National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1885-07-20
PAID TO SAMPLE WINE.
EARNINo MONEY BY TASTING MANY KINDS OF
vTNTAoFs.

vNTAoRs
"Did you ever meet wine sampler ?"
inquired o South Water street liquor
merchant of Chicago Daily Ne,os re-
porter. "Allow me to introduce my
friend, Count Friedrich Won Linden"
In an ensuing conversation the count
gave some incidents of his life and occu-
patton. Born of Dutch parents, in Hol-
land, he went with them to Germany.
His father and his fathers father were
wine merchants.
81 am called count, but am not a
count, he said. "Why am called count
/ don't know, unless IL is because make
my money easily, spend il freely, and
drink good deal Of wine. think can
tell the brand of any wine in the market
by its taste. l have sampled every vim
tage of Europe, and of good many
other countries. / believe il TO be an in.
herited taste, and when ! discovered my
accomplishment, with Dutch thriftiness,
turned IL pecuniary account. shall
soon start ON my third trip TO South
America. My last trip was for firm in
South William street, New York. They
buy good deal of Spanish and French
wines, some italian vintage, and some
German. / sailed to Colon and went
by rail to Panama, thence to San
JOSH, Costa Rica, thence to La Libertad,
thence to st. Anna, u small country vii ,
lage in Honduras; back again to San Jos.
and Panama, then TO Callao, TO Santiago.
to Valparaiso, to st. Julienne, 1000 miles
from Valparaiso; then TO Monteyideo,
La Plata to Para, Brazil to St.
Thomas, Porto Rico; TO Kingston,
Jamaica; TO MntanZas, and to Hav-
ana. 1 was nineteen weeks on the
trip, and my salary was $l1 per
day and expenses. The first places /
visited was for clarets. OF course, they
all had to be sampled by tasting. In
the Argentine Confederation / only
bought white wine--white and thick,
like thin sirup-sweet, but, Mt the same
time, strong. II costs 35 cents gallon.
Put up in fancy bottles like maraschino,
IL sells over the bar in New York for %
cents q pony As to clarets there is
really only one kind in South America, but
it is the best in the world-back
and heavy. II costs AZ centimes
per gallon, and when mixed in New
York one gallon will make three, and it
is sold for 81 per bottle, or IL cents n
glass over the bar. 1t is much better
than French claret--the latter is too
light. l forgot to mention that five
days of my time was consumed by
laying off at Valparaiso. became over
heated with wine, and the faculty of
acute taste passed from me. This often
happens in hot climates when the sam
ping continues for some time. My
visit to st. Thomas and to Kingston was
for rum, but this did not have to taste.
The brands are pretty reliable. At Ma.
tanzas purchased sugar-brown sugar,
in hogsheads-and at Havana bought
cigars. These last two ventures were
side speculations of my own, for another
New York firm, and they netted me con.
siderable extra money / tell you this
because 1 have left the employ of the
South William street firm. They defaulted
on contract with me. There is one
wine country have never visited, and
that is California, and am going there
after one more trip. From what heai
of the soil and climate, and have seen of
the wine product, believe much finel
wines than the present common native
can be grown there. have friends who
are willing to invest in vineyards with
me, and we are going to try it, with my
experience, and after an improved pro
cess of nv own "