The weekly North-Carolina standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 186?-1869, 1866-08-08
california Wines.

y ( 4 Is =
ifornia wines, May goth, 1866, from
Francisco:
Considerable attention is given in
California to the cultivation of grapes
and the manufacture of wine. Grape
raising is the oldest form of agriculture
in the State, and one to which the soil
seems admirably adapted. In many To-
calities where wheat, oats or other crops
would perish without irrigation the
grape will thrive and grow, and come
to perfection, although it may not be
watered by single shower during the
entire summer. 1t is thought in many
parts of the East, where attention is
paid to this matter, that the soil must
be well irrigated, but most of the varie-
ties produced here hardly seem to re-
quire it. The oldest vineyards in the
State are at San Jose, and were estab-
lished by the Catholic missionaries from
Spain soon after the church had PLAN
ted its colonies here. l cannot ascer-
tain the exact date of the introduction
of the grape, as no record has been kept,
but have heard it placed all the way
from 1850 to 1900. 1have been shown
a vineyard forty years old, in which the
vines had no appearance of old age, bnt
bore themselyer and their fruit as if
just entering thier teens. The mission
aries brought grape from Spain and
introduced it at their missions"
whence this particular .riety is known
as the Mission grape! Besides this,
nearly all the favorite European varie-
| ties have been introduced, and flourish
in as great perfection as the Mission.
From being first on the ground the Mis-
sion grape is most widely cultivated,
and either from its long acclimation or
from some inherent good qulities has
been found of most advantage, and
hence but little wine is made from
any other variety.
The vineyards are planted from the
cuttings" of the vines, which are Civ
en- away by the owners as of no apprecia-
BILE value. These cuttings are set out
in rows, about eight feet apart, at any
time between January and March.
Ploughs and cultivators" are run he
tween the rows from time to time to
keep the earth loose and to suppress
the weeds and give the vines every
chance to grow. A vineyard will be-
gin to bear about three years from the
time of planting it, but it cannot be re-
lied upon for auy return of Importance
until it is five years old. At that time
it will bear fair crop and for several
years will increase the yield every sea-
son over the preceding one. / am told
that good, thrifty vineyard will make
| three hundred and fifty gallons of wine
to the acre, while in the wine growing
countries of Europe two hundred gal
Ions to the acre is large average.
Men engaged in this grape culture
tell me that the vines are never affected
in California by the rot, mildew, and 9th.
er matters that play such havoc with
vines in France, Italy and the other
wine regions east of the Atlantic. 1t is
seldom that the frost Injuries them, and
as they generally find sufficient mois-
ture in the soil for all their wants they
can naturally be expected to show them
selves in good condition. They fulfill
this expectation, and the grapes pro-
duced are very large and finely deyel-
oped. Some grapes from meadow land
of a moist nature grow to a wonderful
size, but are so full of watery substance
as to be worthless. Some of the grape
lands in the southern part of the State
are irrigated in certain seasons, and con.
sequently the grapes are not SO full OF
saccharine matter as those from other
localities. AT first the natural mistake
was made of planting the grapes on the
meadow or bottom lands, and though
they tiourished finely an experiment
with the hillsides, useless for anything
else, showed that the grapes would dc
as well there as on the richer soil. AT
present the steep sides of the hills art
not occupied, but it is safe to assert
that i'll time the hills will be terraced
and converted in vineyards. A point
that is now sought is to get field that
slopes towards the northeast to catcf
the first rays of the sun in the morning
With such an exposure the best vines
are grown on rocky or gravelly soil.
The grapes are thoroughly ripe il
October and November, and the process
of gathering them and expressing thei
juice is like the same process in all 9th
er wine countries. After the first fer
mentation the wine is racked off int,
pipes, and left for second fermentation
which takes place during the spring, al
ter which the wine is agaiu racked of
The most of wine growers consider tn
wine fit for sale and shipment when j
is a year old, but some of them keep
longer time. The sweet variet
known as the Angelica is made by stof
ping the fermentation at particula
point, so as to retain the saccharin
matter in certain combination wit
the watery portion of the wine. She
ry is made by fermenting the wine III
der heat of one hundred degrees an
upwards, and with the exception OF
slight rawness in its taste it proves t
be very good article. Champagne
made just as the sparkling wine Of th
East is made, and will compare favol
ably with the most of the Cincinna1
brands.
The wine crop of California for tn
year 1855 is established at not less tina
two and half million gallons. Lo
Angeles, in the southern part OF tn
State, and the valleys of Sonoma, Nap
and vicinity, in the northern, are til
most important wine-growing-district.
Each locality claims that its own win
is best, and as all maintain their groun
with great pertinacity, | am not pr
pared to show any preference. Til
uaar should No accident occur the GRO