Home › The Principles of Cookery › Wine (We now come to another subject)

Wine (We now come to another subject)

We now come to another subject in reference to dinner, and that is the wine. It is not, however, on the manufacture of wines that I shall treat, but on the selection of wine. It is, of course, of the utmost importance that during dinner the fluid food should be adapted to and kept in harmony with the solid food.

The world is changing very rapidly, and probably in no previous period of our history have we as a nation undergone so rapid and complete a change as during the past few years. Let anyone contrast the general mode of living now with what it was only twenty-five years ago. The change has undoubtedly been in favour of increase of luxury. Our fathers used to be content with a glass or so of sherry at dinner, and a few glasses of port after, and generally took beer as well with the meal. Claret was considered a somewhat expensive luxury, and when introduced was generally brought on only at dessert for the purpose of finishing up with, being often drunk after port. Now, however, it is a most common custom to drink claret instead of beer with dinner. Of course, the reason is that claret, and good claret too, can be now obtained in this country at a very cheap rate. Indeed, a most excellent sound claret can be bought for 16s. a dozen--only go to a respectable wine merchant, and always taste the wine before you buy it.

We will now endeavour to examine the general principles to be observed in the service of wine. This is a much debated question, and has long been the subject of controversy amongst epicures. We must disclaim setting ourselves up as an infallible authority in these matters, and can only give the advice which is based upon our own judgment.

To begin with the hors d'oeuvres, our Russian and German neighbours wash down these appetising delicacies with "schnaps" of all kinds, such as kummel, krohnwasser, kirsch, etc. This is a barbarous habit, and I am glad it has not been introduced into good society in England. There is no occasion to drink anything whatever with our sardines, caviare, or anchovies, but, if a drink is wanted, a small glass of manzanilla sherry will serve the purpose. There is one hor d'oeuvre, however, with which wine is permissible--namely, oysters. A glass of light chablis, or hock, or still moselle, is an admirable accompaniment to a dozen of natives. The oyster being delicate in flavour, the accompanying wine must be delicate also. A sweet wine or a sparkling wine would be entirely out of place.

No further wine should be served until the soup has been taken. While the soup plates are being removed, a small glass of sherry or Madeira may be poured out. If the soup has been real turtle a glass of milk punch will be appreciated by most people. Let the wine be good, as the palate is keen after hot soup, and any defect is noticeable.

The wine that goes best with white fish is hock or chablis, but with heavier fish, such as salmon, Sauterne should be served.

With your entrees commence to serve claret. Some people will prefer to continue with the white wines, and others may want dry champagne; but the lover of claret will find plenty of scope for the high-class brands from the entrees on to the sweets.

Some people are so ill-advised as to give instructions to serve champagne throughout the dinner. This is entirely wrong from a gastronomical point of view, because champagne does not go well with everything. It is positively cruel to one's guests to give them nothing but champagne to drink. Most people must drink something, and after the second or third glass even the best champagne begins to assume a sort of cider taste, which no fine bouquet can hide. A really fine, dry champagne is a delicious drink, but its proper place is with the roast, and not with every item of the menu. Red wines, such as clarets and burgundies, are more invigorating than the white kinds, and are therefore preferable where only one wine is served to the viands. But whichever is supplied, one should stop serving any more as soon as the sweets are upon the table, or the cheese has been brought up; then port, old sherry, and Madeira are the only suitable wines. Some years ago fine clarets were served at dessert, but this custom has, happily, died out. A fine claret, however superb in quality, tastes tart after pudding and sweets or fruits; its proper place is earlier in the dinner.

The people who should know best of all when to drink fine clarets are surely the merchant princes of Bordeaux. At their tables there generally is, to commence with, a good plain Bordeaux wine of recent vintage; with the fish they give Chablis or Sauterne, and then one older and finer claret follows the other until you get to the finest--probably a Chateau Lafite or Chateau Margaux of 1875. This ceases with the pudding or ices, when rich (not dry) champagne is served and continued until the coffee appears. A small cognac or other liqueur finishes the meal.

Great care should be taken to select wines in proper condition for the table. It should be remembered that if one takes a bottle of claret out of the cellar, thus exposing it to change of temperature, he is doing a similar thing to a gardener picking his strawberries or cherries, which, of course, he wishes should be eaten as fresh as possible. In other words, a bottle of claret taken from the cellar should be consumed that very day in order to be served in perfection.

