Daily Los Angeles herald., 1879-11-13
Eos Suselss 4srald.
The Disappearance OF Fine Wines.

Wine connossieurs will soon
be reckoned amongst bygone
wonders. Their occupation will be
gone for they will have no wines
worth tasting. Hermitage and
Cote Roite may almost be placed
among wines of the past; while the
Beaujolias and Maconpais growths
decrease in quality at each sue
ceedinp vintage. The famous Bur-
gundian "Golden Slope,n yielding
Romance Cont and ChambertiD,
Montrachet and Clos Vougeot, is
also assailed; and in the depart
ment of the Charente, the vine-
yards are being rapidly devastated.
Not only from France, but from
Germany and Switzerland, Italy
and Austro-H Hungary, from the
sunny slopes around Malaga and
the terraced heights of the Alto
Douro, from Madeira, and even
from remote Australia, the same
cry is heard. Up to the close OF
last year the ravages of the phyllox-
era vastatrix in the vineyards OF
France had extended over more
than 100000 acres, the vines in
100000 of which had been totally
destroyed. The appearance of the
insect is now reported from the
center of the most famous of all the
vlnicultural districts in France
namely, the Medoc. In certain
communes, including those of st.
Estephe and Pauillac, more than a
hundred acres of vines have been
attacked. The presence of the in
sect has been notified in the vine-
yards of Chateau Lelande and
Calon-Segur; in latent state at
Cos d'Estournel and at Chateau
Lafitte-that famous Chateau La
fitte which, with its $50 acres OF
vineland, was sold about ten years
ago to Baron James Rothschild for
4165, 600. The aggregate value Of
the Medoc vineyards, the whole OF
which are comprised within mar
row strip of land some twenty
miles in length, amounts to many
millions sterling; and at the rate OF
which the pylloxera travels 1t is
quite possible for the whole district
to be infested before the end of next
year.-Purisian.
After reading the foregoing 1t is
quite evident that the destruction
of the great vineyards of Europe is
imminent. 1 predicted years ago
that California would be called
upon to furnish wine to France and
the markets of the world, but l had
no idea that the time was SO near.
The demand for wine is increasing
as the population of the world in
creases, and as civilization advan-
ces. France for many years has
had no surplus wines when her
crops were largest, but all the time
had recourse to wholesale sOphisti-
cations to meet the increasing con-
sumption of wines. Now is the
time for California to plant vine-
yards upon her millions of acres of
valley and side-hill slopes to make
effective the congeniality of her
climate and the fertility of her soil
for viticulture.
The failure in Spain OF
the vine opens to Califor-
mia an immense market for raisins
that in a year or two she cannot be-
gin to be able to supply. There is
not in Spain nor anywhere else a
climate so advantageous for curing
raisins as that of California. Oui
dry and warm season Of the vintage
is not found elsewhere. But rails
ins should not be dried in the sun,
as some practice, but in the shade,
to avoid the evil effects of heavy
night dews-it makes the raisins
too shrivelIed and lean. Drying
under awnings is the proper way to
preserve gloss and weight.
For any one who finds the old
Mission grape productive and relIa-
BILE enough, no other variety need
be sought in the southern coun-
ties for making wines and brandy.
The southern part of the State is
too warm to make light wines, but
potent wines, like those of Spain
ard Portugal, viz: Sherry, Port,
Angelica, Eldorado, and Brandy;
these are the great wines of COM
merce at this day, and the Mission
grape will make them all per-
haps better than any other variety.
Mr.. l.. ]. Rose has some few vari-
eties OF foreign grapes in cultiva-
tion that probably be prefers for
his special trade, but think that
for real profit and durability there
is no need to seek any further than
the Mission grape. Wine, in the
great future, will cope with the
cereals as the substantial industry
of this State.-BulLetin.