Los Angeles daily herald., 1886-12-30
Tho MODEL winery.

SOnOma county wines are rapluiy CON.
ing into prominence in this country ana
abroad. Her cheap wines have no supe..
rior, while the richer and higher priced
compare very favorably with those OF
the celebrated wine districts In the Old
World. 1t was only recently, at an
exam,n alton Of wines held in London,
England, that an experienced WINE tas'
ter pronounced the SAM Jles ct Sonona
ocu lty wines thereat examined and
compared with several others to be lnfe
rior to none OF its competitors. Inis IN
itself is card for our wines, as the sam
les examined at the time were IRON the
famous wine districts Of Germany and
France. From this it would seem that
the statement that S,noma unity wines
are rapidly gaining prestige In that
country is not without foundation.
The districts Of the State which were
formerly conceded the palm for wine
making are now led by the grand old
county of Sonoma. 1t has indeed been
limited that the wine merchants Of San
Francisco introduced Sonoma county
vino with the Los Angeles and southern
country wines to make them up to the
standard. In connection with this sub
ject it might be interesting to some OF
our readers to learn hcw some OF our
large wineries of the State are con-
Quoted.
We take for illustration the winery of
Kohler Il Frohling, situated about one
and half miles up the valley from Glen
Ellen. This particular winery is chosen
because it differs from the majority of
the wineries in the State and the county
in the manner in which it is conducted.
It las often bsen said and not without
truth, "thai lady could walk about
this winery in the busiest part of the
grape crushing season, attired in silk
dress without fear of getting it soiled.
The statement has not been exaggerated
in the least. 1t also differs from other
wineries in the almost military discipline
put in force with the employees, twenty
five in number. AS stated, the winery
is situated on an eminence overlooking
the valley abont one and one half miles
from Glen Ellen. with finely mac
adamizsd road leading up to it. On
either side of the road are choice hedge
plants perfuming the air with their deli.
cate pink end white blossoms, and now
forming a fringe Of red with their bri ght
red berries. On arriving at the winery
we are met by the uperintendent, Hans
jaeger, TO whose polite and aifablc man.
ner the visitors enjoyment owes much.
The first portion of the building into
which the visitor is ushered, if from
below, is the sioreroon, 200x200 feet.
The large apartment is lined with large
oak tanks, highly vanished, with he
ages of the wines contained in the va.
rious tanks neatly lettered on the out
side. The floor is spotless in its cleanl.
ness, the kitchen of ths best of house
keeping. The cleanliness is not con.
fined to the aisles between the tanks, but
extends in under the mammoth recepta.
.cles, which is not the same in all establish
ments OF tLis character. The floors are
cleansed every day with soda and water.
It requires four men constantly in atten-
dance on the storeroom aud its contents.
The temperature is kept at 65 or 70 degs.
Fahrenheit the year round. We next
enter the engine-roo.n, which is furnished
with 23.horse power engine and practi-
cal appliances. This room, like the one
Just left, is q model of neatness. The
next apartment we are ushered into is
the fermenting-room, l50xl50 feet, where
the same evidence of cleanliness is OBJ
served. The pressroom is furnished
with the most complete machinery for
pressing grapes in the State. In the
stable one man is constantly employed.
The stables are scrubbed twice week
with soda and hot water. The hoofs of
the horses are cleansed and oiled twice
q day, and other rules OF similar charac.
ter are strictly enforced. The mems
quarters, or barracks. as they are called,
will well deserve q visit. Each man has
q room to himself, which he is required
to scour out once day. Every room is
furnished with cuspidor, and man
has no excuse for expectorating on the
floor. This building is supplied with
stationary bath and washtubs in every
room. The lights in the building are re-
quired to be turned out promptly at P.
N. The same dicipline is observed in the
dining hall. The men file in, when the
gong is sounded in military order. No
loud talking is allowed, and in fact none
of the rules of table etiquette are violated.
After returning to the winery prepara-
tory to taking our leave for home, we
found J. 0. Rue gauging the brandy of
this years product. Between 5000 and
10000 gallons Of brandy have been made
this year. The brandy is made from the
fermented pummice and is all pressed
out and distilled. During the past sea.
son $4,000 gallons Of wine have been
made, 32 900 Of which was white wine
and the balance red. The grounds
Immediately adjacent to the build
ing are thickly studded with trees
of the lemon, orange and pomegranate
varieties, in full bloom; also the more
common varieties. This establishment
IN all its details is certainly great credit
to that portion of Sonoma county and
worthy to rank as one of our county's
institutions, in which we may all take
an interest,