Kjære Kramer

Kùn et par ord i al hast! Anjovisen er 

ankommet! – vor chaùfeur fandt den tilsidst 

mærkelappen var ùlæselig (afslidt og svart), saa

det var ikke saa ùnderlig, at den havde vanske-

lig for at finde frem, – "laken" havde lækket

lidt ùd, – men den var ùdmærket. – Hùsk kontoen!

Jeg sender i dag en kasse med rabarbra, – jeg

vidste ikke rigtig hvorledes jeg skulde pakke den,

da stilkerne har saa let for at blive stygge,

hvis de faar stöd, og lùften faar virke paa dem,

de vil ogsaa let blive brùne i afsnittet, derfor

tog jeg paa de fleste stilker med den saakaldte

"bladskede" nederst, – de holder sig ogsaa bedre ùden

at törke, naar den er med, – desùden siger mange

at disse "bladskeder" skal give den bedste vin da

de indeholder et heldigt ferment, som paavirker

sùkkeret og omdanner det til frùgtsukker og drùe-

sùkker (ved lidt varme); derfor er det heldigt at

lade de opskaarne rabarbra staa èt dögn sammen

med de (malede) rosiner og det varme sukker-

vand; – allerbedst er det at lade bare rabar-

bra og varmt sùkkervand (ikke over 65 grader)

staa et dögn förend rosinerne eller vingjæren

tilsættes – (rigtig godt tildækket), – hvis dù da

pröver et stykke rabarbra, skal det smage som

en god frugtsort. ––– Jeg tog saa

gode stilker som mùligt og prövede alle om

de var "faste"; – naar det lider paa sommeren

pleier nemlig mange at faa «luftporer» paa langs

gjennem stilkene – og særlig iaar da her har været

megen "törk". – Jeg tog saa meget, at jeg troede

dù skùlde have til en tönde, – eller et lidt

större fad, – det lönner sig bedst og "gaar" længst

og bedst naar man har et större kar, – desùden

gaar der jo en dæl væk, naar stilken skal siles af,

og vinen skal omtappes paa ankere for at "klares".

Har dù en god recept paa lavningen? Der

findes jo hùndredvis af methoder, – lige fra

Engelskmændenes kogte vin, – til "selvgjærings-

methoden" – Jeg har jo prövet mig frem med

mange methoder, og den sikreste naar det gjælder

"styrke" er fölgende:

Rabarbraen opskjæres i skiver (ca. 1 cm. tykke), – 

en "skarpslepen" brödkniv eller "forskjærer kniv" er 

ùdmærket, – og saa "hùgger" man paa en "spækfjöl" –

(en "bordkniv" er for let til at "hùgge" med og at

"file" eller "sjære" gaar for sent).^{(skjær skindet af stilkens ùnderliggende side, saa gaar stykker bedre fra hinanden)} I medens

koger man op saa meget vand, som man har

gryde til og oplöser sùkkeret i det, – og naar

vandet er sùnket: temperatur til 65–70 grader

slaaes det i "gang-karret" (og afkjöles da gjerne

lidt ved at komme i det kolde kar), og naar 

temperaturen er akkurat 65 grader C. sættes stilken

til efterhvert, som man faar den hùgget op, og

karret maa staa godt tildækket, saa det holder

mest mùligt paa varmen (læg en par sækker ùnder

karret ogsaa). Til hver 10 kg. stilk – tages 3 kg. sùk-

ker og ca. 20 liter vand (vandet er det dog ikke saa

nöie med mængden af, da det minker ùnder gjærin-

gen og næsten dagligt maa paafyldes), man maa

dog ikke have for meget sùkker og forlidet vand

fra först af, – heller omvendt, – det er bedre at

tilsætte sùkker senere (sammen med vandet som

maa tilsættes ùnder gjæringen). Hvis man vil

bruge rosiner til at "gjære" vinen med, maa

man brùge nok saa meget deraf, da rosinerne

nù for tiden ofte er törrede kùnstigt, – og den

paa drùen voksende drùegjærsop er oftest da ödelagt,

(de smaa "knolder", som vokser paa drùeskallet er ùsynli-

ge, og man kan derfor ikke ùndersöke om rosinerne har 

dem) – "konfekt rosiner" er af en sort drùer, som

næsten ikke findes gjærsop paa (ùnge vinstokke), – de

dùer derfor ikke, – bedst var de gamle "kasserosiner"

