Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-11-29
THE TINE OF VINTAGE.
WINE-MAKING IN THE DISTRICTS OF
FRANCE AND ITALY.
The Champagne Country-Treading the
Wine Press-Processes OF
Manufacture.
From the St. Louis Globe-Democrat.l

Vine-growing is among the most ancient
of agricultural operations. Almost the
first incident related as occurring after the
food is that of Noah and his wine, and
there is no reason to believe that the I'M
fortunate experience of the second father
of all mankind deferred any of his de-
scendants from partaking Of the juice OF
the grape which proved for himself and
for his son Ham so unfortunate dose.
VINEYARDS were common throughout most
parts of the East, and so fine was the
product of the vine in Palestine, we are
assured by the sacred writers, that the
punches of grapes brought from the
Promised Land by the Jewish spies, for
the inspection of Joshua, were so large
that two men were required to carry
single cluster Palestine was described to
the longing Hebrews land of corn and
wine. land of orchards and vineyards,
and as the culture of the grape proved so
successful there it is rot remarkable that
it was spread by the Phenicians to West
ern Europe 1t antedated the earliest
Roman times, for no Latin chronicle is so
ancient as to lack mention of the grape
and its juice.
The soil of Italy proved singularly ia
yorable 10 the growth of the vine. Vine
wards were common even in the earliest
DAYS of Roman history, and the wine
proved a strong temptation to the barbar-
ians of Western Europe. Several inya-
sions of Italy by the Gauls were attrib-
uted directly to the desire of both Gauls
and Germans to possess themselves of the
nectar Of which an occasional cask found
its way beyond the Alps. Neither Gauls
nor Germans had wine, save the little that
was imported Both had intoxicants,
however. for they made sort of beer from
fermented grain and also managed to dis
till from wild fruits kind of brandy.
to both Of which the Italian wine was
so superior that the reason given by Ro-
man historians for the Gallo invasions
seems by no means apocryphal.
The cultivation of grapes soon spread to
France and Germany, and as early as the
fourth century the wines of France far
excelled those of Italy. There is a re-
markahle difference in the varieties Of
the vine; some are best suited to the hill
side, others to the plain, and ages Of cult
walton have produced kinds of grapes so
varied in size, in fragrance, IN appearance
and in flavor as to seem like different
fruits. These differences were as we'll
known to the ancients as to ourselves, and
Cato and Columelia, writers on agricult-
ural topics, in their treaties on the vine
dwell largely on the different varieties of
IL Of ha rloip
good for one kind of wine, those of the
hillside for another, and it is singular
fact that in Italy, and to some extent also
in France, the cheap wines are made from
grapes which grow on the plains, the
choice and high-priced from those grow
ing on the mountains.
But the two writers already mentioned
do not confine themselves solely to the
agricultural feature, but in their works
give minute particulars and detailed direc-
lions for the manufacture of the different
kinds of wine so that it would seem the
process was quite as complicated 1000
years ago as it is to-day. As many kinds
of wine were known then as now, and the
different varieties are all enumerated by
agricultural writers and praised by the
poets. The most pr aised was the Faler-
nian, which grew On the hills around the
Bay of Naples. 1t must have been strong
wine, for the test of the true Falernian
was to apply to it lighted torch, and if it
burned, tine fact was regarded as evidence
of its genuineness. The Pucino was high
ly praised by the poets, and was grown on
the shores of the Adriatic, opposite to DIAL
malta, and was regarded as preservative of
life; the most noted example of its eff
cheney was the Empress LIvia, who is said
to have drunk as much as two gallons
day, and in consequence, or perhaps in
spite, OF this indulgence, lived to be 49,
But this was not exceptionally hard drink
ing among the people Of her time, for
wine was the common beverage then, as
now, in Italy, and the consumption in
certain districts per annum is said to ex-
coed 100 gallons year for each of the
population.
The old Italian wines, however, would
not have been to modern taste; many of
them were boiled, and others so treated
with sea water, medicinal herbs, spices
and the like, that they must more nearly
have resembled cordials than the modern
wines The percentage of alcohol in them
was large; they were consequently strong,
while the boiling utterly spoiled the bou-
quet, so important factor in modern
brands.
The wines of Italy are still good. The
volcanic hillsides of the Apennines still
produce a grape which yields as fine
natural product as any in the world, but
the French excel in the art of manufacture,
and so practically control the wine market
of the globe. The champagne district is
territory in the heart OF France, about $50
by $50 miles in extent. 1t is composed Of
hills and valleys the soil of which is ex-
ceedingly adapted to the cultivation of the
vine, and there, too, the treatment of wine
has acquired perfection. Old processes,
simple but effective, have been handed
down in families for hundreds of years.
Originally learned from the monks, who,
during the Middle Ages, made a specially
of the manufacture of wine, they have be-
come family secrets. To these old meth
DDS have been added all the Improvements
suggested by modern chemistry. The
reason OF process has become known, and
frequently more effective ways have, by ac-
cident or design, been discovered In ad-
dition, the capital of many of the wine
growers IS sufficient to enable them to de-
lay the maturing of the wine until the
finest results are obtained, and conse-
quently when their wine is put upon the
market, there is guarantee of its quality.
But the champagne district is not the
only wine region Of France. All the soil
of the south is favorable to the cultivation
of the vine, aud most of it is given up to
wine-growing. The department of the
Gironde is famous for its wines, and some
of the best qualities, both of Bordeaux
and of champagne, are produced in the
neighborhood of the Chateau LATTE, the
name OF which has become famous through
a certain brand of especially fine wine |
But France is not without rivals in North
and Central Europe in the wine industry,
for there are several districts of Germany