Moreover, it was very unlike the artificial sweet and burning products commonly called port wine. It was thoroughly fermented, and contained such a minute quan- AUSTRALIAN WINE. 229 tity of grape sugar that the latter could not be possibly detected by the taste. It was perfectly dry, and thereby differed entirely from ordinary port wines, wliich contain from 2 to 6 per cent, of sugar. Its alcoholicity was cer- tainly below all the port wines usually sold. With all these desirable qualities, therefore, it possessed high dietetic and hygienic virtues, and refreshed the system like Bur- gundy or Medoc wine. It will be convenient to make reference here to two terms about which there is a gi'eat deal of confusion. It is the difference between the " aroma " and the " bouquet " of wine. Now, the Settimana Vinicola has recently well observed that although these two are usually supposed to be the same, yet they are entirely different. The aroma of a wine is altoge- ther distinct from those agreeable and delicate odours known by the name of " bouquet." For instance, some American grapes have what is called a " foxy " smell, and the wine prepared from them has this aroma, which is perceptibly disagreeable. Aroma pre-exists in certain grapes, and during vinification will pass into the resulting wine. On the other hand, perfume, the bouquet of the French, as it has been pointed out by Professor Gr. Grazzi-Soncini, is the complex sensation produced simultaneously on the palate and nose, owing to the intimate connection between these two organs, and which has already been referred to. This bouquet is due to the action of the ethers, which are formed during the life of the wine. The Corriere del ViUagio remarks, in addition to the preceding, that there is a chemical difference between the "aroma" and the "bouquet" of wine. The former is produced chiefly by one oi* more carburets of hydrogen, and their oxidation derivatives. The bouquet, however, results from the admixture of aldehydes with one or more essential oils and various ethers, produced by com- bination of fatty and other acids with ethylic and other 230 THE ART OF LIVING m AUSTRALIA. alcohols, and from these changes result the different ethers which constitute the bouquet of wine. One of the most valuable books published on vine-growing and wine-making is that by the justly celebrated Dr. Jules Guyot. The greater part of one particularly important chapter is wholly taken up with the most graphic and lucid description of wine-tasting with which we are acquainted. Besides this, it contains such an amount of information on the subject, that no remarks in this connection would be complete without reference to it. For the following vivid rendering of a good deal of this very chapter I am very much indebted to my friend Dr. John Steel, of Sydney : — " Wine put upon its trial is subjected to two jurisdictions ; the one al- together belonging to the senses, the other -vrholly physiological. The appreciation of ■wine by the senses is referred to three of our organs of sense — the eye ; the nasal chambers, in front and behind ; and the mouth, equally at its anterior and posterior part.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

Moreover, it was very unlike the artificial sweet and burning products commonly called port wine. It was thoroughly fermented, and contained such a minute quan- tity of grape sugar that the latter could not be possibly detected by the taste. It was perfectly dry, and thereby differed entirely from ordinary port wines, wliich contain from 2 to 6 per cent, of sugar. Its alcoholicity was certainly below all the port wines usually sold. With all these desirable qualities, therefore, it possessed high dietetic and hygienic virtues, and refreshed the system like Burgundy or Medoc wine. It will be convenient to make reference here to two terms about which there is a great deal of confusion. It is the difference between the " aroma " and the " bouquet " of wine. Now, the Settimana Vinicola has recently well observed that although these two are usually supposed to be the same, yet they are entirely different. The aroma of a wine is altogether distinct from those agreeable and delicate odours known by the name of " bouquet." For instance, some American grapes have what is called a " foxy " smell, and the wine prepared from them has this aroma, which is perceptibly disagreeable. Aroma pre-exists in certain grapes, and during vinification will pass into the resulting wine. On the other hand, perfume, the bouquet of the French, as it has been pointed out by Professor Gr. Grazzi-Soncini, is the complex sensation produced simultaneously on the palate and nose, owing to the intimate connection between these two organs, and which has already been referred to. This bouquet is due to the action of the ethers, which are formed during the life of the wine. The Corriere del ViUagio remarks, in addition to the preceding, that there is a chemical difference between the "aroma" and the "bouquet" of wine. The former is produced chiefly by one or more carburets of hydrogen, and their oxidation derivatives. The bouquet, however, results from the admixture of aldehydes with one or more essential oils and various ethers, produced by combination of fatty and other acids with ethylic and other alcohols, and from these changes result the different ethers which constitute the bouquet of wine. One of the most valuable books published on vine-growing and wine-making is that by the justly celebrated Dr. Jules Guyot. The greater part of one particularly important chapter is wholly taken up with the most graphic and lucid description of wine-tasting with which we are acquainted. Besides this, it contains such an amount of information on the subject, that no remarks in this connection would be complete without reference to it. For the following vivid rendering of a good deal of this very chapter I am very much indebted to my friend Dr. John Steel, of Sydney : — " Wine put upon its trial is subjected to two jurisdictions ; the one altogether belonging to the senses, the other wholly physiological. The appreciation of ■wine by the senses is referred to three of our organs of sense — the eye ; the nasal chambers, in front and behind ; and the mouth, equally at its anterior and posterior part.

The art of living in Australia