Many clarets are moved from one cellar to another, as, for instance, from the stores of a wine merchant to the cellar of his customer, and it should be borne in mind that the wine then wants rest before it attains again its former vivacity and perfection. It is analogous to transplanting in gardening; the plant requires to take root in its new soil before it will grow and develop. Many wines, particularly very old wines, require months of rest before they get over a journey of only a few hours' duration.

A very stout and early-bottled claret, which is likely to remain a long time in bin, should be sealed and put away with the utmost care where it is not likely to be disturbed. If the temperature of the cellar is not quite even, bin such wine in sawdust. When fine clarets, old in bottle, are received, let the wine stand for twenty-four hours before laying down in bin, in order to be quite sure of a clean neck.

The following list of vintages may be useful:--Clarets of 1870: Fine stout wines, only now getting ready for the table. Clarets of 1874, also stout wines; many have been backward in development. Clarets of 1875: The most delicate vintage of the latter half of last century; most of them have been consumed, and those in bin should be drunk, as they will not further improve. Clarets of 1877 and 1878: The former somewhat lighter than the latter; both fine, full wines, which are now quite ready for the table, but may improve for a few more years. 1887 claret is good, stout, sound wine, which is developing well. 1888 and 1889 produced large quantities of claret of fair quality, but they mature too rapidly, and every bin should be carefully watched. 1891 and 1892 were fairly plentiful years in the Medoc, and the quality is fairly good. Probably these clarets will, like the 1888, mature very rapidly. In 1893, the Medoc produced an enormous quantity of wine of fair quality. It is too early to judge of its keeping qualities, but it is likely to be of the same nature as the 1888.

The clarets of the years 1870, 1874, 1877, 1881, 1887, 1890, 1892, 1893, and 1895 have all good colour, and are therefore safe, even if kept for many years. The only one of these that is not turning out well in bottle is 1881. Although perfectly sound, it is somewhat harsh to the taste. It ought to be used as a daily dinner wine, and when mixed with either plain or aerated water it makes quite pleasant drinking.

The clarets produced in the vintages above mentioned possess good colour, and represent the finest clarets grown in the present generation, but the best of all, as we have already stated, is the 1875. A good full claret does not suffer if decanted even two hours before being served, but a light, elegant one will be injured by being exposed too long to the air. Burgundy is a stronger and richer wine than claret, and has the reputation of being the most blood-making wine there is. As a rule, Burgundy is a little dearer than claret, but a good sound dinner wine may be had at from 21s. to 24s. per dozen. Like claret, it varies immensely in quality and price. The most excellent are Clos de Vougeot and Chambertin, which fetch any price from 50s. upwards, according to vintage and condition. Beaune is one of the best kinds of Burgundy that can be chosen for everyday drinking. In bottling and keeping Burgundy almost as much care is needed as in the case of port, since it suffers from change of temperature far more than claret. On the subject of hock and Moselle little need be said. Good hock is always bottled in the district in which the wine is made. The kinds most popular in this country are Neirsteiner, Rudesheimer, Liebfraumilch, Marcobrunner, Hochheimer, Steinwein, and Johannisberg. Prices vary immensely, but it is possible to obtain a sound hock at about 24s. per dozen. Moselle is a more delicate wine than hock, and has a slight muscatel flavour. It matures quickly, and does not possess the keeping qualities of hock. In selecting both hock and Moselle the three chief points to be borne in mind are--freedom from acidity, brightness, and bouquet. Cheap hock and cheap Moselle are both apt to be somewhat cloudy, and it is a universal rule with regard to wine that cloudiness denotes inferior quality.

Sherry may be divided into two classes--dinner sherry and after-dinner sherry. I am here speaking of comparatively cheap sherry, as of course good old East India sherry worth 7s. or 8s. a bottle is exceedingly nice with dinner as well as after, but then in the generality of houses we expect to get sherry that has cost from 24s. to 36s. a dozen.

