Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1859-10-05
.Ihe SfaQoato.
from the North. Carolina Planter
rJNE.cJuTURE IN THE SOUTH.

grape, and the manufacture of wine The grape al
most universally cultivated is the North-Carollna
grape-the Catawba (ritis Ladrusca.) There are
now in Georgia two hundred acres in the Catawba,
in small vineyards of from one to twenty-five acres
each, situated in different localities. MIR. Charles
Axt of Taliaferro county, has twenty acres IN the
Catawba and has now in his wine cellar four vlnt-
ages-ftty-six, tifty.seven, y-eight and the pres
ent yea crop just from the press and has exhibited
at various times at Fairs and elsewhere the best quail
'i.y of wine yet manufactured south of the Ohio,
where the famous Longworths vineyards are To-
Gated.
Mr.. Axis wine is of the Hook class of Wines &C
cording to European nomenclature, but oil course
differs from any foreign wine. tits "still Caawba
red wine fermented IN the cask in the cellar, maze
for the express purpose several feet under ground
where the temperature remains nearly the same all
the year round lie finds ready sale for his vintage
Of fitty-sx at fifteen dollars per box of one dozen
bottles each. The "ttty-sir is now thoroughly
maturcd, and is an excellent wine, thought by com
potent judges to be better than any of the Ohio
wines vet made His fifty-seven wine is now selling
at Augusta and other places per box for twelve dol
lars and thus lower to the present years vintage,
which, without age, after it is regularly termented,
and gear DID, he sells at six to eight dollars per
boX
Mr.. Redmond Editor of the Southern Culticator,
has collected all the American varieties of grapes,
tabout one hundredD and has them now on test at
Vlneland, near Augusta, Ga.
In Alabama, Washington county, MIR. Donnel-
son. formerly of Fayetteville, in this State, has sew
eral in the Skoupernong, (citis rotundvotia
and makes yearly five or six hundred gallons OF wine
of the Sauterne class, white wine similar to
white claret of the Mcdoc country in the South OF
France on the Gironde 1t is fermented in thick
log house, made for the purpose above the ground,
tbort tbo odd IF all
Skoupernongs are allowed to hang on the vine until
perfectly maturcd, and then gathered by shaking
the canopy caught sheets, and all done by small
white boys hired in the immediate neighborhood;
the grapes mashed in large troughs, with pestle,
so as not to break the seed pummace put into COM
mon bagging sacks and pressed out with the lever
beam, like the old way Of making cider. 1t would
doubtless be of much better quality if the must was
fermented in regular wine cellar below ground.
Mr.. Donnelson's Sautern Skoupernong wine sells
readily in Mobile and New Orleans at ten to twelve
dollars per dozen.
Mr.. Hunter, Also in the same neighborhood, makes
annually two or three hundred gallons of Skoupcr-
nong wine similarly fermentcd in small cellar un-
der his dwelling house. He also makes wine from
the Huber grape and has vineyard of two acres Of
the Catawba.
At Selma, Alabama, several casks of wine are also
manufactured by the Messrs. kenan,-a pleasant
sweet wine of the Skoupernong must, but with sugar.
about hafpound added to the gallon of must.
At Mobile and Chronicle and vicinity, several re-
Gently planted vineyards of the Catawba are do
ing finely; and about Montgomery and Northern
Alabama also, there are few acres in the Catawba
doing well.
In South-Carolina in the vicinage of Akin, there
are more than one hundred acres in the grape The
principal and oldest vignerons are Messrs. Macdon
aid and Caradeuc the former is the Oldest vtncr in
the South. Their wines are fern, nted in attic or
loft, and are good wines for that mode of fermenta
tion (Which is certainly Objectionable, the tempera
ture being too high and fermentation too 5risk) At
Aiken there are also many others engaged in the
vine culture and regular club or vinegrowing as
ISOLATION established This club meets once month,
and subjects germain to the grape culture, and col
latteray to all fruits, are discussed. Mr. Macdon-
ald above mentioned, is the presiding officer The
Beech-lsand club also meets monthly and all agri-
cultural products including the grape culture and
wine manufacture, are duly discussed. There
several vineyards two three years old in
full growing condition, established in Barnwel and
Edgefeld districts. Messrs. Macdonald and Cara
deuc cultivate the Catawba, Warren, Pauline and
Skoupernong grapes, and manufacture wine from
each and receive orders for their Warren grape wine
faster than it be made. 1t is taken by certain
houses in Charleston bottled and sold by them
Some of it has been sent North and sent abroad by
the Charleston wine merchants, and greatly admired;
though it would be far better if kept in cellar until
it is thoroughly matured.
Gov. Hammond, of Redcff, S. c., has for the past
five years given much attention to grape cultivation
at the South and imported two years ago five hun
dred foreign varieties of the vino procured from NJ.
Guestier Of the Girondc and now has at the Rcdclf
vineyards at least four hundred and fifty alive and
growing. Gov II. has also eight or ten acres in
Catawba and Warren, and has made several hundred
gallons OF wine this season. which remains to he
tested to ascertain its qualities. He has already
made some Warren hook, now two or three years
old, OF good quality. He is doing as much as any
other man in the State to encourage the business.
In North Carolina while it is the h-place of a.
most all the American vines of high excellence grape
culture has been retrOgradng the head of the class
stands the Catawba, introduced to the wine nro.
ducers notice by Col Murray, some fifty years ago
and found by him on the head waters of the Cataw.
oa river, IN Buncombe county, (now Mcdowell coun-
y) a grape that has been admitted by Longworth
and Axt to he worth, for wine making, far more
than all others yet introduced This grape has
heretofore been shamefuIly neglected in its native
State There are now, however in Cumberland
county, several "public spirited" citizens who in
tend to live no longer without Catawba wine of their
own making, and have thirty acres now in the Ca
taw6a in the vicinity of Fayetteville Certain plant
ers Of Mecklenburg, also, are putting in Catawba
vineyard of several acres this fall It has been cul.
tlVated by various persons to small extent for
several years throughout North Carolina but no ex
tensve vineyard of the Catawba grape until the last
few years. has ever been grown in this State. DR..
Aron, OF Attowah, Stanly county, N. c., has cult
waited the Catawba, and made most excellent wine
for several years from it but not enough for expor
tatlon. DIR. Kron received the past winter from NJ
Hardy, one hundred and twenty choice varieties O
grape, carefully selected from the renowned Luxcm
bourg Gardens near Paris. He has at his Attowal
vineyard one hundred and sixteen varieties of then
growing fiourishngly, and from being well ATTENDED
10, many OF them will fruit next year. They wer,
selected from the most approved wine grapes with
view to acclimatizaton at the South. Dr. K. will
test them and publish and distribute the cutting
ior general cultivation at the South, at the earies
Gay; There are among them also, some of the bes
table grapes of different parts of Europe. Most a
them are the identical varieties that produce the IA
nous Tokays, Johannisburgs, Burgundies, Cham
Pasnes, Clarets, Sherries and Madeiras. with tn
Lachryma Christie wine grapes of Mount Vesuvius
=, IheSkoupernongg rapehas been cultivated for NOR
.nan century, and wine made from it, but in almos