Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-01-22

and.the next deccde ought to see
great ad vance in the effort to approach
the delicate flavor and the wholesom,
quality Of the best Burgundy clare
and Rhine wine types.
WELDING OUT OLD VARIETIES.
Leading winemakers have demon
strated that it pays better to raise the
choicest French and German grapes
shy bearers though they be, than tC
grow the common but prolific varieties
Heretofore good prices could be OBJ
tained for the Mission grape, but
there was an unwritten agreement
this year between the large wine
makers that not over $40 per tor
would be paid for these grapes, and
the result will be the grating of old
vineyards to better varieties and the
planting of new ones to choice grapes
Six years ago the Zinfandel was the
best claret grape, and every one was
loud in its praise. Now it is releg-
ated to second place, and the
choicest claret is made from
the Cabernet Sauvignon, Melot
and Verdot, in the proportion of three
fifths of the first and one-fifth of each
of the others. These are the grapes
that are used in making the famous
Latitte and Margaux wines-the
highest European types Of clarets.
Yet nothing has been found to take
the place of the Zinfandel as stock.
The Cabernet Sauvignon is a shy
bearer, and unless man makes his
own wine it will not pay him to grow
this variety. Captain Drummond of
Glen Ellen has alse introduced two
French claret varieties with much
success-the St. Macaire and the
Gros Mancen.
OTHER RID AND WHITE WINE TYPES.
1t has been proved that several dis
tricts in Central California are capa-
BILE of producing the purest Bergundy
types. Some wine-makers use the
Franc Pinot, Pinot d'Epernaud, while
others mix in equal proportion the
Pinot Noir and the Petit Syrah. From
the Hermitage has been imported
and fairly tested the Petit Syrah
and the Mondese. Of that choicest
of Sauternes-Chateau Yquem-the
California vineyardists make a good
imitation from the Semillon and
the Sauvignon Blanc, with slight
blend of the Muscadel de Bordelais.
From the Pinot Blanc is obtained a
soft white wine resembling Chablis,
that is meeting with great favor
among connoisseurs. A variety
from the Pyrenees, called the Tannat,
has been used with much success
in blending with the Bordeaux va
rieties. 1t is small grape, but a
very heavy bearer.
DIFFICULTIES OF wINE-MAKING.
All these choice wine varieties
flourish we'll in Napa, Sonoma, Contra
Costa, Alameda and Santa Cruz
Many of the finest vine
yards are on steep hillsides or on
tops once given up to chap
paral and greasewood. The grapes
Of most delicate flavor are produced
On these high, thin lands OF volcanic
origin, on which the sun rests warm
and long. But the troubles Of the
are only fairly begun
when he has succeeded in acclimating
his foreign varieties. He must know
all about the processes of wine
and of blending.
Most of the California wine
are men who are we'll
read, but they have been forced
to gain the greater part of the
knowledge in the winery by hard and
costly experience. What succeeds in
France or on the Rhine rarely meets
with the same result here. The
differences of climate and soil must
be carefully studied. The instinct
which tells the winemaker when to
draw off the fermenting juice from the
vat, or what particular blend to make
in order to produce desired flavor or
color, comes only from long training of
the senses of smell, taste and sight.
1t is work which takes the best judg-
ment and it can never be safely
delegated to subordinates.
FERMENTATION.
Even the most experienced wine
makers are constantly learning new
lessons in the treatment of wine.
The subject of fermentation is one of
the most difficult to master, and
many cask OF good wine has been
ruined through bad judgment in treat
ing it during this delicate state. This
year the excessive heat that prevailed
duringa greater part of the vintage,
taught observant winemakers a valua-
BILE lesson in fermentation. 1t has
generally been the custom, when the
grape juice and the skins in
the vats showed signs of fermentation
in three or four days, to leave
the watts undisturbed for so long as a
week before drawing off the wine into
casks. This year the heat was so
great that the wine threatened to
spoil, owing to the rotting of the skins
or the pomace, as it is called. Hence
the wine was generally drawn off in
three days. The result showed as
good color as usual with far finer
flavor, and fermentation set in as
soon as the wine was drawn off. The
claim has been made that hitherto no
good color could be secured for clar.
cts or Bnrgundies without leaving
the skins in the juice for at least four
or five days. The result has been
made to impart that strong,
disagreeable taste to the wine which
is known as cart by. The conclusion
reached by this years experience is
that the skins should be kept as short
time as possible with the juice, or
must, as it is technically called. If
the public could be educated to Judge
wine by the taste rather than by the
color, there would bea great improve
ment in California wine. In the ef-
fort to secure good color much OF
the wine is spoiled in the fermenting
vat, while this craving for high color
leads to most of the adulteration with
cherry juice and other compounds.
NECESSITY OF CLEANLINESS.
Next to care in fermentation, or, in
fact, OF equal Importance, is cleanli.
ness in the winery. 1t is difficult
task to teach the French, italian or
German workman in the California
winery the importance of the same