Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1860-01-12
Aailg Nitaiaiau.
French Wines.


The town Of Cetts on the Mediterranean, is cell
ebrated for the manufacture Of spurious wines,
and so publicly, and we may add, so shamelessly
is the manufacture carried on, thnt over some
doors may bo road the inscrption-ici on tdbrfque
dcs Gins j! Whether q purchaser requires fine old
crustsd port, burgundy. golden sherry. or even
Tokay, or Champagne, he has only to leave his
order with some extensive firm at Cette, and it
will bc forwarded to him. For extent and inge-
uuty in tho adulteration Of wines, Cotte 10 sbso-
lutsly unrlvalled, and according to the Bordeaux
correspondent of the New York Herald much Of
the wine sent to the United States, is made from
tho commonestand coarssst Spanish products,
aud duly colored. and drugged las We suppose)
at Cette. English buyers arc more wary, and
when possible. they obtain the genuine article
from the districts whore the grapes arc grown
There are in France, according to an official
report, five millions of acres devoted to vineyards,
producing three hundred and fifty millions Of gal
Ions Of wine, According to the Hcraids cores
pondent =
Tho Americans might buy, import, and OK
change for cotton. tobacco, breadstufs, from ten
to twenty million gallons year, and consult their
more nationally, than to consume the oceans Of
swlll they do under the various names Of Lager
"Old Bourbon, "FrenJA Brandy" &c. | do not
wish to condemn in wholesale terms any class Of
dealers but appeal to your rcadcrs--thos al
ways excepted who are engaged Wholesale or re-
tail IN swindng or poisoning the Amefltansif
some Vt my choice figures ui speech are not di
rec,1y applicable to vast quantity Ut yillninous
potations sold and swallowed in tn. United States
under lhe namc ( various wines md liquors2--
lhls do know, TINT IN clnret, sautcrne, hook
burgundy, champagne. port and shorty, some Of
the ir. class wine dealers and many wine drink
rrs OF London have articles that nre infinitely su
peror to those usually in Americn This results
from Variety o' causes. In the first place John
Duii takes mighty good care of his stomach. md
the dealer necessarily hns to consult this peculiar
iIosyncrasy Of hl- customer. Tho producer and
consumer live nearer together; many wine mer
chants Of London make regular visits to the wine
countries the wine trade with England has been
established II much longer time, while great
many consumers will have the very best articles
produced, without regard to price America un-
til lately has been new country, and till com.
paratiyeY recent perod. there were few persons
in America who knew much OF the qualities or
would pay fair price for good wines II other
things were cqual--were there the snme watch
iulncss. good judgement. and ability to pay fair
compensation. the chances If deception and adul-
too being higher. thccxpcnsc is necessarily more.
As Tor my single self, must say that, with ten
or twelve years Of adult existence spent in Amer
len, never drank n glass of good port wine un-
I'll | crossed the and went to London.
We hope that the information winch continual
ly reaches us. of wines being adulterated in Eu-
rope for tho American Market will stimulate our
own vine-srowers to emulate the spirit, skill, and
enterprise Of Mr.. Longworth of Cincinnati, and
to produce genuine article for homo consunp-
tion. Not only the Catawbn champagne is made
from our vineyards. but excellent Hook and other
Rhenish beverages while the Scuppernon9 grape
Of the Carolinas, and Georgia prod uces very su-
perior and agreeable favored drink. With pro.
per attention and careful cultivation, il is evil
dent to men of observation that at no very dis
tant day the United States will become one Of
the best wine producing countries in tho world
Both soil and climate nre favorable to tho growth
of grapep.