de billigste, som var formelig "hvide" af gjærsop, –

bedst var det at faa god vingjær fra en vin-

handler, – men den maa være nettop aftappet. –

Imidlertid er det godt at have en del rosiner

i vinen fra begyndelsen af, da det stötter om-

dannelsen af sùkkeret – (fermen-teringen) og det

er godt for gjærsoppen at finde lidt færdig "drù-

sùkker fra först af; om medens sùkkeret er

ùnder omdannelse, – almindelig sùkker kan

III

gjærsoppen ikke behandle, förend det er omdannet

til "frugtsùkker" (ved rabarbra), eller til (drùesukker

(ved rabarbra og rosiner i forening) eller til (invert-

sukker (ved rabarbra syren) i forbindelse med den

lille del af drùesùkker som findes i rabarbraen)

Naar al stilken er opskaaren og kommen i "gang-

karret", maa dette tildækkes vel og helst staa slig

i et dögn förend "gjæren" haves i; – hvis man

ikke kan skaffe vin gjær ("champagne"-gjær eller

Saùterne-gjær), – saa faar man altsaa bruge

meget rosiner og helst male dem paa en kjöd-

kvern – (det gaar ogsaa ùden), – de gamle rosiner

var ofte "istykker" persede, og da var "maling" al-

deles ùnödvendig; – en a 2 kg. rosiner til hver

10 liter vand er det tryggeste, – men da kan

man ogsaa spare ca. ½ kg. sùkker pr. 1 kg. rosiner,

som brùges – (1 kg. rosiner ùdgjör altsaa ^for ½ kg. sùkker).

Naar temperatùren i "gangkarret efter et dögns

forlöb er sùnket ned til mellem 30–40 grader,

sættes gjæren i, – hvis man har havt rosiner i

fra först af, er kanske gjæringen alt begyndt,

men det tryggeste er dog at tilsætte rosiner

paa nyt eller vingjær (kan ogsaa faaes paa droge-

rierne); – viss man ikkje er sikker paa at vin-

gjæren er frisk, bör man helst bare brùge

rosiner, – men da i 3 portioner: – en portion rosiner

til at stötte "fermenteringen" det förste dögn –

og anden portion til at starte gjæringen og 

endelig 3de portion rosiner til at fornye gjærin-

gen, naar "södsmagen" efter en tids (14 dage) forlöb

begynder at svinde for alkoholen, (da kan ogsaa

lidt mere sùkker tilsættes, men altid lidet af

gangen, saa man ser om gjærsoppen klarer at om-

danne det), – gjærsoppen "svækkes" ùnder "alkoholens

indflydelse", og ny gjærssop er da heldigt at for-

nye den gamle med, især hvis man samtidig paa-

fylder varmt vand med sùkkervand. Paa denne

maade kan rabarbravin drives lige op i 19 ½ procent

alkoholstyrke. Lidt tilsætning (paa slutten) af

en eller anden (lys) saft for exempel citronsaft og

hvid ripssaft kan ogsaa "kvikke" den af alkoholen

svækkede gjærsopp. Er gjærringen vel begyndt og

det "sùser" godt i gangkarret, maa to ting stadig

IIII

iagtages: – karret maa stadig være fùldt og stadig være

godt tildækket for at hindre vinens værste fiende

fra at komme til – nemlig eddikgjærsoppen (denne

"slange" – den ligner fuldstændig en slange og bevæger sig ligedan ^{(ùnder mikroskopet)})

den er jo tilstede over alt i lùften, – (særlig i nærheden af

kjökkenet); – det gjælder derfor om at have

saa lidet luft rùm som mùligt over vinen, – en-

kelte smelter endog "fast parafin" eller andet "fedstof"

over vinen, – olivenolje skal være ùdmærket men

er for dyr – og hindrer lidt fra at faa "smage" paa

vinen ùnder gjæringen – (her er vi tilböilige til at

"smage" vinen "op", förend den er færdig).

Saa maa der röres i vinen daglig ^{(jo oftere jo bedre)} med en lang kjæpp

( – et "kosteskaft" kan godt brùges; naar det bare er nyt.)

