character and style. His main object is to- give his readers a comprehensive view of the present state, and a sketchy epitome of the past history, of the vine and its fruit throughout the world. Unlike Mr. Shaw, Mr. Denman has studiously avoided business details or even allusions throughout his volume, and the portions most open to criticism are those in which he has treated his subject with a slight parade of a literary style left unattempted by the former. As a well arranged, lucidly written, comprehensive, and accurate compendium of the modern products of the vine, however, Mr. Denman's book possesses sterling merits. The reader can gain from it, by a few hours' en- tertaining reading, a very fair idea of the character, limits of pro- duction, and history of every variety of known wine, together with the capabilities for development and probable supply of each wine-producing country.
• The Vine and its fruit in liettalots to Wine. By James L. Denman. London Longutans. 1863.
It is an unquestionable anomaly that in an age of free trade and reciprocity wine of any kind should still be a comparative luxury in England while houses are built in Spain with mortar made with wine for the sake of cheapness, while the fruit of whole vineyards is left ungathered in Italy, and while Hungary annually produces a vast surplus over the possible consumption of her population. It seems as if every possible kind of ignor- ance and prejudice had united to bring about this state of things. A few vineyards favoured by nature, and in the hands of men of capital and experience, produce a limited quantity of choice and costly wine, which will always be bought in by a few wine merchants for the use of a small and wealthy class. Second and third growths of similar wine find a more extended market amongst those classes which imitate the example of those imme- diately above them, without their practised discrimination in taste or their willingness to pay extravagant prices. But for the pro- duce of the immense tracts of southern Europe on which the vine is the staple of cultivation, there is not only wanting an external demand to stimulate the production of good wine, but the superabundant supply of ordinary wine has naturally led to carelessness and ignorance among growers, which preclude the possibility of any extended market for English consumption for several years to come. Now that the English national taste for wine as an article for every-day consumption is fairly on the increase, a work like that of Mr. Denmau's is invaluable. People will no longer be imposed upon with Schloss Johannisberg or Chateau Lafitte at forty shillings a dozen, and one of the first steps to the national adoption of wine is the abandonment of the ab- surd wish for parade and display in its use. The public can now learn for themselves what qualities of wine can be obtained for a certain price and what qualities cannot. They can judge for themselves what vintages suit their taste, at what price they can be imported, and to what extent they are capable of improve- ment. There can be no doubt whatever that a largely increased demand for Greek, Hungarian or Italian wine would be fol- lowed, before long, by a largely increased supply of enhanced quality, and without increase of price. When Englishmen once learn to drink wine for its own sake, and without caring whether it came from, or might be supposed to have come from, some well-known vineyard, a great change for the better will have been effected.
Of coarse, under existing circumstances, Mr. Denman first devotes his attention to the wines of Spain and Portugal, and we venture_ to say that his well-arranged description of every distinct vintage, every process of manufacture, and all Govern- ment regulations, will be read with surprise as well as interest by hundreds who previously fancied themselves thoroughly acquainted with the general bearings of the subject. His graphic description, in particular, of the wild scenes of revelry attendant in Portugal upon the treading out the grapas in the wine-press is well worth reading. But wine, however, as it flows from the vat where it is fermented, is far from correspond- ing to the present English notions of port. It is thin, tart, and astringent. It requires, therefore, according to conven- tional rules, to be sweetened and " fortified." The former object is attained by the addition of a mixture of fresh mast and
aguardien, and the latter by the addition of pure white spirit almost ad libitum. The colour so much admired by connoisseurs is produced by a copious infusion of elderberry juice. What is called first-class wine can alone be legally cousigned to foreign buyers, and the classification is performed by official tasters, who not unfrequently taste no less than 300 samples in the course of six hours. It is notorious that this tasting system is utterly in- efficient, that the so-called second and_third growths are often as good as the first, and that there is, Mr. Denman quietly observes, " an artificial scarcity of wine exportable to England, and, there- fore, an undue enhancement of the market value without sustain- ing the cultivator or benefiting the consumer." To make matters even worse, the decision of Government as to qualification for exportation is never pronounced until some time after the tasting, so that it often depends more on the quantity in stock in Oporto than the quality of the vintage. The wines of Spain, though so profusely produced as to render in more than one instance wine cheaper than water, are little known in England, those of Xeres and their imitations alone excepted. Mr. Denman, however, treats them as exhaustively as he does those of Portugal. France and the Rhine, of course, occupy a large portion of his work, and though the information conveyed is equally extensive, it is naturally less novel to the general reader.
But it is in his searching investigation as to the capabilities of the less generally known wine-producing countries that Mr. Denman's work will most attract public attention. The in- exhaustible vintages of Hungary furnish matter for a long and interesting exposition of the whole vinous history of that country, including almost for the first time in English literature a full, true, and particular account of the far-famed Tokay. Of course, this ambrosial liquid, from the limited extent of possible production, peculiarities of manufacture, and the avidity with which it is sought for by certain classes, will always remain what it is now —a luxury for the table of monarchs. A small cask of 200 gallons, vintage of 1811, was recently bought by the Emperor Napoleon at the rate of two guineas a bottle. Instances are on record of nearly double that price having been given by an Austrian emperor. With regard to the capacity of Hungary, with the stimulus of demand and improved culture, for the supply of other countries, a recent pamphlet of M. de Szemere, ex-Minister of Instruction, furnishes much striking information. The annual production of the country is 360 million gallons, and their strength and vinous flavour, even under present disadvantages and neglect, are equal, at least, to those of all but the first growths of France and the Rhine.
Whether English taste will ultimately adopt these wines for every-day consumption, at the low price at which they can be imported, is a question which, if decided in the affirmative, will revolutionize the English wine trade. We cannot follow Mr. Den- man through all his extensive researches, but we can recommend his work to any one really desirous of learning the full history of the vine and its fruit in all quarters of the globe.
Previous page
