The morning call., 1893-04-10
THE VINTAGE OF 1902.

The returns from the Halles des Wins
give the wine crop of France Tor the year
1892 al 654, 34S, eco gallons as against 619.-
000 COO gallons in 1891. and about 645, 600
gallons in 1890 In 1875, before the phylloxera
appeared, the French crop was nearly 2. 000.-
0O0, coo gallons. 1t may thus be assumed.
rourdly, first, that the attempts of the
French 10 eradicate the pbylloxera have
been failure; and secondly. that the raw
ages OF the pest have about reached their
ultimat limit. 1t hardly seems likely that
the French crop will fall below 600. 100000
gallons, and unless some new discovery is
made to extirpale the insect it does not ap-
pear probable that in our time it will reach
the figures of twenty years ago. For many
years TO come France will have to rely on
Spain, Portugal, Italy and the United States
for something like O.000, coo gallons OF
wine.
1t has rarely happened in history that a
vine-growing district has ceased to be
vine-growing. Ii the course of wars vines
have been uprooted and vintages destroyed.
But when peace followed war the vines
were replaced and soon regained their pro-
ductiveness. The wines of Italy, Greece
and the Greek islands, which the Romans
drank, is made TO this day. and uncommonly
poor wine it is. There is one instance of
vine-growing region ceasing to figure as a
source of supply-that is Madeira At the
time the 0idium disease broke out there
forty years ago, Madeira wine was even
more popular than champagne and was
fully as expensive. Abroad no good dinner
was served without It, and at the tables of
many people who were well to do in this
country the decanter Of Madeira was as in
disPensable rs knives and forks. The
oidlum caused the destruction OF every Vine
yard on the island, and when the vines
were replanted the phyll0xera appeared and
protracted the battle Of the vine-growers
for ten years more. In the meantime Wine
drinkers had been compelled TO replace their
faVorite wine with the vintages of France
and Germany, and when the islanders sue
ceeded in growing wine once more it had
gone out of fashion. The two Islands now
produce less wine than is raised in Alameda
County, and there is no demand for It. The
Madeira which is sold by wine-merchants is
IL ostIy made in London out OF the sweet
wines of Spain and Portugal.
There never was finer opportunity for
California to step into a profitable market
than the wine situation now presents.
France alone will take all the sound elaret
we can make. But our vine-growers ap-
pear to be making haste very slowly to turn
their opportunities 10 account. Twelve
years ago the president of the Viticultural
Association predicted that in very few
years California would produce 80, 1000, 900
gallons of sound wine, and would never
produce less in any subsequent year. As a
matter Of fact it is doubtful if the vine
growers ever produced 90 600, coo gallons in
any one year. 1t is exceedingly doubtful
whether the vintage is any larger than it
was six or seven years ago.
In searching for the causes OF the failure
of California to accomplish what appeared
10 be her natural destiny, number of fac
tors are discovered. A large proportion of
the people who bought or planted vineyards
were Ignorant of the business-broken down
merchants. retired capitalists, amateur vine
growers-and they made no wine that would
SELL One of the largest vine-growers in
the state Accumulated in his cellars an
enormous quantity of wine which he was
keeping to rpen; ii was found so worthless
that it had to be distilled and sold as
| brandy. Other amateurs lowed losses to
discourage Them and practically abandoned
their vineyards. Finally, the wine trade of
this city drifted into the bands of a few
men, who formed a close combine, agreed
not TO bid against each other for vine and
mus 1GTceu iowa the price 20 figure which
did not remunerate the honest and iatslli-
gent grower.
The remedy for these evils will come in
time, but The time may seem long to those
who always want TO accomplish results in
twenty minutes. The French have been
making claret wine for haf a dozen centur-
les; we read of champagne being served on
tables in the time of Louis XIV. Combines
and syndicates, when they begin to make
money, provoke com petitors, and when COM
petition awakes intrinsic values assert
themselves. The vintage of France this
year is valued al % cents gallon, which is
from to 10 cents more than the warehouses;
in this city are Wiiling to give for wines
from first hands. Where a California vine-
grower can afford it he will consult his in
terest by marketing hi vintage in the East
There the price of his goods will be regu-
latad nv Cunnlv daD,apd nd raaI ,,ot,ro