Har man lidt sprit at fùgte kjæppen med hver

gang, den er brugt og törret, er det sikrest, – en

almindelig vaskning er ogsaa tilstrækkelig, hvis kjæppen

er af "haard ved" saa at "slangen" ikke trænger

ind i veden fra luften og siden smitter vinen. – 

Tyk sùkker oplösning kan man ogsaa "fernisere"

kjæppen med mod "eddike-soppen", men den

maa fornyes ofte denne "fernisering", – den behöver

ikke at "törre" helt mellem hver gang den brùges. –

Jeg omtaler dette saa omstændeligt, fordi mange

har ödelagt sin vin og faaet eddikke isteden, bare

for denne kjæppens skyld, – som man ikke har

tænkt paa at være forsigtig med; – forresten er det

ikke saa farligt for eddik gjæring, hvis bare

vinen gaar godt og længe saa alkoholprocenten

blir stor, – thi da trives ikke eddikgjærsoppen. –

"Gangkarret" kan ogsaa indeholde eddikegjærsopp paa

forhaand, og da er det verst; – bedst var det at

brùge et brændevinsfad – "Wiskypiper" eller endog

en sirupfoùstage (som den ene bùnd tages af ) –

karret maa staa paa den anden bùnd). –––

Jo större kar, jo længre holder varmen det förste dögn,

desto bedre "fermentering", – desto bedre gjæring og

desto höiere alkoholprocent og desto mindre fare

for eddrikk-gjæring, – derfor er det rent menings-

löst at lægge bare et anker – (det drikker vi her

op paa en dag, naar vi er sammen nogle venner).

Naar vinen efter 6–7 ùgers folöb er drevet til

det yderste ved fornyelser af varmt vand ^og sùkker

og (hùsk lidet av gangen med sùkker), og tilsætning

af lidt ny saft (jeg skal sende dig hvid ripssaft

paa et par flasker, naar saa langt kommer), – saa

er vinen kommen saa langt, at den maa om-

V

tappes eller "omstikkes" (som det heder i vinsproget)

Da siles al stilken fra, – og vinen tilsættes gelatin

(oplöst i varmt vand) og det hele fyldes paa

et eller flere fad eller ankere og ^(lægges) sættes i kjælderen.

Sæt en bomùldsdott i spùnset og se stadig efter at

ankeret er "fuldt"; (mùlig eftergjæring kan bevirke

at det minker og blir lufrùm, som maa ùndgaaes

ved at fylde vand paa), – (dette kan dog være uheldigt

og bevirke eddikgjæring, hvis vandet ikke er kogt) –

bedst er det at fylde lidt hele rosiner paa, saa

det vokser op, – saa man slippes at have for meget

vand paa, efter at vinen er næsten færdig – (her var

en mand som lavede en aldeles ypperlig ^{ren "Haut saùterne"} rabar-

bravin til et bryllup, og for at "dröie" vinen blan-

dede han lidt sùkker og meget vand i vinen (paa

tönden) og et par dage efter var hele vinen paa

vei til eddikke.) –––

Mange omtapper eller "omstikker" vinen flere gange, 

og har da stadig lidt varmt sukkervand og ny saft

paa vinen – for at "tvinge" den til at "gjære ùd"; – man

bruger endog frysning for at ny gjærssop skal {…} ^gjöre den

ydersste udgjæring, som giver vinen den "ægte smag". –

Den sidste omtapning paa flasker skal efter

sigende kræve en "klar" dag, – jeg ùndres om det ikke

er overtro. – I præstegaarden brugte vi ankere med

mange hùller i bùnden slig – illustrasjon ^{(det er tilstrækkelig at hùllene er nederst)} og saa havde

vi trætapper i hvert hùl: – naar man saa skulde

tappe vinen tog man först den överste tap (vin Nr. 1)

og saa den anden (vin N^o 2) og saa videre indtil

vinen blev ùklar. Ankerne maa ligge stött under tapning.

Den "masse" af rabarbrastilk, som blir igjen

i "gangkarret" (efter at vinen er afholdt – for 

klarning), kan paaslaaes vand og sùkkervand (ikke

over 40 graders varme), og kan da give en ganske

sterk og ikke rent daarlig vin, som særlig

damer liker, da den blir "mildere" i smagen – (ikke

saa snerpende); – den maa behandles vel saa om-

hyggelig, som den förste med af hensyn til eddikke gjær-

soppen og man maa aldrig lade södsmagen ^{(under gjæringen)} helt for-

svinde; thi da er der fare for eddikke gjæring straks, nye

rosiner eller g ny gjær maa da ogsaa tilsættes; – til

denne "eftervin" kan ogsaa bruges "presgjær", som er

ùdrört i lidt saft og malede rosiner og varmt vand

(35 grader), og som har staaet et par timer; – det

gjælder at faa hùrtig "gang" i den. – (meget pressgjær

eller rosiner). Denne vin kan blive færdig paa 14 dage.

