The San Francisco call., 1906-11-26

IL CONTINUING uHlil OClODeI To- dDOQl
10000 people were busy every
day and Sunday gathering and
pressing champagne grapes in the dis
trict between Rheims and Epernay.
Consul Miller, writing from Rheims,
says:
The vintage took place in fine
weather and the grapes matured salts
factorily. Although the crop is not as
large as in some former years. it is
of excellent quality. There is suit
able degree of alcohol, and the must
(jdice) has a plentiful bouquet and
finesse. while there is the requisite
amount of acidity. These conditions
constitute a perfect equilibrium and
form wine that Will keep well.
When the grapes were picked all
the defective berries are cut from each
bunch and thrown into baskets with
the refuse grapes, which are sold to
the makers of cheap champagne for
sale in France and nearby countries
with low tariff The first-class houses
use the juice obtained from the first
three DRESSINGS of the selected grapes
After the three DRESSINGS the grapes
are pressed four times more for the
tailings. which go to the makers of
cheap champagne, sometimes artificial
ly charged, that sells in France at
from ] to 5 francs tfranc-19.3 cents)
a bottle After the last drop Of Juice
has been pressed out of the grapes
a cheap brandy is made from the pulp
The cheap gradeMf champagne is not
manufactured at all by the leading ex-
porting houses, so they must sell the
last DRESSINGS to the smaller houses
of the trade. The brandy is made by
individuals and small concerns by the
use of the most primitive kind of a
distilnng outfit.
The grape presses are kept running
day and night and the grapes are taken
Immediately after being picked to the
press before there is any chance for
the least decay or fermentation. The
presses are very large and hold 1000
kilos, or more than two tons, of grapes
at one pressing. Some of the exporters
own large vineyards of their own, but
none of them probably raise enough
grapes to supply their champagne
trade. All the leading exporters are
large buyers of grapes from the own
ers of vineyards, large and small. Some
champa gne makers own no vineyards
at all, but buy all their grapes
The price paid for grapes by the
champagne makers is fixed each year
at the beginning of the vintage. when
it can be determined TO quantity
ana ", DY d OF manu-
facturers and growers who meet at
Rheims The earliest grapes. or first
picked, are generally the highest
priced. The price this year for the
first quality is l franc % centimes Go
cents) per kilo q 1-5 pounds), or 500
francs for one cask GOO liters or 211
quarts) of grape juice. or must. 400
kilos of grapes being required to fill
one cask. This makes the grape Juice
necessary for the production of one
quart of champa gne cost about Al cents
this year The cost of manufacturing
/ by the most refined processes, and
keeping the wine from three to five
years before it is placed on the market
is very expensive.
The highest price paid for cham
pagne grapes in recent years was in
! 1889 when the price of the first quail
/ ity ranged from 4 to AZ francs per
kilo, or nearly. 40 cents pound As it
requires kilos, or over pounds of
grapes to make one quart of cham
pagne, it will be seen that the Juice
necessary to make one quart cost more
than three times as much as it does
this year. or about s160 The price
! of grapes varies each year, and de-
pends upon the quantity and quality
/ of the crop.
Notwithstanding the wide difference
in the price of grapes in some years
| over others, the price of champagne re-