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Vinegar Wine, French Method of Making

The following is the French method of making vinegar. The wine destined for vinegar is mixed in a large tun with a quantity of wine lees, and the whole being transferred into cloth sacks placed within a large iron-bound vat, the liquid matter is forced through the sacks by superincumbent pressure. What passes through is put into large casks set upright, having a small aperture in their top. In these it is exposed to the heat of the sun in summer, or to that of a stove in winter. Fermentation supervenes in a few days. If the heat should rise too high, it is lowered by cool air and the addition of fresh wine. In the skilful regulation of the fermentative temperature chiefly consists the art of making good wine vinegar. In summer the process is generally completed in a fortnight, in winter double the time is requisite. The vinegar is then run off into barrels, which contain several chips of birchwood. In about a fortnight it is found to be clarified, and is then fit for the market. It must be kept in close casks.