THE

CHEMISTRY OF
OF WINE

G. J MULDER,

PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY IN THE UNIVERSITY OF UTRECHT.

EDITED BY

H. BENCE JONES, M.D. F.R.S.
PHYSICIAN TO ST. GEORGE'S HOSPITAL.

LONDON:
JOHN CHURCHILL, NEW BURLINGTON STREET.

MDCCCLVII.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE.

ALTHOUGH the liquor which Noah prepared from the juice of the grape has been made the subject of numberless examinations, the announcement of a new investigation of it can hardly astonish any one; for, in the first place, there are certain matters in every kind of wine, of which neither the quantity nor the quality are yet determined; and until these are investigated, the examination of wine will not be completed. Moreover, the almost unlimited variety which is peculiar to wine, and depends entirely upon variations in the constituents of the wine, has never been traced back to its cause; and further, many methods of determining even the most ordinary vinous ingredients are still imperfect, and must be replaced by others. Lastly, there are many adulterations practised upon wine, which keep pace with the extension of chemical knowledge, and which have been as yet by no means sufficiently explained.

If it be admitted that it is useful to make public, to compare, and to test the most important results

A 2

obtained from the examination of this fluid, and the various methods which have been employed in order to obtain such results, then it can surprise no one that such a general chemical investigation of wine as the present state of science renders possible, should be undertaken.

So far, then, from apologising for subjecting the juice of the grape to a closer investigation, I shall have to beg the indulgence of the reader for still leaving room for so much more work upon wine. One especial deficiency will remain, in the want of acquaintance with the particular components of very many kinds of wine, which in colour, smell, and taste present an almost endless variety. And I may say, that even this treatise will tell but little in comparison to what will eventually be known about wine, for it only lays claim to be looked upon as a step in advance.

Although not inhabiting a wine country, I have had abundant opportunity during the years which I have devoted to science of examining this liquid, and have always tasted it thankfully, and prized it very highly both for myself and others.

I have always followed attentively the progress of our knowledge of wine, and I have frequently been asked to give advice in cases where adulteration was supposed to exist, so that I have gone over the whole subject with especial interest.

Nothing would have been easier than to put into