The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-05-30
SPURIOUS FOREIGN WINES.
MANUFACTURES OF FRENCH WINE
WITHOUT GRAPES.

Testimony From French Experts.
The Various Processes OF AduIter-
alton ReveaIed-Many wines Taken
From the Same Vat and sent 10
AmerIcR Under weII-KnOwn
Brands.
From the Philadelphia Ledger.
Paris.-The action OF France. Germany
and other European governments IN plac-
ing an embargo on American cattle and
swine and their products. upon alleged
sanitary grounds. naturally suggests re-
taliatiOn on the part OF the United States
authorities. Inspection and ANALYSES by
French and German officials have DEM
onstrated the absence Of any suspicion Of
disease in American beef and pork. a fact
which tends to establish that the act
OF exclusion is predicated upon feeling of
resentment towards the United States on
account of tariff laws and customs regula-
tions. If the United States should seek
reasons and Qualifications for resenting
this unjust discrimination against Amer
lean meat products. no difficulty would be
experienced in finding them. 1t is noto-
rious here that the wines OF France and
Germany, exported to the United States,
are 'doctored" and adulterated with dele
terious and unhealthful substances, and
to an extent. that will surprise American
consumers. Apart from the merely COM
mercial principle involved in the contro-
versy over European, discrimination, the
United States authorities should insist,
out of regard for health Of the people
of the country, that the wines OF France
spection and analysis before being shipped
to America. l have given the subject Of
wine making in this country considerable
investigation. aud can establish to the sat
isfaction of intelligent and fair-minded
people that the wines sent to America are
Systematically adulterated and thereby
rendered unhealthful
To go back to the days when the doe
tering' of the wines of France became a
real science, we must revert to the phyl-
loXera period. and, as a GOOD starter from
that point, ] will quote from we'll known
French writer, whose book, lie Vim dc
France" is lying before me. I'm the FIRST
years of the phylloXera the ways of man
ufacturing wines without grapes were
multiplied. There was in the poverty OF
the crops, a very aluring inducement to
Justification They went far in this art
a little ticklish, but excessively lucrative.
Unfortunately, they went too far. and the
public soon discovered that it drank all
sorts of things in place of wine. The
learned bodies became Interested In the
question. Very suggestive analyses were
published; widespread reports. which
left nf
LEFTY in regard 20 the falsification' or at
least suspected medication, produced
among the consumers two states OF mind
differing according 10 tie individuals.
Some became alarmed, broke of the habit
of drinking wine. and attempted to replace
II with beer or cider If you would esti-
mate this zone of dissatisfaction, you
have only TO think of the vogue. sudden,
unprecedented. excessive, for white wine;
very much encouraged, besides by the
doctors and the chemists, who denounced
the presence In many Of the red wines OF
poisonous or suspicious colorlng matters.
Others-and this was most grave became
readily resigned 10 the sgfRiDg up of nat
ural wines. They became hRbituated to
strange mixtures which retain only the
name and color of wine; no more.
Granted that these abominations which
have such "a large sale in Paris, do not find
their way TO America. What do we get for
our money? l can make a very shrewd
guess at that conundrum. The phylloxera
lasted for ten years in France and our au-
thor quoted above, very candidly admits
that i'm that time the "doctorng'' of wines
and th fabrication out Of other sub
stances ian grapes, had developed into
an advanced science. Now DO not mean
to assert that the French wines which 20
to America are innocent OF any connection
with grape juice, but that they are doc
tored. and very much doctored. for the
American market. have no. manner of