KEEP THE BOTTLES ON THEIR SIDES.

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improvement, I have heard it generally attributed to the previous ignorant habit of making their wine solely from one vineyard or plant, or locality; instead of observing the law so forcibly made known to us in the human species as well as in the animal and vegetable world, that all become feeble if continuously reared from the same stock. Probably it is also owing to this improved knowledge that one disgorging is now generally found sufficient, while three were, at one time, not unusual.

The power, and the constant pressure, of the gas against the cork, show how absolutely necessary it is to have the bottle always on its side; for then the cork is kept wet and swollen; but if the bottle remains on end, it becomes dry, contracts, and the gas and the wine escape. If the wine is of good body and quality, although it will not sparkle as in the bottles that are full, it will be found excellent, even if it has been half full for a month.

It is a mistake to suppose that champagne is spoiled, if not drunk the day that it is opened. By corking it again, tying the cork firmly down, then turning the bottle mouth downwards, it will be found good for a long time. This is worth knowing; but those who value champagne according to the flight of the cork, will be disappointed if they expect this to be rapid, when the carbonic acid gas has been allowed to fly off.

I think champagne excels every white wine, in delicious, high bouquet, and, when old, in taste; but it is rarely met with in possession of all these qualities.

In the first place, it must be of those vintages that seldom occur there was not one fine year between 1846 and 1857; and, in the next place, it must be at least five years old, and it will improve for twice that period. I have never tasted champagne equal to a bottle which the Mayor of Chalons lately gave me, made by himself, in 1834. Of course there was no report when the cork came out, and there was nofroth,' but there was a beautiful creamy head, showing, by the way it spread and stood, the solidity of its foundation.

With drinkers in general, it seems to matter very little what quality of champagne is placed on the table, so long as it 'froths' well; but those who seek froth,' should avoid age, for, the older it becomes, the more does it lose its effervescence. Unless it be

of such a vintage as '34, '46, '57, '58, '61, or '62, it is best to drink it when two or three years old; but when it can be secured, truly, of such a year as any of these, several years' supply should be laid in, or kept abroad, and in five or six years it should be brought into use. I suspect that it will not be so much liked by many as if it had been half as old; but those who appreciate a true old, firm, creaming champagne, will value it.

In the old country residences there are large, cool cellars, where wine may be kept in the most perfect state; but in few modern or town houses are such to be found.

Champagne should be not only cool, but cold, and if it be not kept in a temperature sufficiently low, it

ONLY FRAPPÉ, NOT ICED.

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must be iced. In a hot room, even in winter, the coolness is pleasant; but when the bottle is allowed to remain in the ice-pail until the wine becomes nearly as cold as the ice itself, it is wasting fine champagne to give it in that state, for flavour and taste become what wine-merchants call 'locked up.' Ten minutes' iceing, or, as the French call it, frappé,

does not deteriorate the wine; but even then it is not equal to that which is brought fresh out of a cold cellar, where it has lain long undisturbed. The practice of putting pieces of ice into the wine itself shows that a cool refreshing drink is wanted, but it is destructive to the quality.

The warmth of the hand on the bottle heats the wine, but this may be counteracted by a simple, neat instrument, shown in the accompanying drawing.

The famous Sillery derives its celebrity from a village of that name at the foot of a range of hills, called the Montagne, a few miles from Reims. The vineyard, of about 100 acres, is hardly deserving of its reputation. This arose, in the first instance, from the splendid cellars built by the widow of a Marshal D'Estrées, at her Château-Sillery, and from the care she used in procuring the very finest grapes from the neighbouring vineyards, and devoting the utmost attention to making good wine.

The château and vineyards have been sold; and, although some excellent wine is still made by the large proprietors, into whose possession they have fallen, many of the smaller ones have been very regardless of quality, hoping to sell their produce at high prices on the credit of a past renown.

There are, on the Montagne, the vineyards of Verzenay, Muilly, Bouzy, and several others, possessing all that could be desired in soil and exposure, with fine old vines, producing wine of great body, life, and bouquet.

To Sillery, the epithets sec-non-mousseux are usually attached; but, although such qualities as I have described are alone suited for yielding fine dry-stillsillery, it must not be supposed that other kinds, from Cramant, Pierry, &c., could not produce a similar kind, if similarly prepared. The usual way of preparing wine to become Sillery-sec-non-mousseux is, when there is a very fine vintage, to leave the desired number of casks in the coldest part of the

SILLERY-SEC-NON-MOUSSEUX.

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cellar till the December or January after the succeeding vintage (about sixteen months), when they are bottled, and left in the cellar for eight or ten years. I have searched in many a cellar in Champagne for such sillery, and have occasionally found a little. When truly good, it is very fine, and those who have had it usually dislike all other; but I have seldom met with any who liked it at first. It is both troublesome and unsatisfactory to have to do with; for, after you have discovered a little forgotten bin, as still as sherry, the prize is sent off, probably in summer, and forthwith the heat and the shaking make it mousseux, and, whoever has ordered it, very angry. If it has actually got into 'mousse,' the remedy is to put it in a cold cellar, and, before drinking it, to place it for an hour in ice, leaving the cork out.

The price, of course, is very high. I am here attempting to describe true sillery; but there are many imitations, most of which are the result of mixtures of brandy, sherry, &c., to give body, and check effervescence.

Champagne, although made chiefly of black grapes, being entirely from the juice, is almost colourless, and consequently those kinds called amber, rosé, and pink, have been coloured.

For the first, a very slight quantity of a preparation called fismes, from the name of the place where it is made, is used. This is composed of the elderberry, boiled with cream of tartar, and filtered. To