The Dickinson press., 1888-01-21
A FRENCH VINEYARD.
MODERN AND PRIMITIVE METHODS
OF MAKING WINE.

A Day with the Wincmakcrs of Argcn-
teuil-ricturesquc Scenes That Artists
Delight to Dwell Upon-The Crocons
and Their M~errymakings.
The of wine being so large an
item in the financial prosperity of France, is
u question worthy of study, and orthat pur-
pose l started for the little village of Argen-
teuil, the spot nearest Paris where the vint-
age may he seen i'll all its charms. There
are, indeed, many charming qualities to the
gathering and transportation, the sorting
and pressing of the grapes, the manipulation
of the wine and the festivities connected with
a successful vintage.
See this line of peasants widening down
among the low growing vines. They come
from u long distance back i'll the country,
and will stand ut the corner of the high road,
as we read of their standing 1850 years ago,
waiting ''for some man to hire them" Old
men and women, young men and children, i'll
charming faded blouscs and handkcrchicfs;
i'll great wooden sabots, or with no shoes ut
all. Glad enough they are to earn the forty,
OF thirty, OF even twenty cents n day which
is paid for their labor.
Before daylight they began to assemble,
and at Il. IN. the patron appears. He ell
cages them in order, tosScs them n pruning
knife and hottie (high wooden basket, carried
on the back, telling them, none too kindly, to
"Go! serve and they are off to the days
labor.
1t is indeed Il subject worthy of tho en-
thusiasm given it by the French artists. In
the salon one may see half Il dozen vintage
pictures i'll the same room. and l d" not Won
der ut it now, having seen the ever changing
compositions at Argentcuil. The rough
white walls, the tender green of the vines,
with the dark tones of the grapes, the
faded garments of the laborcrs-thosc fine
peasant tvpes-with the sunlight over all,
and the musical "chantonncr" of the work
crs keeping time with the cutting of the
vines, lend a charm ndescribably fascinating.
Later they begin the passage from the fields
into the town. There is no restriction as to
to the means of transportation, although the
large vineyard owners provide their own
carts, drawn by the great Normandy horses,
festooned with trailing vines artistically an
ranged about the harness, for in France the
meancSt peasant has an eye for the beautiful.
Besides these carts one sees the grape laden
''huttcs' arranged i'll wheclbarrows and
handcarts or Il donkey laden with sacks up
to his ears and n ego us please" line OF
men; women and children bearing the fruit
i'll every conceivable manncr-in "hot:cs,"
i'll baskets, i'll bags, in pails and wooden
bowls, i'll boxes and buckets of tin, on their
heads, their backs, their shoulders, between
them in twos and thrccs and dragged along
i'll boxes Oh the ground. As they enter town
they diSpersc in the direction of the different
cellars; and presses.
There are any number of processes OF Wine
making, and as many methods of pressing
the fruit as there are owners of vineyards.
but almost every peasant has his little vine
yard, and much of the wine is made in their
own cellars. Here they return TO first lril-
cipleS. the men trcading the wine press and
stained from head to foot with the red liquid.
There they uSc the latest inventions for wine
making. The great wits, holding 300 quarts,
whirl rapidly by steam beneath the counter
movement of n ponderous disk of stone; the
noise of the gushing grape juice is like that
of II small torrent, spouting from n tube OF
the right, and the dry masses of pulp elected
into a trough for the purpose on the left,
everything moving i'll regular ~orllcr-noisy,
ugly, labor saving. Thus modern invention
takes the poetry out of old time customs, and
l turn away disguised to seek Il less modern
atmosphere. Il more congcnial example of the
good old fashioned wine press.
One may trace to its source the purple red
stream that tricklcd down between the great
stones of the village street. 1t will lead per-
haps to more interesting fields, and i'll this
quaint old village one may wander at will
unmolcsted into every nook and corner.
There is Il strong odor of crushed grapes as,
following the colored stream, / turn into Il
,-;,, n,,-,,,1 ,.,,% A. ,,o owl ,%n~1, =,
matched shed full of the largest casks l ever
saw. Here, sitting on an overturned llotte, Il
measure of new wine beside him, sits the
proprietor of the establishment, smoking n
long china pipe.
Has monsieur ever heard the chanson of
the crocons.i asks the proprietor, ofYcringa
mug of wine. SIS monsieur acquainted with
the vintage! Will he attend the merry max.
ing this EVENING" 1 accept with a~lacrity.
"lf monsieur has interest i'll the wine press he
must descend u few steps and witness that Of
the Mere Antoine" l follow the direction
indicated and come upon II neat box bordcrel
court, Il white cottage, every window Of
which is filled with delicious flowers. AT the
back is an evenly planted vineyard, where |
catch n glimpse of the white cap and spotlcss
apron Of madame, who is sllillfuily clipping
lunches of grapes into Il large basket. Near
her stands the patient little donkey who will
bear the fruit to her original wine press
around the corner. This is u truly unique
process of wine making. and l stand watch
ing the rich purple juice ooze through the
sieve into the pail below in rnpt wonder.
This and many presses | studied that day
at Argcntcuil. The wine l drink now III Paris
has IL more agreeable flavor, rcdolcnt of the
happy association and the impressions caught
during vintage time.
But l had almost forgotten the chief feat
IRE of it all-the peasants dance in tho open
field after the work is done, with flags flying,
fiddles playing, men and ONE in holiday
attire (Which i'll France means costumes mar
Vicious to behold). Under IL vine covered hut
stand jugs of now wine, piles of seed cakes
and gingerbread which pas; from hand to
hand as 'Soft eyes look love to eyes thai
spake again" Under the influence of the
vintage troths are plishtel, matches made,
men and maidens forget their ~shyness, and
"all goes merry as a marriage bell" AT night
the matters appear made gay in colorcd
papers. The young men vie with each other
in fcats of strength; the young women sing
songs and dance the night away. 1t is i'll
deed a pretty sight, and may the custom long
exist and the vintage prosper. in spite of tn
edict of the French government that bcel
shall become the national beverage. Thu
French people are loath to accept it. $50
what" they say, 'can cheer the weary, ex
cite the strong. give peace in our land as
liter Of good Vim Doux:"-Paris Cor. New
York Star.
To Siphon Lake Tahoe.
S. r. Mathewson, an expert civil engineer
~ L IN .,