The wines of the world characterized & classed : with some particulars respecting the beers of Europe / By Henry Vizetelly.

  • Vizetelly, Henry, 1820-1894.
Date:
1875
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The wines of the world characterized & classed : with some particulars respecting the beers of Europe / By Henry Vizetelly. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Leeds Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Leeds Library.

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    the colonies of South Australia and Victoria far outstrip the older colony of New South Wales, the colony of South Australia standing first and foremost as the fosterer of the vine and wine- making. “ Taking the various returns for the year 1872 of the several colonies, it will he seen that South Australia has 1,372 acres iu excess of New South Wales, and produced 388,373 gallons more of wine. Likewise, it has 608 acres in excess of Victoria, and produced 88,055 gallons more wine; while Victoria exceeds New South Wales by 764 acres, and 299,288 gallons of wine.” II.—Wines of the Cape of Good Hope. Varieties of Cape Wines—Dry Pontac—Cape Wine of fine flavour from a Spanish grape—Sweet Red Constantia—White Constantia—Frontignac— The Constantia Vineyards; species of Vines cultivated in them introduced from France—The Wine-growing interests of the Cape ruined by pro- tection—Great falling off in the exports—Wines omitted to be tasted— Summary of the awards for Wines at the Vienna Exhibition. The Cape of Good Hope sent samples of well-nigh all its wines to Vienna, including its Ports and Burgundies, its pale and brown Sherries, its sweet and dry Madeiras, its Pontac, its Steen, its so-called Frontignac, and above all its celebrated Con- stantia. Unfortunately the majority of them were so charged with alcohol as to shock continental palates already sorely tried by the highly-spirituous samples exported by Portugal and Spain. Russell and Co., of Cape Town, sent 10 different kinds of wine, but only in the single instance of a dry Pontac did they secure the classification of No. 1, which obtained for them a medal for merit. Collinson and Co/s samples were very much better, more especially the sweet varieties, although one specimen of so-called Sherry was found to possess sufficient merit to be classed in the first rank. This wine, although by no means of the Jerez type, was evidently the produce of some sweet Spanish grape, and, with the exception perhaps of a small amount of added spirit, was to all appearances a perfectly natural wine of exceedingly rich flavour. Three other of Collinsons’ samples were classed 1, of which the best was their red Constantia, very bright in colour, a little too sweet to the taste, not particularly spirituous, and with a full amount of that refreshing sub-acidity which alone renders these luscious vins de liqueur tolerable. Next came the syrupy wine termed Constantia sweet Pontac, intensely deep in colour and of the consistency of molasses, and