After the sediment has been removed the wine is subjected to dosage, or liqueuring.

It is by this process that the degree of sv/cetiiess required to suit the particular class of wine being made is attained. For wines exported to England very little liqueur is employed; in the case of some wines, known as Brut or Nature, none at all is added. Wines intended for consumption in France receive a moderate quantity of liqueur, but those for the Russian and South American markets, where very sweet wines are liked, receive more. This liqueur is made of fine wine, brandy and candied sugar. The liqueuring is nowadays generally carried out by means of a machine which regulates the quantity to a nicety. Champagne is not, as is the case, for instance, with the classified growths of the Gironde, the product of a single vineyard. The bulk of the wine is made in vineyards belonging to small peasant proprietors, who sell their produce to the great mercantile houses. The latter blend the wines received from the various proprietors, and the chief aim in this blending is to maintain the character of the wine which is sold under a particular trade mark or brand. Similarly, it has been said that, strictly speaking, there is no such thing as vintage champagne, for it is almost invariably the practice, in order to maintain the general character of a specific brand, to blend the new wines with some old wine or wines which have been vatted for this particular purpose. These vattings, and indeed all bl endings of any particular batch of wines, are termed ciivees.

The vintage date, therefore, which is borne by "

vintage champagne, " refers rather to the date of vintage prior to bottling than to the age of the wine, although the main bulk of the wine of a certain " vintage " will actually have been made in the year indicated. It is not unusual in the case of champagne to add some sugar to the must in the years in which the latter is deficient in this regard. No legitimate objection can be raised to this practice inasmuch as champagne in any case must be regarded in the light of a manufactured article rather than as a natural product. The principal centres of the champagne trade are at Reims, Epernay, Ay and Avize. The total output of the Ivlarne district has for the past three years averaged about 9 million gallons, but it occasionally runs as high as 20 million gallons. A great part of this wine, however, is not suitable for making high-class champagne. As a rule, the supply considerably exceeds the demand, and the stock in hand at the present time amounts to roughly four years' consumption of finished wine, but to this must be added the stock existing in cask, which is considerable. For the period 1906-1907 the total number of bottles in stock amounted to over 121 millions, the bottles exported to over 23 millions, and the bottle* required for internal commerce in France to something over 10 millions.

There is, thus, at the

present a total annual consumption of rather over 30 millions of bottles. The chief trade in champagne is with the United Kingdom, to which the finest varieties are exported. In the year 1906, of access and of remarkably even temperature, at a very small cost. The method of manufacture is similar to that followed in the Champagne.

In the east of France, not far from the Jura, lies the oldest viticultural district of Europe, namely that of Burgundy. It is still so called, after the old French provinces. Upper and Lower Burgundy. It comprises the departm.ents of the Yonne on the north-west, the Cote d'Or in the centre, and the Saone-et-Loire on the south. In the Yonne are made chiefly the white wines known to rmad

us as Chablis; in the Saone-et-Loire are made the red "'"V"'ay,

and white wines of Macon, and there is also, stretching into the department of the Rhone, the district producing the Beaujolais wines. The most important wines, however, the Burgundy wines proper, are made in the centre of this region on the range of low hills running north-east by south-west called the Cote d'Or, or the golden slope. The soil of the Cote d'Or is chiefly limestone, with a little clay and sand. The vineyards producing the best wines are situated about half-way up the slopes, those at the top producing somewhat inferior, and those at the foot and in the plain ordinary grou-ths. Practically all the best vineyards (which are grown on flat terraces on the slopes, and not on the slopes themselves) face south-west and so get the full benefit of the sun's rays. The most important vjne^ in fact on the slopes of the Cote d'Or practically the only vine— is the Pineau or Noirien, but in the plain and in the districts of Macon and Beaujolais the Camay is much cultivated. The influence of the soil on one and the same vine is interestingly illustrated by the different character of the vines grown in those districts, the Beaujolais wines having far greater distinction than those of M&con. The commune of Beaune must be regarded as the centre of the Burgundy district, and possesses numerous vineyards of the highest class. To the

north of Beaune lie the famous vineyards of Chambertin, Clos Vougeot, RomantJe, Richebourg, Nuits St Georges and Gorton; to the south those of Pommard, Volnay, Monthelie and Meursault with its famous white wines.

The vilification of the Burgundy wines takes place in cuves of 500 to 2000 gallons capacity, and it has for very many years been the common practice in vintages in which the must is deficient in saccharine to ensure the stability of the wine by the addition of some sugar in the ciive.

The first rackings generally take place in

February or March, and the second in July. The practice of sugaring has ensured greater stability and keeping power to the wines, which formerly were frequently irregular in character and difficult to preserve.

There is no oflScial classification of the Burgundy wines, but the following is a list comprising some of the finest growths in geographical order, from north to south, together v.ith the localities in or near which they are situated.

Analyses of Champagne*

No.