The first great division of wines is by their color. Broadly, the classification is into "Red" and "White," the latter including all wines which have no red in their composition.
The best known of the Red Wines are the Clarets, Burgundies and Ports. Their color is due to the custom of permitting a partial preliminary fermentation of the grapes in their skins—for White Wine, the grapes are pressed as quickly as possible to avoid the skins coloring the juice.
An accompanying attribute of Red Wine is tannic acid, which exists in some types to a considerable extent, and in many varieties, especially those from the south of France and Italy, gives a more or less marked astringency, which is not, though, in any way harmful to the human system. This astringency is usually absent from White Wines, though it is found in some of the darker varieties. Red Wines also generally contain more tartrates and iron, but less acetic ether.
The next divisions are into "Spark ling" and "Still," "Dry" and "Sweet." Sparkling Wine is that in which re mains part of the carbon-dioxide (gas) formed in the fermentation of the natural sugar of the grape juice or of the sugar or syrup added thereto. Still Wine is that from which the carbon-dioxide has been permitted to escape.
The differenCe between "Dry" and "Sweet" wines is due sometimes to the greater quantity of natural sugar left in the latter during the process of fermenta tion and sometimes to the addition of small quantities of sweetening afterwards —or to both causes. Clarets contain very little or no sugar ; some Sauternes and "sweet" Champagnes sLuw a considerable percentage.
The "body" of a wine may be due to the unfermented sugar content or, as in rich Rhine wines, to the glycerine con tained.
Natural wines to which neither alco hol nor syrup has been added, are very closely akin to the grape, for the process of Making is practically nothing but the fermentation of the fruit juice. The differ ence between grape juice and claret, for example, is only the conversion of the "solid matters" and sugar of the grape into alcohol, water and small proportions of glycer ine, albuminoids, etc., as will be noted by the average analyses below :
Fortified Wines, both Dry and Sweet, are those to which alcohol—generally brandy, i. e., grape alcohol—has been added. The best-known examples are Port, Madeira and the cheaper Sherries. The addition serves two purposes : (1) It gives the wine greater alcoholic strength than that of any "natural" wine, for no matter how heavy the grapes may be in sugar, fermentation is stopped when the alcohol formed by the fermentation of the juice reaches a percentage of about 17% by volume. (2) It makes possible a product containing much of the natural sweetness of the juice. Grape juice, from fresh fruit, has generally exhausted its sugar in fermentation and is "dry" by the time it has formed a percentage of 9% to 12% alcohol—it seldom reaches the 17% point referred to—but if sufficient alcohol is added when the natural fermentation has only proceeded, say, half-way, much of the sweetness of the juice is retained in the wine. This natural sweetness is in many fortified wines supplemented by the addition of sugar or syrup. By U. S. Standards, all wine containing more than 16% alcohol is classed as Fortified.
Storing and Care of Wines.
Circumstances vary so greatly that it is difficult to formulate a practical set of rules for the storing and care of wines. It is easy to specify just what conditions should prevail and the proper position and temperature for each kind, but few retail ers have the space or facilities for conducting an ideal wine cellar.
A few cardinal principles must, however, be observed by everyone engaged in sell ing wines, no matter how limited the department may be, if they are to be turned over without loss and delivered in satisfactory condition.
(1) The cellar is the best place for storing wines, if it is dry, well ventilated and of even temperature, not falling below Fahr., and located where street traffic will not cause undue vibration; but if the cellar is damp or much exposed, an upper floor is safer. No sink or sewer should be in the vicinity of a cellar used for wines.