There are many grape-growers' in the United States who are now able to make a few gallons, or a barrel or two of domestic wine, and who are interested in knowing how to make it, so that it shall be good wine - not vinegar, nor a beverage no better than fair bottled cider.

In the first place, I will state the process of wine making in Southern Ohio, in and about Cincinnati, where over 2,000 cases are cultivated in vineyards.

The varieties of grapes grown are the Catawba and Isabella principally, the former being nine-tenths of the growth of the vineyards. The Herbemont, Delaware, Concord, Cape, Norton's Va. Seedling, and some few other varieties, are cultivated to a small extent; and it is probable that, in the course of a few years, some new varieties will almost entirely supersede the Catawba, the present staple variety, owing to the liability of that grape to mildew.

The average produce per acre of vineyards in Ohio is about 400 gallons of wine, which is worth at the press about one dollar per gallon, affording a net profit of about $150 per acre. Germans are the principal grape-growers, who dispose of their wine, as soon as the must (grape juice) is pressed out, to the wine makers, who are not generally grape growers.

The process of expressing the must is as follows:

The grapes are left upon the vines till fully ripe, when they are carefully picked, and all imperfect fruit thrown aside, to make either vinegar or an inferior quality of wine. The grapes are then placed in the mill for mashing, the mash being immediately put into the press, unless it be required to make a darker colored wine, when the mash is allowed to remain impressed a few hours, which effects that object, the crimson juice of the inner coat of the skins of the grapes becoming more thoroughly mixed with the must than would be the case if it were immediately put to press.

As soon as the must is expressed, it is put into clean casks and taken to the wine manufacturer, and sold at the market value.

By adding water to the mash that has been pressed, either good vinegar or a second quality of wine may be made. The same use is also made of unripe and imperfect fruit.

Neither sugar nor spirits, as a general rule, is used in making wine in Ohio; but the quality of the wines made there is not such as we desire to see manufactured in this country, and do not equal in flavor the most of imported wines.

The wine manufacturer, in many cases, purchases must from a score or two of vineyards; and in order to make his wine all of one quality, it is emptied into a large vat or cistern, from which it is drawn into casks, which are first fumigated with sulphur, by burning a rag dipped into melted brimstone in the bung-hole, and confining the fumes in the casks for a few hours to remove all impurities.

The process of fermentation now proceeds through a siphon, one end going through the bunghole and the other being placed in a pail or pan of water, about four inches below the surface. The gas arising in the casks goes through the siphon, escaping through the water, while no air can return into the casks through the same channel.

This fermentation lasts about fifteen days, when the casks are bunged up rather loosely for a week or two, and then they are filled full of wine, some being reserved for that purpose, and bunged up tight.

In the following March, or early in April, the second fermentation takes place. This fermentation commences with the warmth of the season, and in a higher latitude does not begin till May or June. The wine should be racked off before it commences to ferment, put into new, clean casks, or returned to the old ones, after cleaning them; and then the fining or clearing process is to be put in action, consisting of the whites of about a dozen of eggs to a barrel, well beaten, and then mixed with a half gallon of wine, and then the whole put into the cask, and mixed through the bung-hole with its contents. This mixture settles very slowly, and carries down with it all impurities in the wine.

In the following fall the wine is again racked and bottled, or left in casks, when it is ready for sale, though it improves with age.

To make a few gallons, or a barrel of wine, for "home consumption," as many families are now able to do, the grapes are to be picked and assorted, as before stated; and in the absence of a wine-milt and press, they may be put into a clean cask or tub, and mashed with a clothes pounder. Indeed, no better instrument is required. About three pecks of grapes may be mashed at a time; and the entire quantity for a barrel of wine can be mashed in a few hours, and the must expressed in about the same time. From six to ten bushels of grapes, according to the variety, will make a barrel of wine. The mash may remain in an open cask till all is ready to be pressed; and some wine makers think that it makes better wine by leaving the must in the cask or tub till it begins to ferment; but I doubt that allegation. The wine, as I have already stated, will be of a darker color, and more than that for its advantage, I think, is not the result.

