The morning call., 1892-09-29
CALIFORNIA WINES ON TOP
Awarded the highest Pre-
MUM at Genoa,
Where the Products Of Many Parts Of the
World Were Shown-sonoma County
Gets Gold Medal.

California wines fad favor wherever they
are used. and that is particularly true where
the wine Is used in foreign countries, where
the inhabitants know good wine when they
taste it.
Pure California wine is equal to the best
French wine ever put in cask or bottle" is
the verdict of the best judges, and CaifOr-
mans are proud Of it.
The wine interest has drawn to California
large number of persons from Europe who
were brought up in the wine districts and
who know all about wine growing and wine
making.
The experience and knowledge of these
people has been put to practical use with
the result that year by year there is a
marked Improvement in the quality Of the
products of the vineyard.
Not long since a representative of The
CALL visited one of the large vineyards Of
the State, and while there met French
man who had thirty years experience
in his own country at wine making before
coming 10 this State Being questioned in
his native tongue as to his observations
during three years in California vineyards
he SAID:
you have in this country all that can be
desired to produce the best of wines. You
have the best kind OF land, climate that can
not De surpassed, good products TO the acre,
aud all the modern improvements in the
science of making wine, but what your
winemakers need-I mean those whO actu-
ally make the wine-is knowledge, and that
takes time.
GU are no doubt aware that in order to
make coed caret it is necessary to blend
the products OF several kinds of grapes
Now, the winemaker must learn the precise
value OF each quality of grape-must know
its strength and q II that-Su that he NAV make
a nprfppt blend Ruf If Is n m ha raG
III one season, for you have to study vine
as you would a human being If you wish 10
know what 1t is capable Of doing.
las soon az your winemakers shall have
learned all this they will make much better
wine than they do now. Not that you have
not good wine at present, far from that. for
some excellent wine Is placed on the mar
ket, but, like everything else, il can be i'm
proved upon, and during nv stay in this
country l have already noticed a great deal
of improvement"
Among those who have come to this coun-
try from Europe to work in the vineyards
of this State are colony Of Italians and
Swiss wnemakers, who have located at
at Asti, Sonoma County, and they. as the
Frenchman above quoted have made q
study Of what they planted, with result
that is credit to them aud to the State.
About four months ago the colony for
warded twenty different varieties of wines
manufactured by them from the products of
tHSlf ihduluiUtu FiitydIu ~ lit IidlO-AIlbT-
lean Columbus exhibition at Genoa.
The result of their enterprise is shown IN
the following cablegram from Genoa which
reached them yesterday morning:
The very highest premium Ga gold medaD has
been awarded 10 the wines OF the IIalianSwiss
Agricultural Colony.
In view of the fact that SAMPLES from
wine-grOwers in the United States, South
American republics and Italy were on exhi-
bitioD, the success of the Italian-SwisS coll
ony In obtaining the gold medal is all the
more gratifying, as it will have the effect of
still further booming the California wines
In the markets OF the world