New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-11-14
WTYE-HAKING IN THE CRAREyTE.

WIN u W "a hIAu Nv LI11 Na'-A "a ~ L.
A SHINY PICTURE OF A FRENCH VINEYARD.
MONDAY AMONG TIE gINTAGEhs-How WHITE
WINE Is MADK-THE PIIYLLcXERA.
IRON An OCCASIONAL coRRTsI oSDENT OF THE TRIBUNE
La ROCHELLE. France. Oct. S.-The animal
yintas season. that carnival which attracts TO the
VINEYARDS throughout tins sunny section OF grape
growing fame all the superfuOus unemployed labor
of the citirs aud makes The landscape TetchO LOT
the brief period of wceh or two with merry Jeots
and laughter rs about drawing 10 close liz is In
deed PITY that every bottle oi wine that finds IFS
way from these vineyards to American tables could
not carry with it, in its generous fragrant fumes
vision OF the SOFT sunny scenes in which IL has been
formed and nurtured. Pictures, wnioh Claude L"r-
raine might have euvled might thus be colJnted up
TO please aud entertain tie epIcurean eye. Upon
such a scene it was my fortune yesterday to look
Non chris oOniigt Gdre CorRtsH. and certainly TO
few Americans has fallen the good fortune OF more
thorough inspection of the process OF wine-naklng
than that winch was yesterday youchsaied your
correspondent at the bOspiiable Chateau Godef
situated in tho environs OF this Sity, aud not over
three miles distant.
P,ct1re. ii you please, vide stretch of open, I'M
dulating thoroughly cultivated country. In front
the soft blue waters of the Bay of Biscay, stretch
are fainty visible ia the distance; in the rear, on
the one hand the CITY surrounded by Its grass
grown battlelnents itself half hidden amid a
wreath of foliage but with its cathedral tower, its
spires. and las masts of shipping traceable III
every line against the eastern sky; OH the other,
landscape dotted with chateaus and farm houses,
and occasionally a village, with here ana there
clump of trees or platoon Of aged willows marking
a watercourse; shining down upon all this peace
ful scene q genial October sun completes the pc
ture and gives to it richness and warmth Of color
ing winch no painter could hope to reproduce.
Where two cart roads intersect each other IN
about the centre of NJ Godets vineyard Of 80
acres tho vintagers, n motley group OF men, woman
and lads, are taxing their MONDAY rest as we ap-
proacb One cannot but recall the pictures he has
seen of a gypsy bivouac, so unconsciously nch In
color are the costumes of these fifty laborers,
gathered together mostly at random by the propri-
etor. from the crowds who have offered their ser
vices Great tubs stand full to overlooking with
tepptinC clusters of wlnte grapes, and lad, pic
turesnuelg clad in red shirt and fiat blue cap,
rresses them down with club, meTciiessy mang-
ling them IN a common mass Of pulp and juice.
Scattered around upon the grass, stretched at fun
length, soBo upon their faces with their heels high
IN air other upon their backs aud sleeping soundly
lie the men, wearied with having labored since
o,eloek in the morning. Most of the women, too,
in telr white cas short skirts and hideous wooden
shoes. lie nestled away in some grassy nook
with great blue umbrellas standing over
them TO protect them frUm the sun. sol
iarv keeps watch Of the outposts an iiifayored
cur who at our approach beats an ignominiOus re-
treat and devotes himself 10 the sundry bones and
crusts with which the yintagers' midday meal has
srrewn the adjacent sod. A pleasant scene. one
Lei ftvap Vat haC iao
dreaming away their MONDAY hours, and careless Of
the morrow, have. after all, no easy task. The
stooujng posture which the gathering of the grapes
from the vines, not over two feet height, entails
;s not the least wearisomc feature of their labor
Pecinning too before the sunrise and working
until dusk they laugh the eight-hour law, it will
be seen 10 seoru. faithful worker will IN day
nick grapes enough 10 make hundred and twenty
FIVE gallons Of wine and that, too. for wages
amounting 10 only GO cents and his board. This is
the highest price paid. The average male vintagcr
receives only As cenfs and the women receive 25
cents per day, together with board.
From his vineyard Of 80 acres NJ. GOdet will
realize this season go barqBes casks Of 500 gal
Ions each This is fair average annual yield. In
fact in this region, which has not been attacked Sc
r1ously by the phylloxera the this year prom
ses Mt least 10 equal that OF 1877. The greatest
cgre IS required in the protection and nourIshment
of the vines. No vine IS productive until its fifth
wear on the other band, some vines bear their best
cranes at the age of fifty years. The phyoxera, IN
sntcipation at least has proved source of serious
anxiety to yIne-grow in this Charcnte lnfeTieuTe
Department A single one OF these insects will. in
one season. reproduce lis kind TO the number Of
| 20 600 Prom the vineyard at evening the day.
vintage is carried in wagonlOadS 70 the shOuse
There il Is first passed through pulpIng machine
very similar III style TO aTge-SZed Yankee clothes
wringer, which completely destroys every vestige
of ITS original symmetry and delivers up weller
ing mass of stems, seeds, pulp and juice
Tins con gloneratiOn, or NASH" dister
would term il. is piled upon the floor of a press
ia the form of pyramid tRttened at the apex, and
then, by either hand or horse power. an immense
pressure is applied from above by fiat wooden sur
| face descending ON a spiral The process Is very
similar 10 that seen IA good Old New-Jeisey CIDER
mill. Under the tremendous pressure TINS applied.
the grape Invested Of every drop Of Juice II
possessed The precious fluid runs OF into BASIN
thence into o trough lined with copper to prevent
absorption and Is thence delivered into the great
/ hogsheads which stand waiting 10 receive il. The
| fermentJng process then begins; in about two
weeks the WINE Ii drawn of into other casks leav-
/ ing behind it any impurities il may have collected
| during its manufacture and IL thereafter ready To
be put away into the cellars aud held for any re-
quslte time to be ready for the market. As may be
inferred the wine and brandy trade of this section
necessItates the of immense quantities of casks
and barrels. As consequence, the cocperage bust
ness of La Rochelle is not uninlpertant. Nearly
two million barrel slaves imported here anuu-
ally from Northern Europe.
4
THEATRICAL ASSURANCE Ingenious pre-
faxf tor mr.