WINE IS A MOCKER

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1799, 26 March 1888, Page 2

WINE IS A MOCKER

» .,. (By the Late Rev Hugh Stowell Brown.) It U a mocker ; it is, indeed, an lttter mockery, if the half that ia said of it be true. Jt is, iu many caacs, a most vi e impoßture, The art of adulterating it has been brought to great psrfeotion ; for it consists not merely in the blending of different wlneß, but in the use of materials that are entirely foreign to tha grape; The body and flayour of port wine are produced by gum-dragon, and the color by a preparation of German bilberries, to which 13 added the waehinga of brundy casks, and a little Rait of tartar to form a cruat. Sl.erry ia flavored with sugar candy, bitter almonds, and tho unfailing ,vashingß of brandy casks. If the color be too his>h, it is lowered by means of blood ; and softness is imparted (o it by gumboDZoin. Pale sherries are produced by m^ane of plaster of Paris, by a process called "plastering." In this way a pale, dry sherry is made, charged with the eulphates of lime and potash. Large quantities of clarets are manufactured in England from inferior French wino and rough cider ; the color being imparted to it by wormwood or cochineal . . Madeira consists of Vidonia with a little Capo \ to which are added bitter almonds and sugar; and Vidonia and Capo are adulterated with cider and rum, carbonate of soda being added to correct the acidity. Champagne is made from gooseberries, rhubarb stalks, and sugar ; the product being largely consumed at balls, races, and public dinners. And a great part of the wine of Germany and France has ceased to be the juice of tho grape at all. The process of blending, softening, fortifying, sweetening, plastering, etc., etc., are carried on to su.ch an extent, that it is hardly possible to obtain a sample of gennine wme even at first hand. Moreover, books uro written on the Bubjec', giving the plainest direoliona for the fabrication of every kind of wine. Tho materials for auqh fabrication are numerous, and among them we notice euoh delightful things aa theso— elderberry, logwood, Brtz'.lwood, red Banders wood, cudbear, red beetroot — f r color ; lime, litharge, oarbonate of lime, carbonate of soda, o:\rboni\tu of potaah— to oorrsot noidity j catechu, sloe leaves, and oak bark — for aatriugeucy ; sulphate of Uroe, gypsum or Spanish earth, and alum — for removiug color ; cane sugar — for giving sweetness and body ; acetic ether — for giving bonquet or flavor. These statements seem almost Incredible ; but we thluk that tho authority on whioh we make them will command some respect if not etilite belief. What wo have written above ia condensed from, is alinoet word foe word an extract from the article Adulteration in tho new" edition of the '• Enoyolop»3ia Britannloa," Vo!. I , published in 1875, So that this la not an old atory of old tricks and rascalities ; not in a single inatanoea <3oea tho writer of tha artiolo, when epoaklng of wines, use the verbs iu the past tonao ; he does not B^y that champagne was at one tlma produced from rhubarb atalka and gooseberries, but thatit ia ao produced uow ; nud he deolaroa that at this timo (1875) "it is hardly possible to obtain a sample of genuine wine, even af. Scat hand." Will " the trade " remove our anxiety by telling u?, assuring ue, proving to üb, that the u Encyoloi telia JtJritanuioa " Ja In error? Will "the trade" repudiate these dreadful ohargea 1 Will " the trade " guarantee tha genuineness of what it aellß for port, sherry, olaret, etc.? On the assumption that that such a standard euthorlty aj that from which wa quote ia correct, we make the romarka that follow but shall really be delighted to find that we are altogether wrong, and that we have not been Bwlndled, poisoned, and >efooled aa this writer tella us we Lave been.