The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-24
OUR WINE EXPORTS.

The report of wine exports and imports
of San Francisco for the first six months
of the current year, published in yester-
days CALL, makes wonderful showing.
It's leading features are these: Comparing
this period of 1895 with that of 1894, our
shipments to New York were nearly
doubled; to Central America, increased by
60 per cent; to Germany, increased g per
cent; to Mexico, Tahiti and Hawaii they
have decreased to per cent. Our total
outgoing shipments of wine were $500, 900
gallons for 1895 against 5000, 900 gallons for
1894. Our outgoing brandy for 1895 was
100000 gallons against 6,S00,000 gallons
for 1894, and our imports of brandy were
10000 for 1895 against 100000 for 1894. A
most astonishing disclosure is that whereas
in 1894 we imported 5,800.000 gallons of
wine, in 1895 the importations were $780,
600. All these figures refer to the first six
months respectively of 1894 and 1895, and
are here put in round form for con-
venience.
A number of instructive things, some
encouraging and others putting us on the
defensive, appear from this condition of
affairs. In the first place, it is unpardon-
able that there should be falling off in
our wine shipments to Mexico. While
that country has delightful climate, its
summer rains prevent its cultivation of
the fine, thin-skinned grapes which Cali
fornia produces, and from which the finest
wines of commerce are made. Mexico is a
very large consumer of light wines, and it
is evident that the country is drawing its
supply from Europe instead of California.
This cannot be because of European supe-
riority, for we have knowledge of the fact
that Mexico would prefer our wines if 1t
could obtain them. A very important
study for California vignerons would be
the tariff sheets of Mr.. Huntington's lines
connecting Mexico and California, the dis
ordinations practiced by Mexico in her
customs charges, and the efforts which
California might make for increasing the
popularity of it's wires in that country.
Mexico ought to be regarded as one OF the
most important and promising markets
that California has. not only for wine, but
for many other productions, as both social
and geographical reasons of a special
character exist for cultiVating the very
closest relations with that nation. The
fact that Chicago to-day controls probably
ten times as much of the Mexican trade as
California is reproach which our people
cannot afford TO suffer.
A similar argument, though not so
strong, is applicable to our relations with
the Hawaiian Islands. The making of
such wines as California produces is i'm
possible there by reason of the humid
climate. In short, it cannot be too often
drilled into the minds of California wine
makers that this is the only spot in all the
world where the grapes from which come
the fine wines of France, Italy, Germany
and Spain can be grown. The largely in
creased sales of our wines for the first six
months of the present year over those for
the corresponding period of 1894 have re-
suited from the organization of our wine
makers and not from their efforts to ex-
tend the consumption area Of the product
This is shown conclusively in the fact that
our shipments to New York this year have
been /, 100000 gallons, whereas for the first
six months of 1894 they were only 100000
gallons. Until we supply the entire
American, Mexican, Central American
and Hawaiian markets with ordinary
wines the resources within our grasp will
not have been mastered. Beyond those
countries lie Australia and the Orient, and
the increase of our exports to Germany