National Republican., 1883-07-19
speer,s vineyards.


Just on the outskirts of this city on Mount
Prospect avenue, better known as the Notch
Road" leading to Little Falls through the
notch in the mountain, arc three of Mr..
Speer's vineyards of the Oporto grape from
vines originally imported from vineyards ON
the banks of the river Doura in Portugal,
where the original and finest of Port wines
were made.
But few people know to what exten Mr..
Speer's twenty five years Of experimenting on
grape culture and wine making has been
carried on in this country, We made hasty
trip to his Mount Prospect vineyards few
days ago, and whilo going there we passed
his Concord grapery small vineyard on
Bloomfield avenue, near the Nj. u. church.
This is known as the I" First Vineyard" !"
About O mile further on, after turning from
Bloomfield avenue to the right, on to the
Notch road we came to the second, third and
fourth vineyards, about ffty-four acres in
extent covering Mount Prospect.
The vines are trained on wires about three
hundred feet long, supported by long heavy
posts at each end and stapled to intermediate
posts fifteen feet apart. There are four rows
of wire along every row OF posts forming wire
trellis, the top wire being about seven feet
from the ground; these trellis or rows are
six feet apart, leaving ample room for the
sun, air and cultivation. Two or three
hundred of these rows form what Mr.. Speer
calls section. There are great number of
these sections upon which there must be
over two hundred miles of wire stretched
The drive avenues for teams and carriages
run across the vineyard at right angles to the
rows of wires trellis and are three hundred
feet apart, they run between the end of two
sections, and arbors are built over them high
enough that top carriages may drive under
them without touching the grapes or vines
overhead. There are over two miles of car
rage drives under these arbors and a hand
somer sight we never saw for two miles we
drove under these shady canopies, the luscious
fruit hanging in abundance on every side
vines thick with clusters hanging overhead
and all around, and as far as we could sec up
and down thousand of gang ways we passed
were loaded with grapes no disease, no worm
or insect of any kind has yet attacked Mr..
Speer's vineyards, and the prospects are that
there will be much greater crop than ever
before. We saw men working in every part
of the vineyard, some plowing. some hoeing
others breaking out the suckers or super
fuous vines to the wires. In our drive we
met the foreman of the vineyard he esti'
| mates the yield this year will be nine
thousand baskets of Concord grapes fol
market, and six hundred barrels of Oportc
grape wine besides the Burgundies and
Clarets. The Oporto grapes are allowed tc
shrink some before being gathered for Port
|
their watery principal, and form greater
amount of sugar, the juice is thus reduced il
quantity but HEAVIER and richer in quality
making the rich Port wine that has become
so celebrated among physicians.
The new wine cellar that Mr.. Speer was
building for the nine large wine tons thai
were brought from Germany is completed
and the tons have been laid and filed by
racking some of the Port of last years vint
| age from the barrels on the second floor o.
his warehouse, the wine passing from the
barrels to the tons through a hose to prevent
its coming in contact with the air.
The wine is to remain in these tons from
three to four years before racking into thu
inner cellar where the oldest wines are fined
and bottled. The inner cellar is kept a
nearly uniform temperature the year round
Persons who understand the labor and ex
pense connected with the making and foul
years care of such excellent Port WINE a
Mr.. Speer produces cannot be surprised a
its being higher in price than other wines
nor should physicians be surprised at the su
perior effect of this wine in restoring thei
patients. Mr.. Speers wines are extensivel.
used in Washington by the foreign Legation
and members of congress and the cabinet
He also has orders from London, Dresden
and Paris, and from San Francisco Cal. TIL
iron contained in the brown stone shale.
soil of this locality is just adapted for tn
growth of the Port wine grape and for tn
making of Port and Burgundy wines. Mr.
Speer says he does not think there is any
place in the United States where the Oport'
grape can be raised so successfully as thu
eastern slope of our mountains down to th
| PaSsaic river.