64

DOMESTIC MANNERS OF THE PEUSSIANS.

§ 2.

Tue Rhenish "Vin Ordinaire" — Cooking — Dinners —and mannees at table.

Of the first-class German wines tliere is no occasion tospeak here, the subject having been exhausted by CyrusRedding and others.

Of the ordinary " Tiseli-weinP or table-wine, however—tho German vin ordinaire, and the national equivalent of ourporter — we feel bound to add a few words of honest abuse.

The Rhenish wines (unless of the very first class) are nogreat favourites of ours ; for though we have certainly drunkat the vineyards of Rüdesheim, and Johannisberg, and Stein-berg, and Hochheim, some marvellously fine "tipple"—riehwith all the perfume of the choieest grapes, and glowing andexhilarating as the very sunbeams that ripened the fruit—wenever yet tasted a glass of the second-class " Rhein-wein "that was worthy of being ranked above our white-winevinegar.* Indeed we are satisfied that if your " Zekingers " and" fiesporters," " Stiegers," Niersteiners, &c., were only sent totable in cruets instead of wine-bottles, English people wouldno more think of indulging in them than they would dream ofdrinking off the Contents of a pickle-jar. For if we be desirousof testing chemically whether the liquid in the bottles at aGerman table dl tote belong really to the vinous or acetousclass, we have merely to provide ourselves with a small packet

* The price of ordinary " Tiach-wein " is about 5 gros (6d.) the bottle. Itmay certainly be had as low as 4 gros, on the one band, but at that price it is sad,dysenteric stuff; and on the other band, as high as 10 or 12 gros the bottle —though the latter can hardly be classed as '' vin ordinaire" The red wine, as arule, is rather dearer than the white. Tisch-viine, if bought by the "fass"(barrel) of 180 bottles, eosts from 5 to 0 thalers (15*. to 18*. English). Apfel-wein (eider) may be had from 2 to 2J gros (2\d. to 3d.) the bottle.