The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-09-28
now CHAMPAGNE IS PUSHED.
Men of Social Position Employed
to Introduce and Boom Brand.
From the New York Herald

to Introduce and Boom Brand.
From the New York Herald.
Consumption of champagne is this
country within the last ten years, so a
prominent wine merchant tells ne, has
immensely increased. Probably three
times as much is imported now as de-
cade ago.
The total value of champagne importa-
lions average, for the whole country,
| some S, OO0,O 600 or $4,000, 600 year. Half
of this is consumed in New York.
Five million dollars for champagne in
a single city Try to get a proper per-
! spective on this fact. Last winter at
the time when the distress and suffering
of the poor people of this city for lack of
work and food was at its hight, as if to
defend the rich people of the city from
I the charge of uncharita oleness, prom
/ inent minister, the pastor of u wealthy
/ church, declard that probably Sl5,000,000
was given away every year in New York
I in public and private charities. He di-
/ lated upon this sum. He showed how
/ deeply the comparatively small, wealthy
/ population of the city had to 90 into its
/ pocket in order to raise this immense
| fund.
1t would take good deal of figuring to
| estimate what New York spends, all told,
| for drink, for wines, beers, whiskies and
! the like. 1t would be an astonishing sum.
/ But there are not many people, compare
! lively, who enjoy the luxury of drinking
| champagne at 81 bottle. Nevertheless,
those who do set aside S5,000,O00 a year
! for this purpose. Enough to line their
| alimentary canals with gold to a very APP
! probable thickness.
HOW TO SELL IT.
| As it happens there are not many fine
! brands of champagne, the rivalry among
| the dozen or so leading wine firms of the
| city is keen and lively. All sorts of eX-
| pedients are resorted to to push a wine
! and very pretty penny is employed every
| year for this purpose. AS to the extent
! of this latter there is no doubt a popular
| eXaggeration. An agent who spends a
| great deal of money about the clubs and
| fashionable cafes opening champagne,
| will attract great deal more atteEoion,
for example, than the dry goods mer-
| chant who spends hundreds of thousands
of dollars every year advertising in the
| newspapers.
Still, when it happens that a rich Par
! isian wine firm concludes to enter the
| New York market the money, or rather
the champagne, flows freely l was told
| the other day of such firm, which I'M
| dertook to make an opening in this city
five or six years ago. It's members were
millionaires, and they did not do things
| half way They set aside $4,000 year
for five years-that is to say, about $780,
| 600 for the purposes of promotion. Just
by way of a sequel it may be worth men
tioniug that this brand never seemed to
catch the favor of drinkers in this coun-
try, and the amount paid out in pushing
it was all but wholly thrown away
If were at liberty 10 print the names
| of some of those whose names are banded
about in wine circles as champagne
tOuts'' some people would stare, fancy,
| and there are others who would swear.
SOME GOOD statesmen.
1t is very well known that Berry Wall
at one time endeavored to turn his cele-
brity as the king of the dudes to profit
able account by turning wine tout. 1t
happened that the brand he endeavored
to exploit was a very bad one, and his
reputation was somewhat impaired by
his efforts. | believe that Howell Osborne
at one time replenished a startling detici-
ent exchequer by similar means. There
are four or five men whose names con-
stantly figure in the newspapers as club
men, society swells and amateur sports,
who devote all their time TO booming GER
tain grades of champagne and whose oc-
cupation is pretty well known. They APP
parently do not lose social caste from
their Beaver street connections.
How many other men who figure prom
inently turn a pretty penny in this way,
or whose champagne, at least, costs them
nothing, only the private books of the
dealers would disclose. Yet 1t is worth
knowing that connections of this sort
are not temptingly held out by the wine
merchants, but they are, on the contrary,
more or less eagerly sought by people
whose standing would apparently put
| them above sucn things.
| Some years ago there was great deal
of effort and a great deal of good money
| thrown away in endeavOring to INTRODUCES
| cheaper brands of champagne But tie
effort was signal failure all round. u
day, am told, there is next to no bud
! champagne drank in New York. Amoag
those who drink the wine judicial taste
has been established, and it would b.
hopeless attempt to fOiSt an inferior grlde
upon the public now. Charles Mex.
| Loeser of the Wine and Spirit Circllar,
told me many interesting facts in regard
to champagne production and conslmp
ton
MUCH OF sAMENEss.
There isl he said. really yer little
| difference in the various grades of cham
payne brought to this country. Tley are
| all of them made in a single district in
France, and it seems impossible teIobtain
| exactly the same kind of wine fDm any
other place on earth. A great many peo-
pie in this country confound champagne
and the sparkling wine. In France there
is very heavy penalty for LABELLING any
wine as champagne which is produced
anywhere outside of the chamlagne dis
trict. There are very fine sparkling
wines made in other parts Of France and
in Germany and in this country. But
they are not champagne. and 10 one who
has any sort of an educated taste will
ever be deceived by them"
Then there is no such thing as Ameri-
can champagne" / asked, cunousLy
Strictly speaking, no. Wocannot pro-
duce in this country exactly the same
wine as the champagne district, and it
cannot, therefore, lie strictly given this
name. But it does not meal that very
fine, sparkling wines are MT grown in
this country.
There is very exaggerated impress
sion as to the profits in the wine bust