The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1897-09-08
Wine-Making
In South Carolina-Vander-
cock. The Well Known
California Wine Man
Here.
Talks interestingly About Grape
Culture ana Says It Should
Pay in South Carolina.

!
San Francisco wire grower and deal
er, whose fight against the State dis.
pensary has made him quite we'll
| known here, arrived in the city yes
terday.
eyes, I am here to see for myself
what the real situation is. /" said Mr..
Vande1cock, pleasantly. when ap-
preached by a reporter, "and to
establish agencies all over the State.
You see, no amount of correspondence
can explain South Cardinals liquor
problem After coming on here |
understand the situation and intend
to establish agencies in every place
of any size in the State. For con-
venience in distributing our goods |
have started branch agency in
Atlanta. From there no difficulty
will be experienced in filing the or
ders from this State"
Mr.. Vandercock said he had made
Mr.. " B Meetze his agent in this
city. The demands for his wines
were increasing and his shipments
amounted to from two to four carloads
a month.
In response to the question of what
he thought of the dispensary law,
Mr. Vsndercock answered that high
license, 10 his opinion, would be bet
ter "What you people ought to
do," said be, sis to encourage the
drinking of light wines and beers
This would not only be beneficial as
a temperance measure, but it would
serve to build up a paying industry
in this State-that of wine growing
By placing a high license on the sale
of all liquors containing, say 1S or
20 per cent. of alcohol. and exempt
ing those which did not contain that
percentage, the State would be en-
couraging its citizens to raise wine
Since coming here | am told that
from the scuppernong grape. yield
os 1000 gallons an acre can be OBJ
tained. TIE wine fron this grape
is excellent. in fact it makes q very
fine dry wine and would even produce
champagne
..Bus leave the quality of the wine
out. In California new wine sells
for 81 cents gallon, and yield OF
thousand gallons an acre would
bring s21O What crop have you
that would bring that muchS And
with your cheap labor here grapes
could be raised for much less than in
California, where we pay a Chiana-
man 81 day, which is twice as
much as you pay your negro laborer.
Twenty FIVE dollars at the most would
make your crop and there you have a
profit left of SlS5 an acre Other
grapes would do as well here as the
scuppernong.
"Since travelling over this State l
am ready to say that the soil is par.
ticulasly we'll adapted to grape grow
ing. In producing the finer and
drier wines you don't need too rich a
soil. Fertilizers would be unneces-
sary. in fact injurious.
"Why, in France where the finest
champagne is made. the grapes are
grown on rocky billsides- After
coming here and seeing what you
people could do, I am surprised that
you don't start at once to raising
wine Foster the industry as have
said by placing high license on
liquors containing over 20 per cent
of alcohol and exempting wines, and
you will have some of the finest vine
yards in the country"
Mr.. Vandercock has been over
the greater part of the State. He
has established Is or 20 agencies and
will have others. He is very much
pleased with his trip to the Palmetto
State. He will remain in the city
until to morrow.-The State.