Her har været henimod 20 bryllupper i bygden i som nù

og det er bleven en ren mode at have rabarbravin

og rabarbra saft i alle "lag", og jeg er gratis-

leverandör til hele bygden, – jeg fik ikke gjöre

andet i næsten en hel uge her – end at "plùkke

stilk", – men saa tog jeg det nù heller ikke

saa nöie, om en og anden stilk skulde være 

begyndt at faa "lùft ganger", – til dig derimod har

jeg gjort mig ùmage med at ùndgaa slige

"poröse" stilker, og skulde der af vanvare være

kommen en eller to med (de fortsætter nemlig denne

process efter at de er plukkede ogsaa), saa faar dù

undskylde, – dù pröver det ved at knipe sterkt i

stilken eller ved at "bryde" den over, (hvis den

lader sig bryde ^{helt af} er den god); havde dù sendt

mig din beskjed lidt tidligere, havde vi været

aldeles sikker for sligt; thi för St. Hans er ingen

stilke i regelen tabt sig. Forresten veed jeg ikke, om 

det er sikkert, at det har noget at betyde for vinen

(det kan tænkes, at luftgangene kan indeholde

eddikgjærsop); – vinen skal heller ikke blive saa 

vandklar af slige du overmodne stilke. Om vinen

skulde faa en rödlig "tone", skal dù ikke være saa

bedrövet fordet; thi den forvandles ùnder gjæringen ^{(eller lagringen)}

til en svagt "gùllig" farve, som passer til "Saùterne"

Helst bùrde jeg jo sendt dig bare "grön" stilk, men

jeg har overladt saa meget af den sort, at jeg

maatte tage en del rödlige med, – ved at brùge bare

grön stilk, kan man faa vinen næsten vandklar (dog

lidt gùllig); – bliver vinen i begyndelsen grönlig, – har

det heller ingen fare, – den farve forsvinder helt. 

–––

Saa vil jeg haabe, dù maa ha lykke med vinen – jeg 

skaffer dig jo et frygteligt arbeide med all opskjæ-

ringen, – siger dù vel, – men dù faar tage börnene og

hele hùset til hjælp, saa det gaar fort – en liden

hakkemaskin burde man ha til sligt arbeide.

Jeg tenkte engang at skaffe mig en "brödskive-

skjæremaskine" til det brùg; – i aar lægger jeg bare lidet vin,

fordi da sùkkeret er saa dyrt, – (vinen blir jo billig alli-

gevel i forhold til det, man skal kjöbe, – ja selv i for-

hold til bayer öl), – det kommer paa omtrent 48 öre

pr. flaske efter en sùkkerpris af 2 kr. pr. kg. . –––

Hvis dù ikke "vinner paa" al "skjæringen", kan dù godt 

koge ùd saften af en del av stilken og have den paa

gangkarret, ^NB efter at det er kommen i god gang ^NB. Dù kan

da oplöse lidt sùkker i den kogte ^{og afsilede} saft og gjerne slaa den

koghed i vinen, men da maa det ske med forsigtighed – ùnder

stadig omröring og i en "tynd straale" eller i koppe-vis, – man maa

ikke dræbe for mange af gjærsoppene – men varmen gjör

ellers godt ^{(dog ikke over 40 grader det hele)}. Ja ùndskyld mit rabl. Jeg skrev bare: "P. Kramer

Bergen" paa kassen. Dù faar höre efter den. Med de bedste hilsener

fra os alle her din hengivne N. Astrup

Dear Kramer

Just a few words in haste! The anchovy has

arrived! – our chauffeur found it at last 

the label was illegible (scraped off and black), so

it was not so strange, that it had dif-

ficulty in finding its way here, – the “brine” had leaked

out a little, – but it is excellent. – Remember the account!

