Daily Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1876-1884, 1879-10-16
The Vino Lands OF California

Arpad Haraszthy, President of
the California Vinicultural Associ.
alton, was before the Land Com
mission in session in San Francis
co, the other day, and testified with
relation to the culture of the vine.
| He said:
The lands along the foothills, the
chemisal and the chaparral lands
are the best lands for the vine. This
land is not fit for pasturage, and is
too poor for cereals, the soil being
too thin. The best soil for vines is
composed of considerable proper
ton of gravel, and contains iron.
Grass will not grow on this land,
but vines will grow luXuriantly.
There are millions of acres of this
land, which will at some time be
immense vineyarda. The Mojave
desert will, probably, be a good wine
country in time. Grapes require lit
tie moisture. Eight inches per year
is sufficient. Lands at considera-
bic altitude bear better grapes than
those lying in the bottoms where
there is more moisture. Where
there is little moisture the flavor
of the grape is better. In El Dora
do county there is vineyard about
1000 feet up the mountain side.
The higher the altitude, up to a
certain point, the better is the
quality of the wine grown there.
OF the poor soil spoken of above,
there is more north of Monterey
than below. The vine will not
grow along the north coast where
the fogs come regularly. The pro-
duction of wine in this State is
about twice as much per acre as
that of France. This State can |
produce three times as much as
France. If this is good year,
100000 gallons of wine will be
produced. Our wines are better
than those of France, taken upon an
average. The great bulk of French
wines will not keep, and cannot be
exported, whereas our wines will,
with hardly an exception, keep,
and can be shipped to any part of
the world. Our wines contain
more alcohol than those of France,
which renders them more harsh.
But age will mellow them and
make them less harsh. We should
try to produce wines of distinctive
qualities. American snobbery pre-
vents the use of American wines.
Our foreign population use the ma
tive wines, but Americans wish
wines bearing a foreign label.
Sound wine is often sold for vine-
hao cold 10 IN
cents per gallon. Much good wine
is wasted in this way. The cost of
wine after the first fermentation is
from IL to Is cents per gallon. Dur
ing the past five years the trade
with the East has increased very
much.
A vine in Europe will not bear
before seven years. Here, how
ever, it bears in four years. The
phylloXera is in the Sonoma val
ley. 1t kills vine in about four
years. 1t is probable that the foot
hill region will be more valuable
for vineyards than for mines. The
value of the grape yield per year
is over $3,000,000, but could easily
be increased to $50,000,000. The
use of wine is increasing all over
the world, and this increased de-
mand is the cause of the adultera-
| ton of wine in France, where the
supply of pure wine will not meet
| the demand. Wine lands are worth
ten times as much as ordinary ag-
ricultural lands. There is no reason
why as good bottled wine cannot
be produced here as in France. The
only thing necessary to produce as
good wine is age. Our wines are
sold at one-half the price of foreign
brands. 1t will be best to leave
the disposal of wine lands just as it
Is. The Government might, how
ever, offer some inducements for
the settlement of these lands, such
as giving land where certain i'm.
provements have been made.
Vines do not need irrigation.