The Van Buren press., 1869-08-24
Wine Making in California.

| klCnaruSOn faSt ietter 10 thc f''"""e
| from the other side OF the continent, con-
tains the following observations on the
vineyards and vines of California.
! Yesterday | spent two hours in the
largest champagne making house en- the
coast Last year itpreduced 40, 600 bot
ties this year it is expected to produce
| 100000 This new wine is put into old
bottles cost here five cents each.
The superintendent, an educated Span
lard has been familiar from boyhood,
with the champagne regions of France,
and he describes the naked workmen
there in the wine vats up TO their waists
with vehement gesticuiation and unpleas
ant vividncss and faiHateness.
California champagne is made chiefly
from the Missien grape, though the
Muscat is coming more and more into
use. Each has its own peculiar flavor,
but neither is as pleasant as the Catawba,
Of Ohio and Missouri Here. the Catav.
ba is not used for wine, rs other varie-
ties yield much more abundantly. Al
most any grape from any part OF the
werh will thrive, but the california soil
and climate modify it essentially. A
wine maker, thoroughly skilled in the
processes of Germany, France, or the
Mississippi Valley, has to learn a new
treatment for the same grape when it is
transplanted here. In Ohio given va
ETY. may produce wine which contains
eight per cont. of alcohol, here the wine
from it will contain II or l3 per cent.
in making California champagne no
alcohol is added The crude wine is run
into tank which holds 5000 bottles.
and then sweetened with SO pounds Of
sugar. Tho succeeding processes are
complicated, and some Of them believe
are kept secret from the public The so
luton of the great problem Of childhood
how champagne corks get in when
they are so much larger at the bottom
than at the top-appears in a machine
which congresses them one half and then
drives them in in twnkling. The new
ly filed bottles are laid in frames, with
their pecks sloping downward. Here
they remain for several weehs. but are
shaken by hand every day. The pres
sure on bottle is ninety pounds to the
square inch, or equal to that of six at
mospheres. About one one in bursts
The men who shake them wear masks of
wire to protect their faces, The super
intendcnt has along scar on his right
hand where he was cut by the glass OF an
exploding bottle. After the wine has
worked itself clear, the cork is removed
for an instant to let the sediment fly out
then it is replaced, the bottle is labeled,
wrapped and eased by Cinnamon, and it
is ready for the market.
The production Of still wine is much
simpler than that Of sparkling, and the
consumption is much greater. White
continues to be the general latGtiee'
taste it is almost identical with certain
Rhine wines. Considerable claret is pro-
duced the bsst quality is IS manufae-
tured at 81 per box, and honestly label
ed but great deal of the French clar-
et' consumed in our Atlantic States
comes from California grapes
The only vineyard have been able to
visit is that of VIM. G. Hopping, near
Sacramento. 1t covers 30 acres, and the
labor of three men and two horses SUI
flee for carrying it on. II all its grppes
were turned into wine they would yield
80, 90 gallons year; but some are sold
for the table, and many are converted
into brandy. The brandy sells ut the
still for S25 per gallon the white wine
for about 81. Both wines and brandy
are a little sharp and fiery from the unu.
.ual amount of alcohol they contain -
The wines in general have a new, raw
taste, but age gives them smoothncss.
or all the California wines, probably
fifty per cent are consumed on the coast,
twenty five per cent in the Atlantic States
and the rest in China. Russia, and West
ern Europe. The Russians like to have
their wines sweet and strong; the Ger
mans sour and right; the English sour
and California m begn to vary their pro-
ductons accordingly.
Wine maxim, which for while seem
ed to be defining, is now largely on the
increase. The capital invested in it and
in vineyards probably amounto to $780,
100000. There il yet great deal to
learn, but the manufacturers are sangune
that all difficulties will be overcome, and
that this will develop into one OF the
leading interests of the State 1t is an
old lest that that the Californians never
drink their own wines; but now the
champagne is growing in favor, and the
use Of the white wine is very general
The coming Californian is to drink wine.
Whether it will pay nr not remains to be
seen.