They are much exported to England and America, and are often described as a species of Burgundy. They can, however, lay no better claim to this title than the wines of the Ma-connais or even of the Beaujolais.-Of all the wines of France, the products of the Champagne country are the most popular and widely distributed, although, in consequence of their costliness, they are perhaps not so generally consumed as the wines of Gironde. As early as A. D. 280 the district was noted for its red and white wines, but it was not until the close of the 17th century that the effervescent product known as mousseux, the typical champagne of the present day, was discovered. Since that time the productiveness of the district has enormously increased, and the processes of manufacture have reached a high degree of perfection. The old province of Champagne is now distributed among several departments and portions of departments, all wine-producing; but in only one of them, that of Marne, is the champagne of commerce made. The wines of the other departments have for the most part a local reputation, and are consumed in the immediate neighborhood. Marne is subdivided into five arrondissements, two of which, Rheims and Epernay, are the true seats of the champagne wine manufacture.

The vineyards of Rheims are situated around the slopes of a wooded mountain, called the hois et montagne de Rheims, and comprise the famous growths of Verzenay, Bouzy, Ay,Yerzy, Ambonay, Trepail, Mailly, and some others. Those of Jipernay lie south of the Marne and occupy an undulating plain extending to the forest of Vertus. Of this district the town of Eper-nay is the centre. Hence the champagne product of Marne may be divided into two classes, the vins de la montagne, or mountain wines, and the vins de la riviere, or river wines. The total vintage of Marne is about 80,000,000 bottles, somewhat more than one fourth part of which is champagne wine made in Rheims and Epernay. The champagne vintage begins in the latter part of September and extends into October. The grapes, after careful selection, are subjected to three or four pressings, of which only the first three are employed to make wine of good quality. The process must be performed with rapidity, or the must will become colored. The must obtained by the first three drawings is put into large vats, where during the next 12 or 18 hours it develops a froth on the top and deposits a mucous matter at the bottom. Having been freed from both of these impurities, it is drawn into barrels holding 44 gallons each, and there left to ferment.

The residue of the grapes left in the press after the first drawings is used for making a common red wine. About the beginning of December the wine, being then clear, is drawn from the lees, and the mixing of various growths, the first important operation in the production of champagne, commences. This process requires great skill and judgment, for upon its successful performance the flavor and body of the wine in great measure depend. Champagne is seldom the product of a single vineyard, but is a combination of a number of growths. In this respect it holds a peculiar position among French wines. The growths having been mixed in large vats in the proportions determined upon by the manufacturer, the combination is again drawn into barrels, where it is fined, after which it is allowed to rest until the spring. Up to this time the wines are rarely tampered with by the introduction of sugar or brandy; but in unfavorable seasons the former substance is sometimes necessary to enable them to undergo the operation of a second fermentation, without which it is impossible to make them sparkle (mousser). Next comes the operation of bottling, which commences in April and continues until June. The liquid is now of a uniform amber color, and, if of good quality, will be not unpalatable.

The bottles, which are the same as those from which the wine is drunk when finally prepared for drinking, are filled to within an inch or so of their mouths and then corked. The corks having been fastened down securely with string and wire, or by the more recent method with clasps, the bottles are conveyed into cellars or caves and laid carefully on their sides. The secondary fermentation ordinarily commences in June and continues during the summer, pending which, especially when the grapes begin to ripen, or in stormy weather, a loss estimated at from 10 to 15 per cent., and sometimes reaching 25 per cent., is sustained by the bursting of the bottles and the consequent escape of the liquor. When the fermentation is finished and the breakage has nearly ceased, the stacks of bottles are overhauled, and those bottles in good condition are restacked. After a lapse of 18 months, during which the wine is allowed to lie at rest, it is shaken at intervals for several weeks, until a thick deposit is found in the neck of each bottle, which is removed by the process of disgorging. The cork is discharged with a loud report, and the froth, which immediately rises and is partly projected, carries with it all the impurity collected in the neck.

Champagne prepared in this manner is quite dry, containing no sugar whatever perceptible to the taste. But a further operation is necessary in order to prepare it for exportation or commerce. This consists in adding to each bottle a certain percentage of melted rock candy mixed with brandy or some finely flavored wine. The amount introduced varies according to the country in which the wine is to be consumed, England using the minimum and Russia the maximum. The bottles are then recorked, and secured by strings and wire or clasps, and the air is excluded by covering the necks with tin foil or sealing wax. The wine is now between two and three years old and ready for use. Of the bottled wines produced in Champagne four varieties are known to commerce: 1, champagne non-mowseux, or still champagne, that is, wine which has been fully fermented, fined, bottled in the usual manner of mousseux wines, and allowed to rest a long time; 2, champagne cremant, which forms a slight cream of effervescent bubbles upon its surface when poured into a glass; 3, champagne mousseux, which upon being opened projects the cork with an audible report, and rises gently over the mouth of the bottle; and 4, champagne grand mousseux, which projects the cork with a loud report and immediately overflows from the bottle.

The prices of champagne vary at the place of manufacture from $4 the dozen bottles to $18 or $20, but $10 will give the consumer a sound wine of excellent quality. Of the 25,000,000 bottles or upward annually produced, one sixth part goes to the United states; England, Russia, and the East Indies consume each about the same quantity; and the remainder is distributed among other European countries. Most of the wine sent to the United States purports to come from Rheims, although in fact it is the product of vineyards scattered throughout the arrondissements of Rheims and Epernay; and its reputation rests upon the names of its manufacturers rather than upon the locality where it is produced. As a remedial agent, champagne, though a factitious product, is highly esteemed for its diuretic and strengthening properties. It comforts and rests the stomach, and is a recognized antidote to nausea.-To the wine districts above described it is necessary to add but a few others. The department of Dordogne, the ancient province of Perigord, which lies E. of the Bordelais, yield-s red and white wines, of which the former resemble St. Emilion, while the latter partake partly of the qualities of Frontignac and partly of those of Barsac. Bordeaux is the principal receptacle for the wines of this district.

The department of Vienne. formerly Haut-Poitou, produces about 12,000,000 gallons of mediocre quality. The departments of Lot and Lot-et-Garonne, lying S. of Dordogne, form an extensive wine-producing district, of which Cahors is the central point. The wines are white, rose-colored, and black, and much of the last named variety is sent to Bordeaux to strengthen and color light wines. The Cahors wines have little bouquet, but are strong in body, and the dark varieties will keep 50 years in the bottle. The department of Cha-rente, lying X. of Dordogne, and through which flows the river Charente, is largely devoted to the culture of the vine. The wines are used for distillation immediately after the fermentation is over, and from them is produced the best brandy made in France. The centre of this manufacture is the town of Cognac, whence the name frequently applied to French brandies.