Inside the book

The booklet opens straightaway with Glady launching directly into his argument. Drawing upon his recent purchases of wine in the Agenais and Quercy, he denounces what he calls the "capital vice" of proprietors who remain "slaves to custom and routine," convinced that nothing can surpass the practices of their forebears. Routine, he concludes, is simply "the negation of all progress." From this manifesto the pamphlet turns to practice. The opening section is a concise but remarkably concrete cellar manual, advocating fully ripened grapes, scrupulously clean vats and wine vessels, carefully limited quantities of grapes in each fermenting vat, timely drawing-off after eight to ten days in warm weather (and never beyond fifteen in cold conditions), regular racking twice a year, constant topping-up of barrels, and disciplined sulphuring with a sulphur match. Glady even cites the celebrated Comte Odart of La Dorée, recommending that fermenting vats be covered with vine leaves to protect the chapeau during fermentation. The second half shifts from cellar practice to the vineyard itself, arguing that the quality of a wine begins with the choice of grape. Rather than merely listing varieties, Glady maps them to the regions where they achieve their greatest expression: Pinot for Burgundy; Cabernet Sauvignon as the dominant vine of Château Lafite and Château Margaux; Merlot and Malbec in the palus; Sémillon, Muscadelle, Sauvignon, and Fie Jaune for the great sweet wines of Sauternes, Yquem, and Barsac; Petite Sirah for Hermitage; and, across the south-west, Cot, Piquepoul de Thézac, Péricard, and the traditional grapes of Cahors and Quercy. Aramon is dismissed outright, while Glady also claims to have introduced the Persian variety Saperavi around 1855, an assertion that remains unverified.