When sherry is consumed in any quantity, it will generally be found best to keep it in the wood. A quarter cask contains close upon fourteen dozen of wine, or twenty-eight gallons. Any respectable wine merchant will supply a good pale dry dinner-wine at pound 15 for a quarter cask. I do not think you can depend upon a really good wine cheaper, and though a quarter cask of sherry can be bought for pound 10, I am confident that the wine at pound 15 is really the cheapest in the truest acceptation of the word. Ordinary wine of this description will be found best in the wood, nor indeed does it materially improve by being kept in bottles for years.

I would here disabuse some of your minds of a too-common fallacy. Many persons imagine that because some fine old wine is good, that therefore all old wine is good. Old bottled wine, to be worth anything, must possess a certain quality before it is bottled, or it will not merely not improve, but absolutely deteriorate, and ultimately become bad. I would illustrate this point by beer. We all know that fine strong Burton ale--trade mark A 1, as it is called--will keep for years, and improve in bottle. If, however, we bottle thin table-beer, the result is that even in one year's time it turns sour. So it is with wine--thin, cheap port and sherry will not keep beyond a certain time.

One great advantage of drawing off ordinary sherry from the wood is that it is always bright. Sometimes in bottled sherry, especially of a rather superior class, it will be found that the last glass or half-glass is a little thick; in decanting sherry, therefore, bear in mind to reserve this little drop and not make the whole decanter cloudy for its sake. When sherry is known to be like this it will be found best to put a bottle upright two or three days before it is wanted; then, if decanted carefully, and so that the light can be seen through the bottle, very little indeed need be wasted. Never throw away the dregs of any kind of wine, but have what is called a cooking bottle. The dregs of sherry when mixed together will settle down, and do for flavouring gravies, such as salmi sauce or mock-turtle soup. The dregs, too, of port wine do for jugged hare, venison, etc.

The chief point to be avoided in sherries is spirit. Some of the very cheap sherry contains a great deal of an exceedingly unwholesome spirit, which is very injurious. These fiery sherries are almost the worst form of stimulant in which anyone can indulge.

We will next proceed to discuss port, which still retains much of its old-time popularity in this country. Much that has been said of cheap sherry applies equally to cheap port, the only difference being that port is a somewhat dearer wine than sherry. When the consumption of port in a house is large, it will be found advisable to draw the port from the wood--that is, if you are sure the cask will be finished within twelve months. When port is kept in the wood too long it is apt to lose colour and deteriorate in flavour. Port wine requires great care in keeping, as it is utterly ruined if exposed to great cold. Any that has been exposed to severe frosts gets cloudy, and never properly recovers its character. The best cellars for keeping wines are those that remain at about the same temperature all the year round. A temperature of between 50 deg. and 60 deg. is very good for wine. In fact, a good cellar strikes cold in summer and hot in winter. One very common cause of wines being spoiled is bad corks, and I have often wondered at it. The difference between good and indifferent corks is so slight, that spoiling wine from corkage reminds one of the old saying of "spoiling the ship for the sake of a ha'porth of tar." In choosing corks for bottling wine, the best plan is to take a quantity up in both hands, and smell them: should there be a peculiar musty smell, the corks are bad, and will utterly spoil a delicate wine.

Port for ordinary everyday consumption is, as we have said, best from the wood. Sometimes, however, a cask of it is ordered in, and after some has been drawn off the rest is bottled. Now very much depends upon the way in which this is done. In the first place, the wine must be perfectly bright in the cask; secondly, the bottles must be not only clean, but quite dry inside; thirdly, the wine must be well sealed up, the corks must fit perfectly tight, and should properly be moistened in a little of the wine that is being bottled, and then hammered down with a wooden mallet. It is by some supposed that the crust on port-wine bottles is the sediment of the wine, which has been put into the bottle rather cloudy. The wine is always bottled bright, but after bottling it will turn cloudy of its own accord, especially in spring and autumn; a crust then settles and adheres to the bottle, and the wine gradually matures and improves, if it is kept at an equal temperature all the year round. Port wine, however, that has to undergo the variations of temperature that occur in this climate will never mature at all. It is quite possible that the barbarous custom of building most modern small houses without any wine cellars worthy of the name will do much to decrease the consumption of port throughout the country.

