The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-03-04
WINE FRAUDS.
How Americans are Duped into
Drinking the California Pro-
duct.


duct.
New York, 2.-Me citing MI
George E. Dewey, one Of our BEST
informed grape growers. the other
day, [ asked him what effect II
would have if we, in retaliation fol
European refusal to take our pork.
should prohibit the importation OF
wine.
cit wouldn't make much differ
cree to snybody," he said, except
to open the eyes of Americans as to
what they are drinking. II would
of course cut off the foreign supply
if the law was enforced, but that is
mere crop IN the bucket. There
would be just as much wine drank
as usual, hut people would learn
what they do not know now. that
the vine they were drinking was
American wine. There are about
100000 gallons Of wine brought
into this county from Europe,
against So 100000 to 100000 from
oar own vineyards. In other words.
we grow more than seven times as
much wine as 4e import, but of this
40 100000 it is curious feet in
arithmetic that We sell to consumers
about 100000 gallons of EuroT can
wine, and only about zee. 900 gallons
of American WiDe."
1 thought there must be srme
mistake, out ne insiste d:
"No, we import 5000 600 gallons
OF European Wine, and sell 100000
gallons. In other words, we lie
Is, 100000 gallons more or less. 1t is
estimated that hotels of this country
sell every year 100000 gallons of
foreign wine out of the whole So
OOO, 900 gallons imported. In not one
first class hotel Of this country can
you find an American test. They
scorn it. Rhine wine tastes better
than California wine, especially
when it comes from the same place.
Why should man send American
wine to Germany to have it made
into German wine, when it can be
done exactly as well on Pearl
street?
There are enterprisiDg firms in
this city with workmen who do
nothing but manufacture foreign
wine out Of American wine. They
have great watts holding hundreds of
gallons. American wine is thrown
into these vats, and If it is not up to
the Standard in spirit, then corn
spirit is added. For The requisite
favor they NIX in some foreign
wine, and add, il necessary, both
favor and color besides. Our wines
are Infinitely purer and clearer than
those Of any part of the world, for
we grind and press the mash by ma
chinery, instead of hiring women
and children to 60 in and stamp it
out with their naked feet, as they
do in Europe, nor do we send naked
men to tread the fermenting watts as
they do. We have beautiful grape
soils in endless abundance. Of cur
present small crop California pro-
duced about 100000 gallons, Ohio
100000, Missouri 2,5O9,OOO, New
York 2,O00,0O0. Illinois ], 900, 900,
Kentucky 1000. 0OO and SO on. ALI
Of this is drunk as European wine.
[ know q house in Beaver street
that bought 103, 900 gallons of Cali
fornia wine inside of ninety days,
but it never sells a particle Of Am~
erican wine. The process of trans-
formation is simple. They buy the
cheapest California white wine; it
is called mission hook; to give the
favor they mix it with
about one>fourth as much Rhine
wine and then it is all
genuine Rhine wine, don't you see ?
For the native wine which they
turn into prime port and sherry,
they pay about 75c. to Soc. a gallon.
This they have to build up or build
down in the same way.
Clarets, I said, being cheaper,
were probably genuine foreign wine,
as advertised and alleged.
This transformation is carried on
In all of our large cities, New York,
Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago.
About $500. 600 gallons Of wine
come to this city from California
each year, and I don't suppose that
one fifth of it is ever put on the
except as foreign wine un.
der a foreign label. Most of the
very best wine produced In this
country is put under foreign labels
to sell, 30 that foreign wines get all
the credit Of excellence of our pro-
duct.