of the Wine—The Vouvray Vineyards—Balzac’s Picture of La Vallée Coquette—The Village of Vouvray and the Château of Moucontour—Vernou with its Reminiscences of Sully and Pépin-le-Bref—The Vineyards around Saumur—Remarkable Ancient Dolmens—Ackerman-Laurance’s Establishment at Saint-Florent—Their Extensive Cellars, Ancient and Modern—Treatment of the Newly-Vintaged Wine—The Cuvée—Proportions of Wine from Black and White Grapes—The Bottling and Disgorging of the Wine and Finishing Operations—The Château of Varrains and the Establishment of M. Louis Duvau aîné—His Cellars a succession of Gloomy Galleries—The Disgorging of the Wine accomplished in a Melodramatic-looking Cave—M. Duvau’s Vineyard—His Sparkling Saumur of Various Ages—Marked Superiority of the more Matured Samples—M. Alfred Ronsteaux’s Establishments at Saint-Florent and Saint-Cyr—His convenient Celliers and extensive Cellars—Mingling of

Wine from the Champagne with the finer Sparkling Saumur—His Vineyard at La Perrière—M. E. Normandin’s Sparkling Sauternes Manufactory at Châteauneuf—Angoulême and its Ancient Fortifications—Vin de Colombar—M. Normandin’s Sparkling Sauternes Cuvée—His Cellars near Châteauneuf—High recognition accorded to the Wine at the Concours Régional d’Angoulême

XIV.—The Sparkling Wines Of Burgundy and the Jura.

Sparkling Wines of the Côte d’Or at the Paris Exhibition—Chambertin, Romanée, and Vougeot—Burgundy Wines and Vines formerly the Presents of Princes—Vintaging Sparkling Burgundies—Their After-Treatment in the Cellars—Excess of Breakage—Similarity of Proceeding to that followed in the Champagne—Principal Manufacturers of Sparkling Burgundies—Sparkling Wines of Tonnerre, the birthplace of the Chevalier d’Eon—The Vin d’Arbanne of Bar-sur-Aube—Death there of the Bastard de Bourbon—Madame de la Motto’s Ostentatious Display and Arrest there—Sparkling Wines of the Beaujolais—The Mont-Bronilly Vineyards—Ancient Reputation of the Wines of the Jura—The Vin Jaune of Arbois beloved of Henri Quatre—Rhymes by him in its Honour—Lons-le-Saulnier—Vineyards yielding the Sparkling Jura Wines—Their Vintaging and Subsequent Treatment—Their High Alcoholic Strength and General Drawbacks

XV.—The Sparkling Wines of the South of France.

Sparkling Wines of Auvergne, Guienne, Dauphiné, and Languedoc—Sparkling Saint-Péray the Champagne of the South—Valence with its Reminiscences of Pius VI. and Napoleon I.—The “Horns of Crussol” on the Banks of the Rhône—Vintage Scene at Saint-Péray—The Vines and Vineyards Producing Sparkling Wine—Manipulation of Sparkling Saint-Péray—Its Abundance of Natural Sugar—The Cellars of M. de Saint-Prix and Samples of his Wines—Sparkling Côte-Rotie, Château-Grillé, and Hermitage—Annual Production and Principal Markets of Sparkling Saint-Péray—Clairette de Die—The Porte Rouge of Die Cathedral—How the Die Wine is Made—The Sparkling White and Rose-Coloured Muscatels of Die—Sparkling Wines of Vercheny and Lagrasse—Barnave and the Royal Flight to Varennes—Narbonne formerly a Miniature Rome, now Noted merely for its Wine and Honey—Fête of the Black Virgin at Limoux—Preference given to the New Wine over the Miraculous Water—Blanquette of Limoux and How it is Made—Characteristics of this Overrated Wine