The Sunday herald and weekly national intelligencer., 1890-09-28


the To-Kaon wine agency here, in speaking of
the remarkable growth of the American wine in
dustry in the past few years and the rapid way
in which the domestic wines are displacing the
imported in popular use, said:
''In 1876 there was little no demand for do
mestic wines. The business dragged, and
great many growers were forced to abandon
their vineyards for more lucrative investment
Domestic wines then were sold at ten and fifteen
cents a gallon and were made into vinegar. The
savings banks refused to loan money on vine
yard property, they considered the vines
added no value whatever to the land. Our deal
ers knew that their market for imported wines
on which profits were greater, would be ruined
il the use of the domestic product should be-
come general, and did everything in their power
by way of adulterating processes to destroy its
incipient promise of prosperity. Since that
time, however the business in California wines
has steadily increased and II the interest is not
stifed by Congressional interference | have no
hesitancy in saying that within fifty years Cali
fornia wines will not only be the only wine sold
in this country, but will to a large degree sup
plant the European wines right in their own
countries.
s'Our soil is too rich at present, and because of
the consequent increase in the quantity Of
sugar in the grape our wines are or per
cent. stronger in alcohol than the imported.
This unfavorable characteristic will disappear
with the age of the Vineyards and within
twenty years probably only the standard per-
centage of alcohol will exist in the home pro-
duct There are at present $50, 600 acres of Cali
fornia land devoted to the culture of the grape.
This territory is divided up among 5000 vine
yards, and there are about forty thousand peo-
pie dependent upon the business for their sup
port. There is a capital of $6O,O0O,O0O invested
in the business in that State alone. In
1850 California produced 6,50000O gallons.
In 1890 the product will probably reach
600 gallons. We have been in the
business as agents for the ToKalon vine
yards since 1885, and during that time we
have seen our sales in this city gradu-
ally growing until now they are 800 per cent. of
what they were then. Washington is an excel
lent market for wines of all kinds, and the
users like to get a good quality of pure wine.
California wine is not only used as a substitute
for imported brands, but has found place on
the tables of private houses where wine was
never used before. There is probably no city
in America in which are gathered set of men
better capable of Judging of the excellence of
wines than this one AS an instance let me men
tion the case of the Italian Minister, who went
out to the Glenn Echo Cafe the other day, and
refused to touch our native wine, calling for
Bordeaux. 1t cost him two dollars bottle,
and he said it was good. His companion then
ordered a bottle of California claret, for which
he paid twenty-five cents. The foreigner
hesitatingly said the latter was the better wine
of the two, and said that in the future the Cali
fornia brands should take the place of the i'm
ported on his table,
"The naval officers have travelled pretty much
all over the world and ought to know good
wine when they taste it, We have supplied the
Atlanta, the Kearsarge, the Baltimore, and
number of other vessels bound on foreign cruises
with their full supplies, made up of the Calfor-
MIA product. We furnish nearly all the clubs Of
the city with these brands, and where formerly
there was no demand for them now the club
members insist on having wines OF home manu-
facture.
'In whatever line of product we may equal or
excel the European growers, there are, neverthe-
less, two kinds Of wine in which we haven't
and sherry. We have fairly good brands in
both, but we can't come up to the imported arti-
Gle. Nodoubt in time, since we have their vines
and a similar climate in California, we will at
tain the perfection of their methods, and then
we may even equal them in these"
''California wines grow in popularity every
day." said Mr.. IL. A. seligson, one of the
largest dealers in the city. "They never will
reason that there are few foreign wines that
cannot be produced in this country. Tokay,
for instance, is wine which is made in Hun
gary The climate of California is not exactly
suitable for its production, and domestic Tokay
is far inferior to the eimported Then, of course,
there are classes of people who must have
something that isn't homemade They will
continue to drink imported wines even when
ours come to be as good or better.
''Washington has become an excellent market
for California wine, which now takes the place,
to a great extent, of whisky, beer, and other
beverages at the table. Many persons who
formerly used water and other of the ordinary
beverages at the table have substituted wine,
simply because it has come to be so cheap. |
started my establishment here about seven years
ago. Then sold probably not over fifty bar
rels of wine a year. Now | sell that many a
week. / attribute much of my success to ad-
vertisng in the newspapers.
''Of course, the age of the vineyard has a
great deal to do with the excellence of the
product, and in that respect we are placed at a
disadvantage with the European grower. The
vineyards in Southern California are the relics
of old Spanish sovereignty on the Pacific Coast,
and are therefore quite old. The wine we get
from that section is fully equal to any European
production of the same kind. AS soon as our
vineyards have aged few years more California
wines will take place in competition with the
best imported Wines are sold at an age of
three years and upward. Senator Stanford re-
fuses 10 sell any wines less than ten years old.
There are great many persons who know this
and demand his wines. The ordinary grower,
though, is quite willing to let his reputation
grow or suffer on three years. vintage. The
European wines are sold as new as one year in
some cases. and great deal of the wine that
we get here is of an age which makes it insult
able for sale. There is a great deal Of adulter-
alton done in imported wine, too.
man can hardly afford to adulterate
elaret when he sells it at eighty cents
a gallon as we do the domestic Wine, but