WinesClub

Among the wine-producing countries of the world, the sunny and fertile land of France must undoubtedly be accorded the first place. Almost the whole region, from the Rhine to the Pyrenees, abounds in prolific vineyards, and wines of every description are produced under the most favorable conditions of climate, soil, and manufacture. The grand red wines of this favored country are universally acknowledged to be the finest in the world, and its white varieties, headed by Chateau Yquem and Montrachet, are hard, if at all, surpassed by even the renowned growths of Johannisberg, and Tokay, whilst in the matter of...

 Of late years many changes have taken place in the everyday life of the community, and although the Englishman's home is still his castle, and home is still sweet home, the flat, the hotel and the restaurant are silently working a revolution in the social habits of the upper and middle classes. Hospitality is becoming less and less dispensed upon the host's own mahogany, and more and more in public places, with the result that the greatest consumption of wine now takes place, not in private houses, but in restaurants and hotels. Accordingly, it is desirable to inquire how the...

We English, independent and practical though we are, are as a race led by the nose. If we are old-fashioned, we are prone to accept political and religious dogmas with little or no attempt being made to prove their truth and when we are ill or " run down," we place ourselves unreservedly under the doctor, ready to believe implicitly whatever he may choose to say, and to swallow unhesitatingly whatever medicinal compound he may think fit to prescribe. Nevertheless, the average medical man has often a failing, and that a somewhat serious one. He seldom knows much about wine,...

In the "good old days" when stage-coach traveling was regarded as a rapid means of transit, and hot-headed gentlemen settled their disputes at so many paces, the wine merchant's calling was a respected and dignified branch of commerce. Firms of good standing, whose members were frequently men of education and refinement, enjoyed the patronage of a distinguished clientele and only sound wine left their cellars for those of their customers. Their establishments, too, presented an aspect of substantiality and repose, which seemed to harmonise naturally with the stocks of rare vintages and venerable wines which were always to be found...

In every clime, and under every sun, from the very earliest periods of time of which we have any record, the wine has been considered as one of the choicest gifts of a beneficent Providence, and in the old days of Biblical antiquity it was always looked upon, in conjunction with corn and oil, as a symbol of national well-being and material prosperity. The legendary and mystical associations which cluster round its history have inspired the poet's song and the orator's panegyric from time immemorial, and writers, sacred and secular, classical and modern, have been unanimous in eulogizing its virtues and...