As tastes, of course, differ, the purchaser must, to a certain extent, judge for himself in selecting port wine. I would, however, warn you against being prejudiced by price when making a choice from samples, and would therefore recommend you to act invariably as follows. Should your wine merchant send you a few brands for trial, let these be marked by letters or numbers, and let the price of them be sealed up in a separate letter. Then taste and discuss the samples aloud with a friend, and open the letter and see how far your palate agrees with those of others afterwards. This is the only way to approach wine really unprejudiced.

Good port is one of the most wholesome and nourishing wines that can be taken--of course, being strong it must be taken in moderation. The principal vintages of port now in the market are those of the years 1865, 1870, 1873, 1881, 1884, 1885, 1887, and 1890. Much older wines may, of course, be had, but they are not worth the fancy prices asked for them. We next come to what many regard as the highest of all wines--i.e. champagne. Not so many years ago champagne was looked upon as a luxury only to be used on great occasions such as a wedding breakfast or a birthday feast; but now it is seen upon the table at every public dinner or luncheon, and is perhaps drunk to a greater extent than any other wine. But whereas the champagne drunk by our fathers was a sweet dessert wine, the champagne drunk nowadays in this country is a dry kind, and may without offence accompany the entree, roast, or game.

At what exact price good champagne can be bought it is very difficult to say. The cheaper kinds vary immensely, some years being far better than others. I would, however, roughly state the minimum price at which any champagne that is the pure juice of the grape can be bought to be from 42s. to 48s. a dozen. A large quantity of wine is sold in this country under the name of champagne, much of which indeed comes from the champagne district, but really is champagne only in name.

Whether this is made by using up the refuse of the grapes from which good champagne is made, or by using unripe grapes, rhubarb, gooseberries, or apples, I cannot say, but all will agree that the majority of cheap champagne is unfit to drink.

As a rule, of course, the general principle holds good, that it is far better to give either good wine or none at all. It is true with regard to champagne especially, and I would particularly urge those who are going to give champagne with a little dinner-party about to come off to bear this in mind, and act accordingly. Ask your conscience as to what is your real motive. Do you wish to please your guests? Or do you wish to show off?--i.e. is your motive in giving champagne simply that of vying with or perhaps surpassing your neighbours? If the former is your motive, and you can afford it, lay in some champagne of a really good brand, 66s. to 72s. a dozen. Have it cool--i.e. nearly freezing, a degree or two above freezing-point; and whatever you do, do not put ice in the wine if the champagne is really good (and it ought to be at the price I have named): it is a barbarous custom. Next, let your guests have enough. I should say a fair allowance is a bottle between two persons. Do not, however, open one bottle, and then ask if anybody will have any more. If you do, everyone will say, "No, thank you." On the other hand, if you open a bottle first and take it round, every single one will have a second glass, and a good many a third.

There are so many different brands of champagne that it would be almost impossible to enumerate and criticise them all. The best vintages are those of 1892, 1893, and 1895, and one cannot go wrong in selecting from the brands of shippers of such high reputation as Bollinger, Clicquot, Deutz and Geldermann, Giesler, Heidsieck, Mumm, Moet and Chandon, Perrier Jouet, Pommery, Pol Roger, and Roederer.

Champagne is best kept in a cooler cellar than that which is requisite for ports, clarets, or Burgundies. Great care should also be taken in seeing that the bottles are placed on their sides, as if this wine is kept for any length of time upright it will become flat. Champagne is generally imported in wooden cases, and it is usual to keep the wine in these boxes, which are, as a rule, marked "Keep this side up," as a guide how they should be placed before they are opened.

We have now run through the general wines drunk in this country--viz. sherry, port, claret, Burgundy, hock, Moselle, and champagne. There is another wine, however, once most popular, but which of late years seems to have gone out of fashion--and that is Madeira. However, there is every reason to believe that it may soon come in again. The vines in Madeira, which so completely failed some years ago, have very much recovered. Good old East India Madeira, such as is now rarely to be obtained, save at a public dinner of some City company, will bear comparison with almost any wine in the world. The new Madeira now imported is, for its price, really a far cheaper wine than sherry, the principal drawback to it being that it is somewhat sweet. Still, in view of the probability of Madeira in a few years time recovering its lost position, those who possess good cellars might certainly make worse speculations than that of laying down some of the new Madeira, which they can get at about 48s. a dozen. There is a good sound kind to be got at a far cheaper rate.

