[52] A _thick Crust_ is not always the consequence of the Wine having been very long time in the Bottle--but is rather a sign that it was too little time in the Cask, or has been kept in a very cold cellar.
[53] "Had the man that first filled the _Heidelburgh Tun_, been placed as sentinel to see that no other Wine was put into it, I believe that he would have found it much better at 25 or 30 years old, than at 100 or 150, had he lived so long--retained his senses, and been permitted now and then to taste it--a privilege with which the natives are seldom indulged.
"To give a great price for Wine, and keep it till it begins to perish, is a great pity." I cannot believe that very aged Wine, when bordering on Acid, is wholesome, though some Wine-drinkers seem to prefer it in that state. "Respecting _Port Wine_, there is a great fuss made by some about its _age_, and the _crust_ on the bottle; as if the age and crust on the bottle constituted the quality of the Wine." "Such _crusty_ gentlemen shall not select Wine for me."--YOUNG'S _Epicure_, 8vo. 1815, p. 23, 28, &c.
[54] "Wines bottled in good order, may be fit to drink in six months, (especially if bottled in October), but they are not in perfection before twelve. From that to two years they may continue so; but it would be improper to keep them longer."--_Edinburgh Encyclop. Britan._ vol. xviii. p. 72, Article _Wine_.
[55] "Cork the bottles very closely with good Cork, and lay them on their sides, that the Cork may not dry and facilitate the access of the air. For the greater safety, the Cork may be covered with a coating of cerement applied by means of a Brush, or the neck of the bottle may be immersed in a mixture of melted wax, rosin, or pitch."--ACCUM _on making Wine_, 1820, p. 40.
[56] A PUNCHEON OF BRANDY containing 130 Gallons, after remaining in Cask in a Merchant's Cellar for three years, lost two Gallons in measure, and ten Gallons in strength. The stronger the Spirit, the sooner it evaporates.
The London Dock Company are not answerable for any decrease of quantity in a PIPE OF WINE left under their care, provided it does not exceed one Gallon for each year--which it is supposed to waste in that time.
[57] CORNARO complains that _old_ Wine was very disagreeable to his Stomach, and _new_ wine very grateful; his dose was fourteen ounces, (_i. e._ seven wine-glasses) per day.