Memoir upon the Vineyards and Wines of Champagne in France: Written in answer to certain Queries circulated by M. CHAPTAL. By M. GERMON, of Eper nay, PRELIMINARIES.† THE ancient province of Champagne, now divided into two departments under the names of La Marne and La Haute Marne, has been long celebrated as the vineyard of France. There are two kinds of wines which distinguish this district. White wines: called Riviere de Marne wines. Tilloch, vol. 33, p. 75. From An. de Chim. vol. 61, p. 5. The numerous facts contained in this Memon render it truly valuable: although the author expresses himself in the language of a good practical cultivator, he does not always display the accuracy of a modern chemist. We have not hitherto met with any thing more comprehensive on the subject: and it forms the materials of M. Chaptal's projected work upon "L'Art de faire le Vin."-Note of the French Editor. ted in the valleys and upon the sides of the hills in Epernay, Dizy, Avenay, Cramant, Lemesnil, Monthelon, Chouilly, Moussy, &c.: but in consequence of one of those varieties of nature, for which we cannot always account, the estate of Cumieres, in the midst of so many vineyards celebrated for white wines, and under the same exposure, produces red wines only, and of a quality far superior to the above wines. Among all the vineyards on the river Marne, the cantons of Hautvillers, Mareuil, Cumieres, and Epernay, are the most advantageously situated: they extend along the river Marne, with this distinction, that the quality of the wine falls off in proportion as the vineyard is distant from the river: for this reason Hautvillers and Ay have always enjoyed a preference over Epernay and Pierry; and the latter over Cramant, Lemesnil, &c. and these last over Monthelon, Moussy, &c. South exposures produce upon the banks of the Marne excellent white wines, but their declivities and posterior parts, which are called the mountains of Rheims, al*though situated in general towards the north, and almost always to the east, also give red wines of a good quality, and of a fine taste and aromatic flavour. The slope which overhangs Rheims is divided according to the quality of its wines; hence we have wines of the mountain, of the lower mountain, and of the estate St. Thierry. The mountain comprehends Verzy, St. Basle, Verznay, Mailly, Taissy, Ludes, Chigny, Rilly, and VillersAllerand; and among these vineyards, the most esteemed are Verzy, Verznay, and Mailly. The rest, although very good, are of a different quality. The vineyard of Bouzy, which terminates the chain or the horizon between south and east, and which, therefore, belongs to the two divisions, ought not to be omit ted. It produces excellent, fine, and delicate red wines, which, from its exposure, participate in the good qualities of Verznay and the good red wines of La Marne. The lower mountain comprehends a great quantity of vineyard countries; among which we may distinguish Chamery, Ecueil, and Ville Demange: this last place in particular, when the season is good, yields wine which will keep for ten or twelve years. The lower mountain extends to the banks of the river Aisne. As the wines it produces are of a middling quality, it scarcely requires to be particularized. The district of Saint Thierry has taken its name, with respect to its wines and vineyards, from a large extent of grounds containing large vineyards, such as Saint Thierry, Trigny, Chenay, Villefranqueux, Douillon, Hermonville, and produce very agreeable red wines of a pale colour, very much in request by the dealers. But the wine properly called Clos Saint Thierry, and coming from the archbishopric of Rheims, is the only wine which unites the rich colour and flavour of Burgundy to the sparkling lightness of Champagne. Clos Saint Thierry holds the same rank among Champagne wines, that Clos-vougeot does among those of Burgundy. In the enumeration of the vineyards of the mountain, some readers may perhaps expect to find Sillery mentioned, once so remarkable for red and white wines: the truth is, that Sillery wine is in a great measure composed of the wines produced in the territories of Verznay, Mailly, and Saint Basle, once made, by a particular process, by the marechale d'Estrees, and for this reason long known by the name of Vins de la Marechale. At the revolution this estate was divided, and sold to different rich proprietors of Rheims: the senator of Valencia, however, the heir to a great part of this vineyard, neglects no means of restoring Sillery to its former reputation. Series of questions put by M. Chaptal, with their answers. I. Which is the most advantageous exposure for the Vine? The most advantageous exposure for the vine is, without contradiction, the south and the cast; but it has been ascertained that certain advantages of soil and the nature of the plant must also concur otherwise various districts, such as Damery, Vanteuil, Reuil, &c. with the same exposure and climate, and also watered by the Marne, would enjoy the same celebrity as Cumieres, Hautvillers, and Ay. It must be confessed that the former districts produce inferior kinds of wine; but it remains to be decided whether we ought to ascribe this difference to the culture, the plants, or the soil. II. Are the high Exposures, the middle Elevations, or the lower Grounds, best adapted for Vineyards? Of all situations, the middle grounds are most esteemed: the heat being more concentrated in them, they are exempt from the variations of the atmosphere which prevail on eminences, and from the humidity and exhalations which issue from the lower regions: the elaboration of the sap or juice is therefore more complete in the middle grounds. III. Does an East or West differ much from a South Exposure, in occasioning a sensible difference in the Quality of the Wines ? A western exposure is unfavourable to vegetation: it burns and parches without any advantage, nor does it give time for the juice to be elaborated, and spread through all the channels of vegetation, when mists, humidity, or dew, succeed: it is a certain fact, that there |