The objection of sweetness is fatal to a large class of wines, and as the public taste just now runs upon dry wines, it is a bad time to attempt to introduce any save those that possess this quality. The consumption, for instance, of sparkling hock, sparkling Moselle, and sparkling Burgundy is less in proportion than that of former years, owing to the difficulty of obtaining these wines dry.

One very agreeable form of drinking cheap hock, claret, etc., in summer time is in the shape of "cup." There are various ways of making claret cup, but I will give one of the simplest. Take a few lumps of sugar, about six or eight, according to the size, and let a few drops of boiling water be poured on them to assist in dissolving them. Take a bottle of claret, and add in addition to the sugar two slices of a hard lemon, a glass of sherry, a table-spoonful of brandy, a small piece of cucumber-peel, and a table-spoonful of noyeau or maraschino.

A little balm and borage is an improvement to claret cup, but then there is generally considerable difficulty in obtaining them. Another capital claret cup is made by substituting an orange cut into slices for the two slices of lemon. Again, if no noyeau is at hand--and noyeau is an expensive liqueur--add a couple of drops of essence of almonds to the brandy. To every cup, of course, must be added one or two bottles of soda-water, and a large lump of pure ice.

If good pure ice cannot be obtained, but only what is called rough ice, do not put any at all in the cup, but surround it with chopped ice mixed with salt, and you will very soon reduce its temperature quite as low, and, indeed, lower, than if a large piece of ice had been put in the cup itself. I would advise persons who use rough ice indiscriminately to melt a tumblerful, and then hold the glass up to the light. The lesson is very practical. Champagne cup is very simply made by adding either a slice or two of lemon or an orange cut into slices to a bottle of champagne as well as a bottle of soda-water, a small liqueur glass of brandy, and a large lump of ice. Of course, just as it would be a terrible waste to use a bottle of Chateau Lafitte or Chateau Margaux claret to make a claret cup, so would it be equally wrong to use a bottle of first-class champagne, such as Pommery et fils, or Montebello Carte Blanche, for a similar purpose. Again, a rather sweet champagne makes a very good "cup," as the ice and soda-water take off from the sweetness very considerably. It will be found, however, for general purposes that some wines that are not strictly speaking champagne nevertheless make excellent "champagne cup." We would call particular attention to a wine named Sparkling Saumur, which is now being sold at a retail price of 24s. a dozen. A bottle of this, and an orange sliced (avoiding the outside slices with too much peel on, as well as the pips), with a bottle or even two bottles of soda-water, and a large lump of ice, make a most refreshing summer drink. Indeed, I know of no kind of cheap champagne, at even 36s. a dozen, that will make so excellent a cup.

Lastly, but by no means least in importance of the beverages consumed in this country, are the wines produced in our Australian Colonies. Although for lack of better titles the larger number of the best known brands are styled Burgundies, clarets, ports, etc., they actually possess important characteristics not to be found in the products of other countries. These characteristics are the extraordinary fulness and grapiness possessed by the bigger Australian Burgundies, and the wonderful bouquet and vinous flavour of the higher class lighter vintages. Among the cheaper ruby wines we might mention Sauvigon and Red Harvest Burgundy, which are full-bodied, characteristic Australian wines of the robust type. The imports show that these wines are superseding to a very marked extent the cheap Continental clarets and Burgundies. Tintara is a more expensive wine of the heavy Burgundy type, which is recognised as a valuable recuperative, and on that account has been adopted for use in naval and military hospitals. Ophir is a characteristic Victorian Burgundy which is eminently luscious and palatable. Amongst the white wines are White Harvest Burgundy and Highercombe--the first an inexpensive drink for everyday use which has of late come much to the fore, and the latter one which, at 31s. per dozen, might well replace much more expensive varieties of hock.

One of the most interesting of all Australian wines is Muscat of Alexandria, a dessert wine of the most lovely flavour. Its rich flavour resembles the first crush in the mouth of three or four fine ripe Muscat grapes. A most refreshing summer cup can be made by mixing this with soda-water, sugar, a few slices of lemon, and a lump of ice.

The finest wines imported from Australia are Coomaree Burgundy and Coomaree Amber, the price of which is 37s. per dozen. These are literally fit to set before a king.

