Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1890-11-13
CALIFORNIA GRAPES.
THEY ARE GROWN IN NEARLY EVERY
PART OF THE STATE.

lhNN rs AAtf AhAAeA NJ a'a
uet Is 10000. 600 Gallons of Wine
and SEQ. 900 Tons of Table Grapes.
q have no doubt that it will surprise
even grape and wine growers themselves
1 to know that there are invested in vine
Yards and wine cellars in the United
States over Sl55. 900. 000." said Col. H.
/ Gardner. special agent of the census
/ Office for the collection of statistics re-
| lating to viticulture. branch of agri-
culture which has never before received
any official attention in this country. Il
find by statistics, which are now col
I lected for the first time" said Col. Gard
ner. that there are in round numbers
400, ,0ee acres of land in this country
planted to vineyards.
This Is an increase of 220. 600 acres in
vineyard area during the past ten years,
and an increase of over S10. .000, 900 a year
in the capital invested. OF the area of
bearing vines in the country California
alone has 1j0, 600 acres, inS Sluding $4,000
acres of raisin grapes. That state also
has of the total investment of capital
nearly $7S. 600, 600. Between 10000, 900
and 40. coo. 600 gallons of wine are made
in the United States in year, of which
California produces more than half.
Seven-eighths of the grapes of California
90 to the wine press. Four-fifths of the
grapes grown in all the rest of the
United States are for table use. Cali
fornia alone grows the raisin grape.
Il spent three months in California
giving official attention to its viticultural
interests. Although every county in the
state produces grapes, the principal
counties of the vine are NaPa, Sonoma,
Fresno, Santa Clara, San Diego. San
Barnardina and Los Angeles. although
there are many others of more or less
importance. The counties Of Fresno,
San Barnardino, San Diego and Tulare
comprise the great raisin district, and
cure 2,O00,0 600 boxes a year, a product
worth at least S3,0OO,OOO. The grapes
grown for raisins are the Muscat of
Alexandria and the Muscat del Gardo
Blanco. These counties grow large
quantities of wine grapes also, and the
sweet wines of California come princi-
pallv from that district. Fresno county
has $4,000 acres of vineyards, Sonoma
81 900 and Napa 10000.
The grapes grown in California to-
day include every variety that has
made the vineyards of Europe famous
The cultivation of the grape in Califor-
mia dates back to the days of the old
Spanish friars, the Franciscan fathers,
who brought with them from their ma
tive land cuttings of a grape popular
there Just what the true name of the
grape was nobody seems to know now,
and very few care, for while there are
in bearing today some of the vineyards
or vines set out by the jolly Franciscans
a century or more ago, the grape is not
in high esteem nowadays. 1t has al
ways been known as the mission grape
The old mission vineyard supplied
grapes for the table and the wine press
in California until comparatively short
time ago. Then a Hungarian grape
known as the Zinfandel was introduced.
This newcomer was handsome, proved
to be a generous producer, and took the
popular heart.
at proved to be an unfortunate one,
for it seemed so easy to grow the Zinfan-
del that everybody planted vineyards.
When they began to bear they bore with
vengeance The markets became
choked with grapes. and prices went
down to disastrous figures. 1t became
apparent that the Zinfandel was an in
ferior grape after all, and to cap the eli
max the phylloxera came down on the
Hungarian importation and bore 1t away,
vineyard after vineyard.
ssNo new vineyards were replanted
with the Zinfandel, and the vine is be-
ing replaced with the choicest and hardi-
est varieties of wine grapes from the fa-
nous districts Of Europe. including Cab
ernet Sauvignon, Carbanet Franc, NAL
book, Tarnat, Merlot and ST Laurent
grapes from the Bordeaux districts;
Mataros grapes from Palos; Semillons
and Sauvignons from Sauterne; Pinot
and Petite Sirrah grapes from the Bur
gundy districts; Johannisbergers, Ira
miners and Franken Rieslings from the
storied Rhine; Chasselos grapes from
Alsace-Lorraine, and the rich Burgers
| from Moselle. 1t is from these grapes
| that the wines of California are pressed.
"The famous Challose and Folle
Blanche, cognac grapes, are also largely
grown, the wine from them being made
| into brandy. Then there are the rich
Spanish Muscats and the favorite Hun
garian table grape, the Flaming TOkay.
In no other vine region in the world are
all these splendid grapes found growing
side by side, and they make of California
the wonderland of the vine.
California has the largest vineyard
in the world and the most extensive wine
cellar. The vineyard is in Tehama
county, en- Senator Leland Stanford's
famous $4,000 acre farm. 1t contains
1000 acres.
among the curiosities of the Califor
MIA grape region is a vineyard that may
well be called the smallest in the world
as regards the number of vines, for it
has but one vine. That is most re-
markable one, however, for its branches
extend over a space of $4,000 feet, the
cane being foot in diameter. This eX-
traordinary vine is over seventy years old,
and was grown from an old mission cut
| ting by a Mexican woman. 1t has borne
grapes every year since it was two years
old, and is good now they claim for six
tons of grapes year. was told that
clusters weighing seven pounds had been
picked from this ancient relic of the
mission days.
THE phylloxera, which during the
past few years played great havoc with
California vineyards, is being gradually
but surely overcome. The inferior
varieties of grapes upon which the pest
feeds are being rooted out, and the
choice foreign varieties, which are sub
| iect TO it, are protected against it by
grating ON native wild varieties, known
as resistant vines, or vines which the
pLyIloxera does not affect. New York
Sun.
| Mixed in Her Lines.