One of the most valuable books published on vine-growing and wine-making is that by the justly celebrated Dr. Jules Guyot.  The greater part of one particularly important chapter is wholly taken up with the most graphic and lucid description of wine-tasting with which we are acquainted.  Besides this, it contains such an amount of information on the subject, that no remarks in this connection would be complete without reference to it.  For the following vivid rendering of a good deal of this very chapter I am very much indebted to my friend Dr. John Steel, of Sydney:—­

“Wine put upon its trial is subjected to two jurisdictions; the one altogether belonging to the senses, the other wholly physiological.  The appreciation of wine by the senses is referred to three of our organs of sense—­the eye; the nasal chambers, in front and behind; and the mouth, equally at its anterior and posterior part.

“Wine judged by the sight.—­Wine pleases the eye by its clearness and colour:  and be it ruby, rose, amber, or white, it ought always to have perfect clearness and freshness of colour.  Neither of these latter tones will be out of harmony in a really good wine, even in extreme old age.  If you will not take upon yourself to decide whether a wine is good when it is attractive to the sight, you can always say that it is not good or at least that it is not in the best condition, when its transparency and shades of colour are questionable.  Freshness of colour and clearness are good signs.  Though they are not to be regarded as qualities, yet any appearance to the contrary betokens real defects in the wine.

“Wine judged by the sense of smell; the two odours of wine.—­Wine reveals itself by two sorts of odours (the aroma and the bouquet) to the outer organ of smell—­that is to say, when that sense is exercised by inhaling (or sniffing) the wine.  The first, or aroma, is the general and common odour peculiar to most wines.  It is always strongest when the wine is newest, but it always characterises good wine, however old it may be.  This first odour seems to be due to the volatilization of the spirit, which holds in solution an essential oil, more or less volatile, more or less powerful, and more or less characteristic of each kind of wine.  This aroma is a sign of real quality in the wine, and is generally very strong and very noticeable during the first years; it becomes concentrated, refined, and attenuated as the wine ages.  The second kind of odour the bouquet, on the contrary, is developed with age, and would appear to be owing to the reaction of vinous acids on the spirit, which gives rise to certain ethereal combinations.