Drinks of the world / by James Mew and John Ashton.

  • Mew, James.
Date:
1892
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Drinks of the world / by James Mew and John Ashton. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    116/390 (page 108)
    Into this wine, as into some others, the Spaniards are wont to put roasted pears, under the conceit that thereby it is much improved in taste and rendered more wholesome. Hence arose the proverb EL vino de las peras dalo a quien bien quidras. Malaga Xeres is often known in England as the pale, gold, dry Sherry,1 as the wines of Alicant, Benicarlos, and Valencia are sold as a rich and fruity Port. The so- called Amontillado Sherry is very often the outcome of accident. Out of a hundred butts of Sherry from the same vineyard, some, says a great authority, will be Amontillado, without the manufacturers being able to account for it. At Cordova, a dry wine called Montilla is commonly drunk. Switzerland. Swiss wines are commonly consumed only in Switz- erland. The best is produced in the Grisons, called Chiavenna, aromatic and white from the red grape. A white Malvasia of good quality is made in the Valais. It is luscious, as is Chiavenna. The Valais also furnishes red wines, made at La Marque and Coquempin in the district of Martigny. Schaffhausen gives plenty of red wine. The wine of blood'1 is manufactured at Basle. These wines are also known as those of the Hospital and St. Jaques. The red 1 The fine old Amoroso, of which a small stock is still remaining. 2 So called from the battle of Birs, in the reign of Louis XL, in which i,6oo Swiss opposed 30,000 French, and only sixteen of the former survived. The fallen succumbed, we are told, less to the power of the foe than to the fatigue of the fighting.