'Practical Instructions to Wine Farmers' booklet, beautifully handwritten in 1896 by Otto Pfahl.
While researching and writing a book about Vergenoegd Löw (watch this space), I came across an utterly fascinating booklet of Practical Instructions to Wine Farmers, beautifully handwritten in 1896 by a certain Otto Pfahl while residing at "Leplesier Merly" (Plaisir de Merle).
Born in Germany in 1847, Pfahl described himself as a certified wine and fruit expert who had received three years of technical training in agriculture, horticulture, and viticulture. From 1874 until 1878, he had worked in vineyards and fruit, sugar and olive plantations in the United States "to learn all foreign I could". He was then appointed Wine Classer and Expert in German wines for the Australian Exhibitions of 1879 to 1884: "I visited in this capacity many vineyards on the continent of Australia," he wrote. "After the close of these Exhibitions I remained there as a private Fruit and Wine Expert for the farmers and done well at that."
Following the death of his father in 1892, Pfahl came to South Africa in search of his long-lost brother, in order to hand over his share of the estate. He found him working as a school teacher in the Orange Free State. He also discovered that "Africa likewise produces fine fruit" and duly offered his services to the Agriculture Department. "I am now noted down as an Expert for the Wine Industry of the Cape Colony, at the present without remuneration," he wrote. "PS. I am not married."
Despite describing himself as a plantation manager by profession, Pfahl evidently didn’t believe the old adage that "great wine is made in the vineyard". Instead, he insisted that "the fine qualities in wine can only be obtained by human skill".
"Clear decision has never been achieved yet what improvement or adulteration is to be termed," he mused, "Adds the wine-maker to a badly ripened crop of inferior vintages sugar, then is he an adulterator by one and an improver by another!"
Pfahl was firmly in the 'improvement' camp, viewing the addition of sugar just as acceptable as using "Gypsum for the separation of insoluble wine-sour-kali; Glycerine where the raw sugar will not answer; Marble against the overnormal quotation of natural acids; Potash as a neutraliser to the destruction of acetic germs; Tannin as a preservative in hot climates; Salicil to prevent fermentation; and Galetine [sic] and Salt with Spanish-Earth for rafining [sic] and colouring".
There's a lot to unpack throughout Pfahl's booklet, but here are some of the highlights.
To take away any "ill scent" in a wine, he advised: "Make a long roller of Wheaten Dough mixed well with Cloves, to pass through the bung hole of your cask comfortably. Bake it and when cool sow it up with a calico bag, hang it by a string in the cask; leave it hang there for three days then take it out, and it will have drawn all the ill scent from the wine into itself."
To improve the colour of red wine, Pfahl recommended making a syrup out of cudbear (the violet-hued dye derived from lichens) and cochineal (a brilliant crimson made from the dried, pulverised bodies of cactus-eating scale insects)."Take a half pound of Cudbearand a half pound of Cochineal," he instructed. "To every pound of this mixture put a gallon of boiling hot wine, a pint of brandy and two pounds of white sugar dissolved in the wine when it is boiling hot. Leave it to stand till cold then fine with Gum Arabic; when clear rack it off and you will get so a very fine, long-keeping syrup. A little of this will colour a large quantity of wines. The material is perfectly harmless and cheap."
To make "Champagne" sparkling wine, Pfahl wrote: "Take your Steen grapes before they are overripe, and bruise them without crushing the seeds, then to every gallon of bruised grapes, put one gallon of cold water, and let them stand a night and a day. Draw and press the liquor from the berries and pour it into a sulphured cask to every gallon of which add two pounds of white sugar dissolved first in an extra quantity of warm water to make a thick syrup when cold.
"Then add Plaster of Paris and a fining of Galetine [sic] and Spanish-Earth in proportion, stir it well together and let it work till the violent fermentation is over. Draw it from the cask, take out the Lees, and to every gallon add half a pound more sugar – undissolved this time! Afterwards stir it well up together with a little Salicilic Acid [sic] and give it another fining together with the same quantity of ground up Mustard. Then bung up till it is perfectly clear, when it will be fit for bottling; into every bottle put a heaped tablespoonful of powdered white sugar-candy. Use only Champagne-bottles, use long big corks, cork well with the machine; tie the corks down, cover them with tinfoyl-kapsuls [sic] and lay the bottles on their side in a cool place."
Any idea what the benefit of adding mustard powder might have been? I would really love to know…