The next and more difficult process in wine making, when no press exists, is to press the must. I know of no better way than to have the must in some outbuilding, where the rough studding of the side of the room is uncovered. Set a clean wash tub against a stud, with a stout board across it to sustain the must, after being put into a stout bag, made of strainer cloth, about two gallons at a time.

A lever is now to be brought to bear upon the bag, about eight inches wide at the place of contact, made of a piece of plank, eight or ten feet long. A small piece of plank is to be strongly nailed to the stud, a little higher than the board upon the tub, as a "purchase" for the lever.

Now, if these "fixins" are properly arranged, there is no difficulty whatever in expressing a barrel of must in two or three hours, and with very little waste.

This question here arises with the beginner in wine making, "Shall I use any sugar, and if any, how much?"

It will be folly to attempt to make a good wine - an article that will stand the heat of summer - without sugar, unless the Catawba or Clinton grape be used, and then it is quite doubtful whether any person can make a wine that will not sour, except the extensive wine makers of Ohio and elsewhere.

It is not supposed that these two varieties of grapes will make better wine without sugar than several other kinds will with the use of it; but they are better adapted for wine, without sugar, than any other kinds with which I am acquainted, and which are being cultivated for that purpose. But I contend that a much better wine can be made of varieties of grapes that require sugar, than was ever made from the Catawba and Clinton grapes without it. It is a mistaken idea, in my opinion, which some people have, that wine, to be "pure" must contain nothing but the pure juice of the grape. What is there in sugar that is not in the pure juice of that fruit? I recommend, therefore, the addition of from two to three pounds of the best white, granulated, or coffee sugar, to every gallon of must. No water should be used, as it will require all your skill to make a wine that will not deteriorate in quality during the following summer season; and the addition of water will render your task more difficult.

Again, the question arises with the inexperienced wine maker, " Shall I not put a little brandy or other spirits into my wine, in order to make it sure to keep well in summer?"

Here is matter for a wide difference of opinion. One will tell you that you will spoil your wine, if you use spirits of any kind, while another will say it is impossible to make wine that will stand our climate, season after season, without the addition of spirits of some kind. A great deal of domestic wine, made in States east of Ohio, is lost every season through some fault They who use no sugar are sure to fail, and many who do use sugar make only a fair vinegar, after it has stood one season, and they give up wine making in disgust If one desires to use spirits of any kind, an article called "pure spirits," without flavor, is probably as good as any that can be used. Put in from three to six gallons per barrel of must, according to the strength you desire. This will arrest fermentation in some degree, but the wine will be pretty sure not to sour in summer, if you use the usual quantity of sugar; and if all the processes are carefully attended to, you will have what most people will call an excellent wine, with something of a "snap" to it, which is much better than drinking a cross between weak vinegar and old cider.

The must, with the addition of the sugar, and the spirits, if any, is to be put into a cask, filled nearly full, set in a cool, airy cellar, and allowed to ferment. A siphon is not absolutely necessary; but if one can be obtained, made of glass or tin, it is better to use it. If not used, put in the bung, then bore a gimlet hole at the side of it, into which put a spile, so loosely that the gas can escape around it. At the proper time drive in the spile, and leave the wine to be racked off as before stated.

When less than a barrel of wine is made, kegs or half barrels should be used, and all the processes carried on as with larger casks.

[Mr. Minor has described very well indeed the method of making wine usually pursued around Cincinnati. We are sorry not to agree with Mr. Minor in his opinion of a pure wine. The very few good wines that are made receive no addition of sugar or spirits; and a grape that will not make such wine is not a wine grape, and should not be used for the purpose. The sooner this is comprehended the sooner we shall have good wines. That such wines will keep as well as the corresponding class of European wines, we know perfectly well. The reasons for all this we shall endeavor to make plain in our grape articles. We will add here, that the quantity of sugar recommended by Mr. Minor is sufficient to make any fermented juice keep without the further addition of spirits; but it will be understood that we discountenance the use of either. - Ed].