The San Francisco call., 1904-10-31

made right there. We give our wines
time to mature. Those of California
rarely get beyond being juice. To a
vine man all unprotected wine Is
Juice When 1 say that some of the
California wines are good, I mean
table wines may be good, but they are
put on the market too young to stand
shipping. Used where it is made, a
new wine may taste we'll and be pure,
but sent on journey it gets off, To
prevent this California dealers are
using salycillic acid in wines, or rather
juices, they ship East, as preserva-
tive. This acid, harmless in small
quantities, is an accumulative poison
and consequently deleterious to people
who drink much of the wine contain
ing it. The knowledge of the use of
this adulterant Is greatly prejudicing
the Fastener against California wines.
The desire to obtain quick results is
casting a cloud over the splendid fu-
ture California vintages should have.
WINE is NOT MATURED.
'I say there is not one drop Of true
wine-that is the properly matured
article-shipped from California.
1T takes five years to mature a
table wine and ten years to mature
any of the high grade wines, such as
port and sherry. There are few wines
In California held five years.
"The great trouble out there is the
desire to get the juice on the mar
ket and secure returns. There is not
sufficient cellar room in the State to
mature the product and the growers
of grapes haven't enough money to
hold their juice until it is true wine.
Some of 1t is sold after six months,
most of it after eighteen months. You
Ill IrA A-I-
under five years. All fruit juices con-
tain animalculae. Those in grape
juice change twice a year for five
years and then live forever. Then the
wine is matured and will stand hand
ling and shipping without the use of
deleterious adulterants.
1T seems to me that California
dealers are building up a rotten struc-
ture that will tumble about their ears
some day. They are pursuing a policy
that Is going to do them far more ul-
innate damage than it is doing them
present good. 1t is probable that the
grower of the grape doesn't know just
how his future is being threatened.
At least he is not in position to
protest. 1t takes great deal of labor
to work a vineyard and then perhaps
there is interest, on a mortgage, for
many growers buy their land on the
expensive, too. They have to sell for
what they can get. If they could
store their juice for five years it would
be worth vastly more and each sue
cessive year would bring them a crop;
but they can't carry themselves over
that long.
"Shiploads of juice are still going
from California to France, there to be
rebottled in the French laboratories
with fitting adulterants, and reshipped
to America to be sold under French Ia
bells at higher prices than the similar
wine direct from California brings
This doesn't hurt the reputation of Cal
ifornia vintages any, but II the
growers could only keep that juice
In proper cellars for five years they
would put a wine on the market that
would help build up a different reputa-
ticn for the California product and give
them the increased returns that France
gets merely from her labels.
MORE CELLARS NEEDED.
california will never get good prices
for her vintages and put them on a
high plane that will bring grower and
dealer permanent prosperity until she
goes about wine making in substan-
tial and honest way. There must be
more cellars, and every wine sent away
from the home market must be proper
ly matured. A prejudice against wines
that are produced by the use of adul-
terants is a handicap that will cut OF
profits. California must get full sup
ply of matured wine on hand and keer
it up.
Some big wineries in California are