The San Francisco call., 1906-08-26
CALF |FORN|A WINES
LOSING HOLD.
High Prices Asked for
Vintages Give Poorer
Products Opportunity
GROWERS DEMAND

{ L.
The vintage is close, and with its
approach the question of the price to
be paid for grapes is the absorbing one
in the wine districts. The subject is
always important to those directly
concerned, but this season its settle
nlent is fraught with unusual conse-
quences to the viticultura1 interests of
California. Basing their demands for
higher prices than those which they
ordinarily get on the destruction in
/ the San Francisco confagratfon of a
large quantity OF aged and maturing
wines. the grape growers find the wine
makers in no condition to meet their
views. The makers assert that the
prices of California dry wines are now
SO high as to shut them out of the
Eastern markets and that to continue
the policy inaugurated after the fire
VIII leave the field free from competi-
ton to New York Ohio and Missouri
vintages.
FOUNDATION FOR CLAIM.
That there is foundation for this
claim is apparent from Bonfort's Wine
and Spirit Circular the leading au-
thority on the subject. Reports made
TO that journal in its issue of August
10 show that the large wine houses of
the Middle and Western States con-
year very bright, while the report made
from California is just the reverse.
Extracts from some of this corre-
spondence are interesting and should
teach their lesson. Thus the Month
cello Wine Company of Charlottesville.
Va. writes that The outlook in the
wine trade is good and should be for
some time, if present prices are main
tanned" The Pleasant Valley Wine
Company of New. York reports that its
business has largely increased over
last year, while the New Hammonds-
gives a hint as to the cause of the
smiles which wreath the features of
Eastern viticulturists in the statement
that with the shortage in California
and the enforcement of the pure food
law. which will tend to limit unfair
competition, the prospect for the COM
ing year is bright" From the Lenk
Wine Company of Ohio comes the an
nouncement that the outlook for the
wine trade is very bright. while the
cause is given by the Stone Hill Wine
Company of Hermann, Mo, in the
assertion that the general outlook in
the wine trade is good. especially since
the prices of California wines have
been raised"
PROHIBIT0RY FIGURES.
The wine trade to which reference is
Eastern market, where. until the great
increase in the prices of the Califor
nian product, the inferior wines of Vir-
ginia, New York, Ohio and Missouri
found it difficult to compete. The
winemakers OF Ohio and Missouri ad-
mitted the inferiority of their wines in
a petition to Congress against inhibi-
tion of the use of sugar as contained in
the Fassett pure wine bill, but the
fears which that measure aroused
have been allayed by the action of the
California winenlakers in placing a
prohibftory figure on their goods. The
result is shown from the following eX-
cerpt of the San Francisco report con-
tanned in the same number of Bon
forts:
California dry wines at the present
time are not active in the Eastern
markets. In their place, at such CEN
ters as New York and New Orleans, the
Ohio and Missouri products have taken
their places to large extent. The
reason for this condition of affairs is
plain. The increased prices of CaIifor-
MIA wines have brought competition
which is hard to meet. This state of
things was foreseen as q temporary
result OF the advance in California dry
wine prices just after the conflagra-
ton, but there is danger that it may
remain more or less permanent"
PRICES MUST BE REDUCED.
From these reports on the situation
of both Eastern and. local origin the
fact stands forth prominently that un-
less the prices of California dry wines
are reduced they will have no chance
of sale in the Eastern markets against
the cheaper products of Virginia, New
York, Ohio and Missouri. The corollary
is that high prices cannot be expected
for grapes. for that means continued
high prices of wine and its shutting
out of New York and New Orleans.
The situation is so tense that the
principal winemakers and merchants
affirm that If they cannot buy grapes
at prices that will enable them to re-
sumo business in the East they will
only crush the berries grown on their
own vineyards.
FOREIGN INROADS IN TRADE.
While the Eastern competitors of
Californian wines are all smiles because
of the policy that obtains in this State,
some foreign wines have been making
great inroads into the domestic indus
try, quietly but none the less effec-
tually. Thus, taking Bonfort's table of
importations at New York for the seven
months ending July 81 for the years
1906, 1905 and 1904 the following de-
cline in California wines and great
growth in Italian wines ts,perceived:
1905 1908 1904
Italian Wines. s33. 600 3Ilo4o 30 92o
California Wines. .437, 300 1859, 150 1,9s9,10o
(By sea-
If any lesson is conveyed by these
figures and the reports made to the
great organ of the trade IL is that
business is slipping away from Cali
fornia, the cause being the undue price
of wines, which is regulated by the
prices of wine grapes.
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