L'ordre des boissons est des plus temper^es aux plus fumeuses et aux plus
parfumees. — BriUat-Savnrin.
Mild wines the first ; the heady should come late !
JVith Hors-d'oeuvres and Soups.
Sherry, Madeira, or Marsala.
With Oysters and Fish.
Chablis, Graves, Sauterne, Still Hocks, or Moselles.
With Removes and Entrees.
Burgundies or Bordeaux : such as Gorton, Clos-Vougeot,
Romanee, Pomard, &c. ; St. Julien, Bordeaux vieux, Leoville,
Lafitte, &c.
With the Second Course, Roasts, Dressed Vegetahles, and Savoury
Entremets.
Sparkling Champagne, Sillery, or Moselle.
With the Sweet Entremets.
Higher brands of Champagne.
With Dessert and Fruit.
Sweet wines, such as Malaga, Frontignon, Muscat, Alicante,
Malmsey, Tokay, Oporto, &c.
838 PRACTICAL GASTRONOMY
NOTES ON WINES FOR THE TABLE.
The wine required for dinner should be on table before dinner
is served, to be agreeably presented to the consumer, and should
be of the canonical temperature, it being generally conceded that
red wines should be warm as compared with white wines, which
should be cooler, and, as some prefer, even iced or refreshed on
the ice before being drunk. To arrange this properly obviously
necessitates a little time. Most wines are considerably improved
by being decanted or jugged. It is calculated that the ordinary
wine-drinker wastes about one-third of the value of his wine,
and sacrifices a considerable proportion of his enjoyment thereof,
by allowing it to be served " in the black bottle." Not only has
wine, and especially old wine, no chance of developing or expan ^
ding those ethers, flavours, and bouquets, which are in truth the
enjoyable characteristics of good liquor ; but, by continually
" sloshing " the bottle up and down as each glass is filled, the
consumer unavoidably disturbs the sediment, of which the
connoisseur is naturally most desirous to get rid, seeing that it is
a deposit induced by an incipient fermentation to which all pure
wines are liable, whatever their cost or character may happen
to be. In point of fact, the higher class wines are probably
those that require the most careful handling of a skilful butler
or wine-steward.
Among wines it is usual to place those of France first, and
Champagne first among the wines of France. It was in the
neighbourhood of Epernay that the first sparkling wine was
made. The process of manufacture has not changed much since
the beginning. Both red and white grapes are grown in the
Marne. The red gives a drier wine, the white a softer one ; and
the two are generally mixed together, so as to make a satisfactory
average. Great care has to be exercised in gathering the red
grapes, and much swiftness used in pressing them, so that none
of the colouring matter contained in the skin be communicated
to the juice. In hot years, like 1874, the grapes are so ripe that
they easily burst when they are gathered, and during the
pressing some of the pigments of colour from the skin commu-
nicate that light pink hue which distinguishes vintages like
1874 ; but, on the other hand, hot seasons usually give an
exceptional wine. Immediately after pressing, the juice is stored
in casks and directly undergoes the first stage of fermentation,
after which it is racked so as to be freed from the heavier lees.
Page 386
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L'ordre des boissons est des plus temper^es aux plus fumeuses et aux plus
parfumees. — BriUat-Savnrin.
Mild wines the first ; the heady should come late !
JVith Hors-d'oeuvres and Soups.
Sherry, Madeira, or Marsala.
With Oysters and Fish.
Chablis, Graves, Sauterne, Still Hocks, or Moselles.
With Removes and Entrees.
Burgundies or Bordeaux : such as Gorton, Clos-Vougeot,
Romanee, Pomard, &c. ; St. Julien, Bordeaux vieux, Leoville,
Lafitte, &c.
With the Second Course, Roasts, Dressed Vegetahles, and Savoury
Entremets.
Sparkling Champagne, Sillery, or Moselle.
With the Sweet Entremets.
Higher brands of Champagne.
With Dessert and Fruit.
Sweet wines, such as Malaga, Frontignon, Muscat, Alicante,
Malmsey, Tokay, Oporto, &c.
838 PRACTICAL GASTRONOMY
NOTES ON WINES FOR THE TABLE.
The wine required for dinner should be on table before dinner
is served, to be agreeably presented to the consumer, and should
be of the canonical temperature, it being generally conceded that
red wines should be warm as compared with white wines, which
should be cooler, and, as some prefer, even iced or refreshed on
the ice before being drunk. To arrange this properly obviously
necessitates a little time. Most wines are considerably improved
by being decanted or jugged. It is calculated that the ordinary
wine-drinker wastes about one-third of the value of his wine,
and sacrifices a considerable proportion of his enjoyment thereof,
by allowing it to be served " in the black bottle." Not only has
wine, and especially old wine, no chance of developing or expan ^
ding those ethers, flavours, and bouquets, which are in truth the
enjoyable characteristics of good liquor ; but, by continually
" sloshing " the bottle up and down as each glass is filled, the
consumer unavoidably disturbs the sediment, of which the
connoisseur is naturally most desirous to get rid, seeing that it is
a deposit induced by an incipient fermentation to which all pure
wines are liable, whatever their cost or character may happen
to be. In point of fact, the higher class wines are probably
those that require the most careful handling of a skilful butler
or wine-steward.
Among wines it is usual to place those of France first, and
Champagne first among the wines of France. It was in the
neighbourhood of Epernay that the first sparkling wine was
made. The process of manufacture has not changed much since
the beginning. Both red and white grapes are grown in the
Marne. The red gives a drier wine, the white a softer one ; and
the two are generally mixed together, so as to make a satisfactory
average. Great care has to be exercised in gathering the red
grapes, and much swiftness used in pressing them, so that none
of the colouring matter contained in the skin be communicated
to the juice. In hot years, like 1874, the grapes are so ripe that
they easily burst when they are gathered, and during the
pressing some of the pigments of colour from the skin commu-
nicate that light pink hue which distinguishes vintages like
1874 ; but, on the other hand, hot seasons usually give an
exceptional wine. Immediately after pressing, the juice is stored
in casks and directly undergoes the first stage of fermentation,
after which it is racked so as to be freed from the heavier lees.