CONTENTS OF NO. LXXII.

DENMAN'S

ANNUAL WINE REPORT.

65, FENCHURCH STREET, (E.C.)
London, 1862.

SIR,
The large and satisfactory increase in the con-
sumption of foreign wines consequent on the remission of
former high import duties, induces me to furnish you
with the following particulars, as showing the quantities
of duty-paid wines cleared for home consumption in the
United Kingdom during each of the following years,
ending the 31st of December, and as indicative of the
probable effects of recent legislative changes:-

2,020,561

1,776,172

2,702,649

Par EDMOND

collection of documents, nothing beyond a limited selection of the most important will, we presume, be expected to appear as an appendix to that volume. The price of this collection of papers, bulky as it is, is only four shillings. It will be seen, accordingly, that the Committee must lose considerably by the publication, unless a large number should be sold. The separate Papers and Tracts are all well written, and adapted to their purpose. Their only fault is, that they seem to be intended mainly for persons who are supposed to know a good dea

nearly everythi formists on this general toleran lecture, in respe dence of the res it which does 1 mellow this tend breadth and th will purchase th The Congreg Address, Explan be obtained gra for them; and al the Committee their views as to which they thir about to be iss Memorial Hall.

Quantity of Wines cleared at each rate of Duty from
January to December, 1861.

Total.... gallons 5,110,210 5,676,961 10,787,171

The foregoing figures are not without interest, and they deserve attention as denoting an enormous increase in the use of foreign wines, and more particularly in those of France and Germany, which for 1861, amounted to 2,573,309 gallons, against 821,321 in the year 1859, now forming nearly one-fourth of the present consumption of the whole kingdom. Whether this large and sudden augmentation is the result of public preference, arising from a high appreciation of their tonic virtues, derived from the iron known to enter largely into their constituents, more especially in the growths of the Bordelais,* so strongly recommended by the faculty, or from conventional changes gradually invading the modern dinner. table, wine being now taken more as an ordinary beverage than as a luxury, is a problem as yet undetermined.

• Dr. Brinton On Food and its Digestion, pp. 371, 372.

Since my last annual Circular but little variation has taken place in the relative value of wines, notwithstanding a prevalent upward tendency. The anticipation I then ventured to express, that many novel and useful kinds would gradually present themselves for public appreciation, has been realized, and I feel the highest satisfaction in now announcing that I have completed engagements which secure to me the sole privilege of introducing, for the first time here, a selection of pure and high-class

GREEK WINES,

the growth of the Isle of Santorin, in the Grecian Archipelago. Of a volcanic origin, this salubrious spot is well suited to the full developement of the better qualities of the vine, and its produce is rich in corresponding properties. We learn, on good authority, that "The finest known wines are the produce of soils, the combination and proportions of whose ingredients are extremely rare and exceptionable; and, co-operating with these, they require the agency of peculiar degrees of light, moisture, and heat. The richest wines of France, Italy, Hungary, Madeira, and Teneriffe are grown on the sites of extinct volcanoes."* It cannot, therefore, be doubted, that possessing a congenial soil, climate, and superior grapes, this isle is admirably adapted for the production of first-class wines.

By special contract and agreement with the Société Vinicole de l'Ile de Santorin, the exclusive sale of these

• Wine, its Use and Taxation, by Sir James Emerson Tennent.

tory Chapters
Biography of
e History of
Bengal Civil

FELIX MENrom the Gerition

PAGE

255

293

Apparitions, des Visions, des
du Magnetisme, et du Somna
BRIERRE DE BOISMONT.

2. Fiends, Ghosts, and Sprites; inclu
of the Origin and Nature of Beli
natural. By JOHN NETTEN RADCLI

6

GREEK WINES.

collection of documents, nothing beyond a limited selection of the most important will, we presume, be expected to appear as an appendix to that volume. The price of this collection of papers, bulky as it is, is only four shillings. It will be seen, accordingly, that the Committee must lose considerably by the publication, unless a large number should be sold. The separate Papers and Tracts are all well written, and adapted to their purpose. Their only fault is, that they seem to be intended mainly for persons who are supposed to know a good d nearly everything formists on this q general tolerant lecture, in respect dence of the rest; it which does no mellow this tende breadth and the will purchase thes The Congregat Address, Explana be obtained grati for them; and also the Committee st their views as to t which they thinl about to be issu Memorial Hall.

wines in the United Kingdom is secured to me for a lengthened period, which will enable me to vend them on terms peculiarly favourable. Amongst these novel varieties may be particularized, the Santorin, a piquant red wine, which may be described as a stout Claret, with a dry, agreeable Port-wine flavour, and free from all acidity. Thera is a white kind, of a Sercial Madeira character. St. Elie is a superior light; dry wine, with Sauterne flavour and character, yet exempt from any acid tendency, and possessing more body than the French product at a much higher price. Calliste resembles the finest Bucellas, both in body and bouquet. Two other varieties likewise deserve especial mention,-the one, named Ambrosia, is a rich dessert wine, equal in flavour to Malmsey or Constantia ; the other, Lacryma Christi, is a dry yet luscious red kind, with an exquisite aroma akin to the peerless Tokay. These form the more prominent among the new Greek imports, the whole of which, however, I can commend with every satisfaction and confidence, (vide page 11). The

"Ce qui contribua surtout à m'acclimater dans la maison de Christodule, c'est un petit vin de Santorin, qu'il allait chercher je ne sais où. Je ne suis pas gourmet, et l'éducation de mon palais a été malheureusement un peu négligée: cependant, je crois pouvoir affirmer que ce vin-là serait apprécié à la table d'un roi; il est jaune comme l'or, transparent comme la topaze, éclatant comme le soleil, joyeux comme le sourire d'un enfant. Je crois le voir encore dans sa carafe au large ventre, au milieu de la toile cirée qui nous servait de nappe. Il éclairait la table, mon cher monsieur, et nous aurions pu souper sans autre lumière."- Le Roi des Montagnes, par M. About.