I am sending a crate with rhubarb today, – I

didn’t know exactly how to package it,

the stalks easily become disfigured,

if they are banged, and the air deteriorates them

they will also easily become brown along the cuts, I therefore

covered most of the stalks with a so-called

“leaf sheathe” on the bottom, – they also keep better without

drying out, when it is included, – in addition many say

that these “leaf sheathes” result in the best wine as

they contain a beneficial enzyme, which affects

the sugar and transforms it into fructose and dex-

trose (with a little heat); that is why it is beneficial

to allow the cut rhubarb stand for 24 hours together

with the (ground) raisins and the sugar diluted

in warm water; – what is best of all is to allow just the rhub-

arb and warm sugar water (not above 65 degrees)

stand for 24 hours before the raisins or the wine yeast

is added – (very well covered), – if you then

try a piece of rhubarb, it should taste like

a good fruit. ––– I picked the

very best stalks and tested all of them to see

if they were “firm”; – as summer approaches

many often form “air pores” throughout the length

of the stalks – especially this year that has been

very “dry”. – I included enough, for what I thought

you would need for a barrel, – or a slightly

larger cask, – it is most effective and “ferments” longer

and best when one has a larger vessel, – in addition

some of it is lost, when the stalks are strained out,

and the wine poured over into a small barrel to “clear”. 

Do you have a good recipe for making it? There

are hundreds of methods, – from

the Englishmen’s cooked wine, – to the “self-fermenting

method” – I have experimented with

many methods, and the surest when it comes to

“strength” is as follows:

The rhubarb is cut into slices (approx. 1 cm. thick), – 

a “sharpened” bread knife or “carving knife” is 

fine, – and then you “chop” it on a “cutting board” –

(a “table knife” is too light to “chop” with and to

“file” or “cut” takes too long) ^{(cut the skin from the stalk’s underside, then the pieces will separate from each other more easily)}. In the meantime

cook up as much water, as you have room

for in your pot and dissolve the sugar in it, – and when

the water level has sunk: temperature reduced to 65–70 degrees

pour it into a “demijohn” (it usually cools a

little by coming into the cold container), and when 

the temperature is exactly 65 degrees C add the stalks

gradually as you chop them up, and

the demijohn must be well covered, so that it keeps

as warm as possible (place a few sacks underneath

the demijohn as well). For every 10 kg. of stalks – 3 kg. of sug-

ar is required and approx. 20 litres of water (the amount of water is not so

important, as it evaporates during the fermenta-

tion process and must be refilled almost daily), however one

must not have too much sugar and too little water

to begin with, – rather the opposite, – it is better to

add sugar later (together with the water that

must be refilled during the fermentation). If one wishes to

use raisins to “ferment” the wine with, one 

must use quite a lot, as the raisins

these days are dried artificially, – and the

active grape yeast is thus often destroyed,

(the small “knobs”, that grow on the grape skin are invisi-

ble, and it is therefore not possible to examine if the raisins have 

them) – “confection raisins” are of a grape sort, that

almost never contains yeast (young vines), – they

are therefore useless, – the best were the old “crate raisins”

the cheapest, that were virtually “white” with yeast, –

it is best to get good wine yeast from a wine

dealer, – but it must be just drained. –

On the other hand it is good to have some raisins

in the wine from the beginning, as it supports the con-

version of the sugar – (the ferment-ation) and it

is good for the yeast fungus to find a bit of complete “dex-

trose from the beginning; while the sugar is

being converted, – the yeast fungus cannot

III

work with ordinary sugar, until it is converted

into “fructose” (from the rhubarb), or into (dextrose

(from the rhubarb and raisins together) or into (inverted

sugar (from the rhubarb acid ) in combination with the

little bit of dextrose that is found in the rhubarb)

When all the stalks are cut up and put in the “demi-

john”, it must be well covered and preferably stand like

this for 24 hours before the “yeast” is added; – if you

cannot get hold of wine yeast (“champagne” yeast or

Sauterne yeast), – then you can use

a whole lot of raisins and preferably grind them in a meat

grinder – (it’s also possible without), – the old raisins

were often mashed "to a pulp", and then the “grinding” was com-

pletely unnecessary; – about 2 kg. raisins for every

10 litres of water is the safest, – but then you

can also save approx. ½ a kg. sugar for every 1 kg. of raisins,

used – (1 kg. raisins in other words ^for ½ kg. sugar).

