3-034-691 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

The Vintage of Médoc: cuvier or pressing-house at Chateau d'Estournel, 1871. The vine-growing district of Médoc, near Bordeaux in France. View of '...the place in which the grapes are pressed, in the cuves or vats provided for that use; this building is called the cuvier, and is an essential adjunct to the vineyard. The best bunches are carefully picked out, and the best grapes of each bunch, to yield an unpressed liquor. They are put into a large vat, called the cuve-mère, where they are laid to the depth of 15 in. or 20 in.; a gallon or two of cognac brandy is then poured over the first layer, and a second layer of choice grapes is put in, followed by another large dose of brandy, or some other spirit, to excite the vinous fermentation. The cuve-mère, when quite filled, is closed so as to exclude the air, and, covered with blankets or wrappers, is left to its own working about a month, after which the liquor is drawn off'. From "Illustrated London News", 1871.