Occupations > British wine-maker, and domestic brewer

THE BRITISH WINE-MAKER. 29
will be greater, which the instrument will indi¬
cate. The pure juice must then be more and the
water less, when water is used, which is always
advisable; and besides, more sugar will be neces¬
sary to bring the must to the standard 120.
The common rule for making wine is, to use a
greater weight of water than of fruit. My rule
is, to put, on the average, equal measures of juice
and water. This, perhaps, in a very favourable
season, may be a little too much, especially if the
quantity intended to be made is great. One-
third juice and two-thirds water will perhaps be a
good proportion, especially if the wine is to be
soon used. This alone must depend upon the
quality of the juice. It is, however, always best
to err on the safe side, for the stronger the juice
is the better will be the fermentation. Let us
suppose, then, that in a good season, we find, on
examination, the pure juice to be 60, or any
number under; by putting an equal portion of
water as juice, the liquid will be reduced to 30.
Let us fix, then, upon this weight 30 as our stan¬
dard, whether the season be favourable or the
reverse. In a good year equal portions of pure
juice and water will produce this gravity. In a
bad one, the pure juice will probably admit of
only one-third water. In this last-mentioned sea¬
son, we may find by the instrument that the pure
juice yields only 40 instead of 60; consequently,