We are indebted to private enterprise for the introduction of these wines into England, Tintara having been first imported in 1871 by Messrs. P. B. Burgoyne and Co., who are by far the largest importers of these Colonial products, and our thanks are due to them for the information which we are able to put before our readers.

Great attention has of late been paid in Australia to the improved cultivation of the vine and modern methods of wine-making, so that now Antipodean wines need not fear comparison with any others of their class. We have now run through the principal wines drunk in this country; we ought not, however, to forget to mention our national beverage--beer. It is needless to touch upon the point of making home-brewed beer, because, as a matter of fact, good beer can now be obtained so cheap in almost all parts of the country that ale is very rarely brewed at home. First, I would call attention to the importance of always having beer in cask; by so doing purity is generally ensured, and the bad custom of sending servants--especially women servants--to the public-house is avoided. Sound and excellent ale can always be got at threepence a quart; an eighteen-gallon cask costing 18s., and, indeed, very good beer can be bought in cask still cheaper. Now, the beer sold in many public-houses, at the rate of fourpence a quart, is, I fear, frequently adulterated, and often has the effect of increasing rather than allaying thirst. Were the general public to know the secret of the cheap public-house beer that has been doctored with not always such harmless ingredients as treacle and sugar, they would probably make greater efforts to obtain their supplies direct from the brewery itself. The working poor are necessarily obliged to drink beer, and it is very much to be regretted that they so rarely have it in cask. The fact is, they have not sufficiently acquired habits of self-control, and unfortunately a barrel in the house often proves a temptation too strong to be resisted.

One of the most important points to be remembered in the management of beer is to ensure its being bright. Therefore it should always be kept in a cool place, though in winter care should be taken that it is not exposed to too severe a frost. A cask of beer should always be ordered in at least a week before it is wanted, in order to give the liquid time to settle. Beer is often allowed to get flat and dead through the carelessness of servants, who forget to put in the vent-peg; consequently a tap requiring no vent-peg is to be preferred. When a cask requires titling, a very little common sense will often prevent the whole of the beer left in the vessel from becoming cloudy. First, it will be found advisable to have a beer-stand that will tilt by simply turning a handle. However, when bricks or lumps of wood are used for the purpose, bear in mind to first choose your time: say you have drawn enough beer for supper, tilt the cask then, so that you have the benefit of the night's settling. Too often, from carelessness and procrastination, servants will draw off the beer till the last drop runs level, and will then tilt the barrel while they draw a jugful, afterwards letting it drop again, thereby clouding the whole of the remainder. Whenever you have room for two casks in your cellar, side by side, always act as follows. Have two in together, and directly one runs out tap the other, and on the same day order in a fresh one. By making a fixed rule of this description you will always ensure your ale being bright. This same quality of brightness is even more important in the case of bottled than draught beer. The difference not merely in appearance but in taste between a glass of Bass's ale that sparkles like champagne when held up against the light, and one that is thick and cloudy, is patent to everyone. When kept for any length of time bottled beer should be laid on its side, but to ensure its being bright it only requires to be kept upright for a short time before it is opened, in a moderate temperature. If bottled ale is kept too warm it is very frothy, and by no means invariably bright. On the other hand, beer exposed to frost is sure to be thick. Bottled beer consequently in summer-time should not be placed in an ice-chest, except for ten minutes or a quarter of an hour before it is opened, to cool it, but not freeze it. When, therefore, you have bottled beer in quantities, always stand six or eight bottles upright, and as these are used replace them by others. Good ale will generally get bright in bottle if stood upright for a week, though a longer period should be allowed if it is only just brought in. In pouring out beer always have two glasses ready together, so that you can continue to pour without tilting back the bottle, as when this latter is done too often it will be found that the first glass is the only one that is bright. With regard to spirits, but little care is required in keeping them, as they are quite unaffected by variations of temperature, the greatest amount of cold failing to influence them. The only advice I would give you is--regard them as medicines rather than as for everyday consumption, and recollect the remark of Adam, in As You Like It, who accounted for his vigour as follows:-- "Though I look old, yet I am strong and lusty, For in my youth I never did apply Hot and rebellious liquors in my blood."

There is one important branch of cookery which we have not yet dealt with, but which cannot be omitted from any treatise on the principles of the art, and that is:--