Morning journal and courier., 1883-04-13
CuAMpanNE

One of the most interesting of the batch of reports from consuls just published by the State department is that of Consul Frisbie, stationed at Rheims, concerning the cham pagne trade with this country. There has been for the past few years steady and in creasing demand in the United States for this wine, and nearly all the champagne wine houses are turning their attention to the i'm. portance of this trade and endeaYoring to secure share of the business, and some of the houses have already established colossal trade. In Rheims alone there are over thirty houses which send champagne to the United States. The total value of champagnes ship ped from the Rheims district in 1882 to the United States was s, 1862, 94O in our gold. There were PIT, ,O47 cases or 3, 324, ,564 quart bottles. The largest shippers were Mumm x Co.,, who sent us quantity equal to S3,573 cases, or LOOP, 876 quart bottles, valued at $855,377; next in order comes Pommery tE Greno, with $523, ,678, but with less mum Der of cases or bottles than were shipped by Roakelman & Go. and valued at $51S, ,67O. The two next largest shippers were Werle & Co. and l.. Roederer, whose shipments were valued a. $249, 354 and $299 O2O respectively.
 The vintage of 1882 proved bad failure by reason of the continued cold, rainy weather which prevailed during the months of June, July, August and September, pre- venting the grapes from ripening and destroy ing the saccharine matter. The juice ex- pressed from the grapes could hardly be call ed wine of even fair second quality. In consequence of this condition of things but few of the champagne houses are bot ting any of the wine, and those who are doing anything in that way are operating with much caution and doing but very little, and the great bulk of the product of the vineyards will be left on the hands of the vine growers, to be made into common table wine, which will entail great loss and incen- venience to them. Many of the large cham pagne sparkling wine manufacturers, whose custom is to manufacture many thousands of bottles annually, will not attempt the pro- duction of single bottle of sparkling wine from the vintage of 1882. With the excep- tion of few of the most favorabIy located vineyards, the product of the vintage has been such in quality as to render it totally unfit for use in the manufacture of sparkling wine, and in the few cases excepted the quality is only sufficient for the production of sparkling wine of second or third grade. The quanti- ty of the product of the vintage did not ex- ceed one half of a usual yield, say about 30,- 600 hectoliters, but as the quality was so uni versalIy bad the diminished quantity was not so very much regretted. It is now esti- mated that the quantity of sparkling cham. pagne wine stored in cellars and caves, from the vintage of other years, of all grades much of which is really fine wine, is in the aeighbor- hood of 6O,oO0, 1000 bottles; while good vintage for 1882 was much required in order to prevent rise in present prices, there ap- pears to be sufficient stock on hand to supply the market for three or four years with passably good wine, even against possible failure of the vintage for 1883.
 It appears from the above that those who like champagne will have to pay good price for it during this year. Doubtless the New Jersey and California champagne makers will | profit some by the failure of the French vim tage.