Hints for the table: or, the economy of good living / [Anon].

  • John Timbs
Date:
1838
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Hints for the table: or, the economy of good living / [Anon]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Good port wine, duly kept, is, when taken in moderation, is one of the most wholesome of vinous liquors: it strengthens the muscular system, assists the digestive powers, accele- rates the circulation, exhilarates the spirits, and sharpens the mental energies : in excess, it is, perhaps, the most mis- chievous of wines, and most likely to produce those perma- nent derangements of the digestive organs which follow the habitual use of distilled spirits.—Brrnde. There is one criterion of fine and old port, which the writer never knew fail, although it may by an accident. The cork, when it has dried, that is to say, an hour after it has been drawn, should he covered on its under surface and part of its cylindrical surface with crystals of tartar.— Mayo's Philosoj>hy of Living. A vast quantity of spurious port wine is imported into this country from the Channel Islands. Thus, during eight years, there have been but 210 pipes of wine exported from Oporto to the Channel Islands, whilst the wines im- ported into London from the Channel Islands were 2072 pipes. It, therefore, appears clear that cheap French wines are greatly substituted for port wine. So late as Queen Anne’s reign, our importation of port wine was very small: it was then customary in London, upon the meeting of two friends, for the one to invite the other to a tavern to drink; or, in a vulgar phrase, “ to crack a bottle of claret dashed with port;” thus intimating the comparative rarity of the latter wine. Sherry, of a due age, and in good condition, is a fine, perfect, and wholesome wine; free from excess of acid, and possessing a dry aromatic flavour and fragrancy : but, as procured in the ordinary market, it is of fluctuating and anomalous quality, often destitute of all aroma, and tasting of little else than alcohol and water.—Braude. It has often been said, that sherry is a compound wane; but this is a mistake. The best pale and light golden sherries are made from the pure Xeres grape, with only the addition of two bottles of brandy to a butt, which is no
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