163. To cure ropiness in all wines.
Take
a bowlful of red wine pips (dried and milled only), a bowlful of fat of
the appearance or colour of the wine, a denier of pastry leaven, a half
pound of alum, two bells of ginger and a bit of gritty ashes. Put all
these 6 things, well ground and beaten, in the barrel. Stir well with a
short stick (split at the end into four) so that the scum gushes out.
The stick should be only a foot inside the barrel. Tap the bung in.
164. To cure wine turned ropy.
For
a Paris hogshead, boil a potful of wheat until it has burst, drain it,
and put it to cool. Take some well beaten egg whites, skim them, and
put everything in the barrel. Stir with a short stick (split into 4 at
the end) which does not reach the dregs, so that they are not
disturbed. Hang a pound of ground bastard lovage in a cloth sachet by a
thread in the bunghole of the barrel.
165. To cure wine turned ropy or which smells fusty, musky or spoiled.
Beat
two denier's worth of ginger and two denier's worth of turmeric
together well, boil this powder in 2 quarts of wine, skim it well, put
it hot into the barrel, and stir it well right to the bottom. Stopper
it well and let it rest until it has settled.
166. To cure wine turned sour.
For
a hogshead of wine, boil a pint of the same wine, soak half an ounce of
milled berry [bay? juniper?] in the hot wine, put it in the barrel
without stirring it a little or a lot, and tap the bung in.
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