Most French Wines Mixed.—Maigne, speaking of the wines of France, says, that of one hundred wines in the market, perhaps there are not ten which are not produced by mixing several different kinds. Without doubt, he says, we should as much as possible preserve the products of the vine as they are given to us; but there are a multitude of cases where it is absolutely impossible to render them drinkable without mixing, or as wine men say, without cutting them with other wines.

When Necessary—Effect of.—In good years, almost all wines can be drank in their natural condition, but when the grapes have not become sufficiently ripe, the wines, even of good growths, lack quality, or preserve for a long time a roughness more or less marked, and always disagreeable. It is then necessary to mix them, especially if common wines, with better ones, to make them tolerable. It is not always necessary, however, that the season should be bad, in order that cutting should be proper. Wines naturally have, for a certain time, an earthy flavor and greenness which are unpleasant, which disappear by mixing. This is why ordinary wines of a moderate price, which have been mixed, are preferred by a great number of consumers to others which are higher in price but left in a state of nature. For example, a new, very dark-colored wine of good growth is not an agreeable drink; but if an old white wine of an inferior growth, but of good taste and constitution be added, it will be drank with pleasure.

Mixing the wine produces results similar to those caused by mixing the fruit, and it may be done by the wine maker as well as by the merchant. As they come from the vat, wines manifest the qualities and defects communicated by the vintage, and which are varied by a multitude of circumstances, such as the nature of the soil, varieties of grapes, temperature of the season, and the like.

Wines endowed with qualities which fit them to be kept in their natural condition, of course, are not mixed. But those which, on the other hand (and they are in the majority), have too much or too little color, are weak, flat, coarse, green, pasty, rough, lacking in bouquet, too strong, or too light, cannot be put on the market till they have been cut with other wines capable of giving them the qualities which they lack, and of remedying their defects. It will be understood that the mixture of a weak wine with a stronger one, of one lacking color with one which has too much, a light wine with a generous one, of a hard wine with a flat one, etc., a wine will be produced superior in quality to any one of those used.

For these reasons, in a viticultural district, when a producer cannot sell his wine of a bad year, he mixes it with that of the following year, if the latter is of a better quality; if he cannot mix it all, he may use it for ullage. In the same way, if he has new white wines which become discolored and turn yellow, he mingles them with very dark red wines, which then become more agreeable to drink.

It is said that the tithe wines used to be of superior quality. In certain communes of France, the inhabitants contributed to the priest’s cask a certain amount of their new wine, and this wine which represented a mixture of all the wines of the commune, had the reputation of being superior to any one of the others.

And the following case, quoted by Maigne, is given for what it is worth. A cask lay in a cellar into which they were accustomed to throw the leavings of all kinds of wine, such as from broken bottles, drippings, etc. It was intended to use the liquid upon diseased trees, but it was for some time forgotten. When found and brought out, the cellar-man tasted the singular mixture out of curiosity. It was found to be a delicious liquor, which gave delight at dessert; and it was with true grief that they saw its end approach!

In order to perform the operation successfully, an experienced man is required, who will be guided by his educated taste; and therefore, precise rules cannot be laid down, but there are certain general principles which it may be useful to state.

Wines of the same General Nature and Flavor should be used, and two of such wines may nevertheless be deficient in some particular respects, so that by mixing, the defects of the two will be corrected. Such wines are mixed, because they are said to marry better, and produce a more homogeneous liquid than those of different natures.

Fine Wines.—All agree that fine wines which have a bouquet and a future are best left in their natural condition, for their distinctive character will be destroyed by mixing with wines of a different nature and quality. Boireau says that experience proves that if such wines are mixed while young, even with old wine of good quality, they will never acquire that degree of fineness which they would have obtained if left by themselves; that they sooner loose their fruity flavor, and are more liable to make a deposit in the bottles.

There are cases, however, when cutting becomes necessary, as when the wine from being kept too long in casks, has commenced to decline, has lost its fruity flavor, has become acrid and dry; when made in a bad, cold season; and when they are too poor, green, or too feeble to keep well.