When the temperature in the “demijohn after 24 hours

has sunk to between 30–40 degrees,

the yeast is added, – if you have added the raisins from

from the beginning, the fermentation may have already begun,

but the safest thing to do nevertheless is to add the raisins

again or wine yeast (may also be obtained at the drug-

stores); – if you are not certain whether the wine

yeast is fresh, you should only use

raisins, – but in that case in 3 portions: – one portion raisins

to support the “fermentation” during the first day –

and another portion to begin the fermentation and the

final 3rd portion of raisins to renew the ferment-

ation, when the “sweetness” after a while (14 days) time

begins to decrease to make the alcohol, (then a little more

sugar can also be added, but always a little at

a time, so that one can see whether the yeast manages to con-

vert it), – the yeast “is weakened” from the “alcohol’s

effect”, and then it is good to replace the 

old yeast with new, especially if at the same

time you refill warm water with sugar water. In this

way the rhubarb wine can be driven up to 19 ½ per cent

alcohol per volume. A little addition (at the end) of

some kind of (light) juice for example lemon juice and

white red currant juice can also “quicken” the alcohol

weakened yeast. If the fermentation is well on its way and

is “bubbling” briskly in the demijohn, two things must be constantly

IIII

watched: – the demijohn must always be full and always be

well covered in order to prevent the wine’s worst enemy

from forming – namely the vinegar yeast (this

“serpent” – it resembles precisely a serpent and moves like one ^{(under the microscope)} )

it is present everywhere in the atmosphere, – (especially in the proximity of

the kitchen); – it is a question therefore of having

so little air space as possible over the wine, – some 

even melt “paraffin wax” or some other “shortening”

over the wine, – olive oil is supposed to be excellent but

is too expensive – also it prevents one from

“testing” the wine during fermentation – (at this point we tend to

“taste” the wine until it is “no more”, before it is ready).

Then the wine must be stirred daily ^{(the more often the better)} with a long stick

( – a “broom handle” can do the trick; providing it is new.)

If one has a little spirit to moisten the stick with every

time it is used and dried, it is safest, – an

ordinary washing is also sufficient, if the stick

is made of “hard wood” so that “the serpent” does not

penetrate into the wood from the atmosphere and later contaminate the wine. – 

You can also “varnish” the stick with a

sugar solution against “vinegar yeast”, but this 

“varnishing” must be renewed often, – it does 

not have to “dry” totally in between each time it is used. –

I discuss this so thoroughly, because many

have destroyed their wine and made vinegar instead, just

because of this stick, – which one has not remembered to

be careful with; – incidentally the vinegar

yeast is not such a problem, provided the

wine ferments well and for a long time so that the alcohol percentage

is high, – because then the vinegar yeast will not thrive. –

The “demijohn” can also contain vinegar yeast fungi before-

hand, and that is the worst; – it is better then to

use a distilled spirits’ barrel – “Piper Whisky” or even 

a syrup keg (from which one of the bottoms is removed) –

the vessel must rest on the other bottom). –––

The bigger the container, the longer it retains the heat during the first 24 hours,

the better the “fermentation”, – the better the chemical action and

the higher the alcohol per cent and the less danger

of vinegar yeast fermentation, – it is therefore totally meaning-

less to only make one small barrel – (here we drink

up a small barrel in one day, when we come together with a few friends).

When the wine after 6–7 weeks’ time has fermented 

to its utmost with the renewal of warm water ^and sugar

and (remember a little at the time with the sugar), and the addition

of a little new juice (I will send you white currant juice

in a couple of bottles, when you reach that far), – then

the wine has reached the point, when it has to be re-

V

bottled or “racked” (as it’s called in wine-making terminology)

The stalks are then strained away, – and gelatine is added to the wine

(dissolved in warm water) and it is all poured into

one or more jugs or barrels and ^(put) placed in the cellar.

