Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-07-20

to yield all of the pure juiCc that could bc squeezed out of them the skins were placed in vats of water with very cheap article of sugar, and thcrc the stuff fcrmCnts and is turned into barrels. This prOcCss Is IT. pcatcd four or five times, or aS long as therc Is any strength or Culoring matter in the grape skin, as Il soup bone k hnil,tl over at a cheap bOaHiinG house. sugar being cheaper now than in the early days, the adultcration pays. This stuff was and Is sold for wine in the east and in Europe. This Is harmless ndultCratinn far aS unhcalthfulnUsS k concerned. Owing tO the great pcrcrntagc of sugar in the Cali fornia grape, the wines naturally contain Il great per cent of alcohol, and instead uf adding the usual adultCratiun (abuut T per cent of alcohoD it k obViatCd by pick ing the grape earlier in the season. hen it contains less of saccharinc substance, and thereby reducing the pCrCCntagc of alcohol. This class of wine must bc al lowed to age in order to acquire body and character. Another method of producing light wine" Is to plant in separate vineyard only that variety of grapes that does not contain a largo pcrcCntagc of sug- ar. But wincmakers who grow for the market do not mako this distinction. Only tho runchcr who grows for home con sumption makes an art of viticulturc by planting a certain kind of grapc in a light or heavy soil, for experience hns demon strated that the grape gives quality to the wine. while tho soil only modiflcs that quality.
 Atmospheric Disturbances.
 The climate of California being differ ent from that in any other part of the world, perfection in winCmaking was | only reached by experiment. Thcrc arc no summer rains to spoil the Gripc. Mil dew is found only in low. wet placCS whcrc vineyards are not planted, and thCr' | arc no atmospheric disturbances to sour the grape. Even the slightest influence is | felt by the very sensitive grape The eli mate and soil both have n marked inilu- ence upon tho grape, and each variety makes n distinct kind of wine. This Is what often puzzles the yintnCr, for com | petition has become so close that he must | survey the field and determine what qunl- | ity of wine will likely | in demand. Net | the vintncr hero has the advantage ui I warm sunshine continu lily fprm the time l the blossoms come out until they develop | into the luscious grape in October. The crop is surc. because it never rains bcfurC | December at tho earliest. The vines aTU | unstakcd, for thCrc is no fPnst or mild''w, | and the punches arc left to f,ruw sw'vI"r.
 Tho Mission San Gabriel, n few mil''s | from Los Angeles, had the first vineyard | in California. Its carly history is lost In | the mists of tradition, as well as the na- tivity of Its vines. One theory is that | the vines wero taken from some of the | wild varieties that grow in this section be fore tho friars came, and another Is that the missionaries planted tho scCtls from raisins imported from Spain. This latter Is more likely to bc corrcct, for the frinrs attempted to make wine from the wild grape, which they found to bc mOrc difii' cult of domcsticating than the Indian: | wern However, after experimenting, they propagntcd two NarlcticS-one known n: tho "Blue Mission" grape. the other tho White Mission" Irapc, the latter having musky flavor. This variety k also found in New Mexico, where missions had been established also by Spain. The ''blus grape' wine, in its purity, Is similar tc the "rcd wine'' of Old Castillo and wa: the prevailing table wine of the Spaniari. and Mexicans. As labor was no object therc being plenty of Indians in the coun try, the greatest carc and attention wcr given to viticulturc. Each mission hat from 10 to 20 acrcs in vines, which pro duccd from 500 to 1000 gallons of win' per aero.
 Crude Nethods-
 The principal ranchcrs had their owI distillerics-crudcA and curious-but the, turned out better wine than we get today | two vessels n year came, and ns bottles | casks, etc, wcro scarce very little attcn l ton was given to trade, and the winc IT maincd in tho rcccivcr until 1t became olS and respectable in tone. Don Antonio F Coronel. now n resiaass. uf Los Angeles | still preserves as relics his crude cistcrn wine press and worm" used by him iI making wine and brandy in the fortics The wooden press Is somewhat worm cat en, but the copper lined cisterns could b made to do service for n century, but the. | arc out of date now.
 Tho large cistcrn has a capacity of 50' gallons. White wine" is made iron tho blue grape. Indians gathered tn punches of grapes on hides, which wcr taken to tho press, cmptied into n scrcen and the grapes, becoming detached iron | theiY stems, fell through the scrccn an' wa crushed between two involving roll
 Tho bruised grapes fell on an inclin
 and the iuieo was conducts
 fn about 10 hcurs tn
 ferinunk and in eight ?