The morning call., 1894-06-21
THE WINE PRODUCT OF ITALY.

| The sudden leap of Italy to the first
place among erape-growing countries has
| led to the publication in various quarters
of statistics on the wine production of the
| world. These are to some extent con-
| jectural. 1t is not easy to see where the
data we're obtained for statement of the
production of Russia or Argentine. But
the figures of the leading wine-produc3g
countries are probably derived from official
sources, and may be regarded as fairly
trustworthy.
From them it appears that the worlds
total product of wine at the present time
is 1913, S91,970 gallons, or, in other words,
that for every bushel of wheat that is grown
nearly one and half gallons of wine are
made to wash it down. Over three-fifIhs
OF the total product comes from three
countries-Italy, Spain and France. The
other two-ffths are derived from Austria
Hungary. Portugal. Germany. Alglers.
Greece. Russia and other minor producers.
The share of the United States is less than
1-125th of the whole. 1t is difficult to
make an estimate of the number of wine.
drinkers in the world. Probably three
fOurtbs of the worlds population, to-wit,
NhO lCoIuCuto VI ASIA, AlIiS1 dUu bU6
islands of both hemisp heres, drink no wine
worth reckoning. OF the Inhabitants of
North America and Europe, say 100000
600 people. large proportion drink spirits
and beer, but not wine. Perhaps it would
be safe to say that the wine-consumers do
not number over 30OO00,O00 If so. the
vineyards grow eleven gallons of wine a
year for each of them, which is less than
the consumption per head in the Latin
countries OF Europe, but more than the
average consumption in the Teuton aud
Anglo Saxon countries.
Italy and Spain together, with an area
about twice that of California, produce be-
tween them about 1,6O0, 900 gallons OF
wine. California, with a soil and climate
as we'll suited to the vine as theirs, pro-
duces in good year about 100000 gal
Ions. The difference is explained by the
fact that we have been about forty years
at the business. while they have certainly
been over two thousand years and for
aught we know three thousand or more.
The ancient Etruscan amphora which are
being dug out of the ruins of prehis torc
palaces were certainly not intended to
hold wafer; and Homer would not have
described the Cyclops getting fudded with
new wine if the juice of the grape had not
been in common use. 1t is not necessary
to quote the well-known case of Father
Noah. But there are vineyards IN Lom-
hardy and others in the volcanic country
back Of the gulf of laramie as to which
the evidence is pretty clear that they were
yielding a sound wiDe-thOugh sweer-in
the time of Christ Wait till California
hoC han
thousand years and then. it will show
what it can do both in regard to quantity
and in regard to quality.
Italy is exporting now about SIS, 00O, 900
worth Of wine and "argoIs," which are
the lees of wine. 1t has lately been max
ing some very superior wine in the Capri
district and in the environs of Florence
and shipping it In glass. In 1892 the ex-
port was over 100000 bottles. Tomaso
Salvini, the actor, has a cellar in the hills
back of Florence which contains wine that
represents a fortune; he believes that the
cellar was used for the same purpose in
the days when Horace composed his odes
over a beaker of old Falernian. The
Italian wines of olden time were sweet
and heady: modern Italians are making a
light, dry wine in which there is no head
ache. With the exception of Sicily, Sar-
DINA and the Adriatc coast, the modern
Italian wine districts produce a wine
which runs low in alcohol. The wines of
the Marches and of Tuscany carry less
than 10 per cent and the wines of Lom-
hardy no more. They are all high in
glucose. 1t might be an interesting ex-
pertinent to try the LacEima Christi grape
on some of our volcanic soils in the font
hills Success would mean fortune.