The works of Horace : with English notes, critical and ... - Cristo Raul

EXCURSUS VIII. PRINCIPAL WINES OP THE ROMANS. 705
to be kept about the same length of time as the Falemian, before they at
tain a doe degree of mellowness. Of the two, however, the more palpable
dryness and bitter-sweet fla,vor of the Sherry might incline us to decide
that it approached most nearly to the wine under consideration ; and
it ia worthy of remark, that the same diiferenoe in the produce of the fermentation
ia observable in the Xeres vintages as that which Galen has
noticed with respect to the Falernian, it being impossible always to predict
with certainty whether the result will be a dry wine, or a sweetish
wine resembling Paxarete. But, on the other hand, the soil of Madeira
is more analogous to that of the Campagua Felice, and thence we may
conclude that the flavor and aroma of its wines are similar. Sicily, which
is also a volcanic country, supplies several growtha, which an inexpetienced
judge would very readily mistake for those of the former island, and
which would, in all probability, come still nearer to them in quality, if
more pains were bestowed upon the manufacture. Another point of coincidence
is deserving of notice. Both Xeres and Madeira are, as is well
known, infinitely improved by being transported to a hot climate ; and
latterly it has become a common practice, among the dealers in the island,
to force the Madeira wines by a process which is absolutely identical with
the operation of liiefumarium. It may, perhaps, be objected, that the influence
of heat and age upon these liquors, far from producing any disagreeable
bitterness, only renders them sweeter and milder, however long
they may be kept ; but, then, in contrasting them with the superannuated
wines of the Romans, we must make allowance for the previous preparations,
and the effect of the different sorts of vessels in which they are preserved.
If Madeira or Sherry, but particularly the latter, were kept in
earthen jars until it was reduced to the consistence of honey, there can
be little doubt that the taste would become so intensely bitter, that, to
use the expression of Cicero, we should condemn it as intolerable.
The Sm-reniine wines, which were the produce of the Aminean grapes,
were, in like manner, of very durable quality, " finnissima vina," as Virgil
designates them ; and, on account of their lightness and wholesome-
ness, were much commended for the use of convalescents. They are
stated by Pliny to have been grown only in vineyards, and consequently
the vines which yielded them could not have been high-trained. Theii
exemption from the fault of bitterness, which most of the other wines aoqnired
by long keeping, has already been stated.' But Athenajus, upon
the^Buthority of Galen, observes, that they remained always thin and
weak, and never ripened thoroughly, from the wantof sufficient body. In
their eai-ly state they appear to have been very harsh and sharp to the
taste ; and Tiberius used to allege that the physicians had conspired to
raise their fame, hut that, in his opinion, they only merited the name of
generous vinegar. In these respects they may be compared to some of
the secondary growths of the Rhine, which, though liable at first to the
imputation of much acidity, will keep a long time, and continue to improve
to a certain extent, but never attain the oily smoothness that characterizes
the first-rate wines. The wine of Capua resembled the Surrentine.*
Such were the wines of the Campania Felix and adjacent hills, ofwhich
1. Excnrs. vi. 2. Athm., L, SI.
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