The San Francisco call., 1895-12-15
Bordeaux Exposition Is Favored
With the Earth's Choicest
Vintages.
ABOUT CALIFORNIA; EXHIBIT.
Paul Oeker Gives an Account of the
Great Aggregation of Vineyard
Products.

Pantagruel: (Which of the two things
would you rather have, nose as long as
your sight or sight as short as your
nose?" Pantagruel, after rejecting a
moment, answers: "Id rather have
drink" Rabelais evidently thought in
regard to such obscure and idle questions
that the truth might be found at the bot
tom of the glass: In zinc Ueritas. After
all it is of greater Importance to know
what wine has been poured into your
glass. In the good old time of the Curate
of Meudon the sellers of adulterated wine
had no such easy time as those rogues of
the present day. May Rabelais' hero and
his successors always drink good, genuine
wine and they will easily console them
selves for not giving answers to certain
questions. Surely the great wine expos1-
ton, as part of the generalfa fair at Bordeaux,
will have largely contributed toward
solving the question as to where in the
world such genuine wine may be mad,
and the State of California, as one of the
tenants OF this magnificent "Palais des
Vins' at Bordeaux has an equal interest
in showing it. Although only small ex-
hibit, this Californian contribution, COM
ing bravely distance of 1000 miles or so,
to the proud congress of all the noblest
wines of the world, gathered here at the
famous viticultural center on the banks of
the Garonne, cannot fail to hold its own in
the illustrious assembly of the great
"crus" of Medoc, Burgundy and other dis
tricts.
1t was evidently intended by the pro-
moters of this Bordeaux Wine Exposition
to show to the world at large that at last
the French vintner had triumphed over
his enemies, the phylloxera, the mildew,
the black rot, ETC., after twenty years of
persistent struggle, after m!lllons and
millions Of losses and a seemingly unending
Sisyphus labor. that at last the former
prosperity of the French vineyards had
begun to return.
But then the question has been asked :
Why did Bordeaux invite her competitors
of other countries? Why allow them by
coming 10 become still better known, and
even gain fresh prestige by obtaining
prizes and medals within the very walls of
the great wine city? French wine experts
and interested parties say in answer that
the axis of the wine mart of the world has
changed since the time of the phylloxera,
and France to-day, despite the reconstruc-
tion of her vineyards, is obliged to gravitate
in new tracks and to reconquer her old
markets. Twenty years ago the wine mart
was localized in France; at present it is
universalized, and new relations have
been entered upon between the various
nations, from which France cannot afford
to keep aloof.
The French producers and dealers, there
fore, want to be thoroughly posted on all
new conditions, on all new wine industries
In the different countries. What better
means, they further say, could therefore
have been devised than the general adj
nf1G nj a vii fr1r raI
products of the world to this Bordeaux eX-
position, thus affording an opportunity
right here to study and learn what their
competitors are doing. Moreover. what
would the real Bordeaux. Burgundies and
Champagnes have to fear from wines of
other climes and countries? However this
may be, the International Wine Exposi-
ton at Bordeaux became fait accompli,
the invitation was accepted by all wine
producing nations, and we find gathered
here, by the side of the very complete
national and colonial French exhibits
wines and spirits from Germany (Alsace-
Lorraine, Moselle, Rhine, Bavaria), Cali
fornia; also New York State, Australia,
Chile, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, Austria
Italy, Japan, Russia, Portugal, Roumania,
Argentine, Uruguay, Switzerland, Syria,
Denmark Norway, Turkey, etc.
One is wildly reminded here of the lines
of the poet Mouselet:
There Is an hour when all the great wines meet
each other
No more quarres now between those brave COM
No more interior discord between the Gascon and
None are missing at this peaceable rendezvous
All are here-oh, what magnificent spectacle,
What resplendent gala
But while the :Palais des Wins" un-
doubtedly is the wonder and the key Of
the Bordeaux Fair-which. by the way,
will be closed in the second half of No
vember-the latter is also a general ex-
position on considerable scale of all
products of industry, agriculture, art, in
duStrial art, sciences, ETC., and is quite an
extensive enterprise. Besides France, AL
geria and Tunis, the French colonies and
countries of the protectorate, only Eng
land, Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, Spain
and Portugal were admitted as exhibitors.
But in it's wine and spirit departments,
electricity and social sciences it is worlds
fair, open to every nation without disiinc-
ton. The originator and manager of the
whole exposition is the Philomatic
Society of Bordeaux, under the presidency
of the eminent engineer, E. Aug. Hausser.
This society was founded as early as the
year 180S Its principal object is to pro-
mote useful industries and practical
science, comprising technical and profess
sional instruction and education by means
of free classes and popular lectures, the
holding of technical, commercial and
scientific reunions, expositions, congresses,
etc. Its first exposition was held in 1927,
lasted forty days and comprised sixty ex-
hibitors. Five more were held during the
period of 1923 to 1S45.
The seventh took place in 1S47 and was
on a much larger scale than its predeces-
sors. Though it was only a district fair,
there were 300 exhibitors, and a national
art exhibition was part of it. The tenth,
which took place in 1859 and lasted three
and a half months, was entirely national,
embracing also the colonies, and had at
tracted 1900 exhibitors. The eleventh, in
1865 was the first international exposition
held in Bordeaux, with over 1000 exhibitors
and 300 900 visitors. Finally the twelfth,
held in 1882, had the character of worlds
fair in the wine and spirit department.
There were 5000 exhibitors and 1000, 900
visitors.
The present exposition is the thirteenth
and the greatest ever held here. In size
and extent it may be compared to our
Midwinter Fair, containing about an equal
number, or even more, of large buildings
and halls, of an artistic style or preten-
tious construction. The exhibition grounds
cover the whcle of the magnificent and
immense public square of Bordeaux, which
fronts on the River Garonne, the Place des
Quinconces, surface of about $1,000