When wines are too old and worn out, they should be fortified with young wines of the same kind, produced, if possible, from the same vineyard, one or two, or at most, three years old, and possessing great mellowness. The amount of new wine to be used will depend upon the degree of degeneracy and the length of time they are to be kept. (See Degeneration.)

Poor, weak wines, whose keeping qualities are doubted, should be mixed with young wine of a good year, firm and full-bodied, possessing as nearly as possible the same natural flavor.

The foregoing is intended to apply to feeble, delicate wines which have a flavor and bouquet, but which are not too green. Wines which have a future should not be sacrificed by using them to fortify others which are both feeble and green, for the excess of tartaric acid contained in the latter will totally destroy the mellowness of those used to fortify them. To mix with such wines, clean-tasting wines of the south should be used.

If the wines are too green, a portion of the acid may be neutralized, as described under the head of Greenness.

Ordinary Wines should be treated in such a way as to give them as much as possible the qualities sought in fine wines, and they should be cut with suitable wines of the same age to give them bouquet, flavor, and mellowness, or at least to remove their excessive dryness—a very difficult thing to do. It may be accomplished, in part, by mixing them with wines of the same growth, but whose bouquet and flavor are very expansive, and by adding neutral, mellow wines.

Sufficient Time Must be Given to the mixture to allow the different wines employed to become intimately combined, or their different flavors may be detected, which will not be the case when thoroughly amalgamated.

When Large Quantities of wine are used, the mixture is more nearly perfect than if mingled, cask by cask; and by operating upon the whole amount at one time in a large vat, a perfect uniformity will be insured.

An Entirely New Wine should not be mixed with an old one, as there is not sufficient affinity between them.

In an old wine, says Machard, all the constituents are in a state of complete quiet; they are well combined (melted) and homogeneous. If there is mixed with it a wine whose principles are equally well combined, no ulterior action will result. But if new principles are introduced, elements of a different nature, the equilibrium will be disturbed, there will infallibly result a reciprocal action and disorganization.

Very Green Wines should not be mixed with those containing much sugar for similar reasons, for the mixture is liable to be thrown into a state of violent fermentation, which it will be difficult to arrest. The reason given is that the green wine contains a good deal of ferment; but if both the wines are produced in the south, where the ferment contained in the dry wine is not abundant, the mixture may safely be made. So that, after all, we get back to the principle, that wines of widely different natures and origins should not be mixed, but keeping this in mind, a sweetish and a dry wine may be used to correct each other.

White Wines may sometimes be mixed with advantage with red ones, as before mentioned, but the former should not be employed too liberally.

Diseased Wines must not be mixed with sound ones, except in the few cases mentioned under Defects and Diseases. It is especially dangerous to cut a soured or pricked wine with a sound one, for the whole mass is liable to be lost.

Mixing Grapes.—It is doubtless always better, when practicable, to correct defects by mixing the grapes and fermenting the different kinds together, for then a more homogeneous wine will be formed; and, therefore, the intelligent grape grower will find out the defects of his wine, and remedy them by planting a sufficient quantity of other varieties for the purpose.

Precautions.—Care, however, must always be taken not to spoil a good wine by cutting it with a very common one, nor by mixing poor varieties with grapes of fine kinds.

Cheap wines, however, for immediate consumption, may admit a certain proportion of poor, common wine, into their composition, without inconvenience. In that case, the ferments of the common sorts will not have time to act and produce serious results.

If, however, they are to be kept for some time, or bottled, the effect will be bad, for the ferments always abundant in wines from the commoner varieties, are liable to become decomposed, and cause a disagreeable, nauseating flavor.

Whenever there is a doubt in the mind of the cellar-man as to whether certain wines should be mixed, it is always best to make a small sample first, clarify it, and leave it for a sufficient length of time, and judge of the result, before operating upon a large quantity.