Place a cotton ball in the bunghole and make sure at all times that

the barrel is “full”; (possible later fermentation may cause

the volume to diminish and create an air pocket, which must be avoided

by adding water), – (this can be unfortunate though

and cause vinegar fermentation, if the water is not boiled) –

it is best to add some whole raisins, to 

make the level rise, – so one avoids adding too much

water, once the wine is almost ready – (there was

a chap here who made an excellent ^{virtual “Haut saùterne”} rhubarb

wine for a wedding, and in order to “increase the volume” of the wine he mix-

ed a little sugar and a lot of water in the wine (in

the barrel) and after a few days the whole batch of wine was 

turning into vinegar.) –––

Many rebottle or “rack” the wine several times, 

and continually add a little warm sugar water and new juice

to the wine – in order to “force” it to “finish fermenting”; – one

can even freeze it so that new yeast {…} ^facilitates the

final fermentation, which gives the wine its “real taste”. –

The last racking into bottles should allegedly

occur on a “clear” day, – I wonder if this isn’t

superstition. – In the vicarage we used small barrels with

many holes in the bottom like this – illustration ^{(it suffices that the holes are underneath)} and then we

had wooden plugs in each hole: – when you wanted 

to pour the wine you began by taking out the uppermost plug (wine Nr. 1)

and then the second (wine N^o 2) and so on until

the wine became unclear. The small barrels must stand firmly while pouring.

The “mass” of rhubarb stalks, which remain 

in the “demijohn” (after the wine is racked – to make it 

clear), can be covered with water and sugar water (not

more than 40 degrees heat), and can produce a pretty

strong and not so bad wine, which ladies 

especially like, as it is “milder” in taste – (not

so astringent); – it must be treated just as care-

fully, as the first lot because of the vinegar yeast

fungus and one must never allow the sweetness ^{(during the fermenting process)} to totally dis-

appear; because then there is an immediate danger of vinegar fermentation, new

raisins or y new yeast must then be added; – for

this “secondary wine” “baking yeast” can also be used, which is

dissolved in a little juice and ground raisins and warm water

(35 degrees), and has stood for a couple of hours; – it

is important to get it “started” quickly. – (a lot of baking yeast

or raisins). This wine may be ready in 14 days.

There have been close to 20 weddings here in the village this sum lately

and it has been quite a fad to have rhubarb wine

and rhubarb juice at every “party”, and I am a gratis

supplier for the entire village, – I hardly managed to do

anything for nearly a week – other than “gathering

stalks”, – but then again I did not

bother so much, if one or another of the stalks had 

begun to develop “air pores”, – for you however I

have taken great trouble to avoid such

“porous” stalks, and if by mistake 

one or two have been included (they continue this

process after they have been picked), then you must

forgive me, – you can test it by pinching the 

stalk hard or by “breaking” it in two, (if it

breaks ^{cleanly in two} it is good); had you sent

me your message a little sooner, we would have been

absolutely certain of this; because normally before Midsummer Eve none

of the stalks have declined. Incidentally I am not sure, whether 

it is certain, that this has any significance for the wine

(it is conceivable, that the air pores may contain

vinegar yeast); – the wine may not be so 

clear from such du overripe stalks. If the wine

should have a reddish “tint”, you must not be

upset about it; because it is transformed during the fermentation process ^{(or storage)}

to a light “yellowish” colour, which resembles “Sauterne”

I should have rather sent you only “green” stalks, but

I have given so much of that type away, that I

was obliged to include red ones, – by using only

green stalks, one can make wine that is almost clear as water (albeit

a little yellowish); – if the wine is greenish to begin with, – it

is not a problem either, – that colour disappears completely. 

–––

And then I hope, that you will have luck with the wine – I 

am giving you a dreadful job with all that cut-

ting, – you are probably thinking, – but you must have the children and

the entire household help you, and it will go quickly – one should

have a chopping machine for such work.

I once thought about obtaining a “bread slicing

machine” for that purpose; – this year I am only making a little wine,

because sugar is so expensive, – (the wine will be cheap any-

way compared to what, one must buy, – well even com-

pared to Bavarian beer), – it comes to about 48 öre

per bottle with a sugar price of 2 kr. per kg. . –––

If you do not “gain enough” from all the “cutting”, you can easily 

boil the juice out of the stalks and put it in 

the demijohn, ^NB after it has begun to ferment ^NB. You can

then dissolve a little sugar in the boiled ^{and strained} juice and even pour it

boiling hot into the wine, but it must be done with care – under

constant stirring and in a “thin trickle” or by the cup, – one must

not kill too many of the yeast fungi – but the heat is

otherwise helpful ^{(although not over 40 degrees throughout)}. Well forgive my gibberish. I only wrote: “P. Kramer

Bergen” on the crate. You must check if it has arrived. With best wishes

from all of us here your devoted N. Astrup