The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-03-28

IA no great name that Ia even slg-
Festive of total abstinence. After
the fatIgues Of hattie the great rap
talns OF the tnst were refreshed
: with flagon of wine, Before great
mental or thyteal Effort the great
|itien of thev bHsf ~6re' prepared for
jtht ordeal Iwith a, stuupiof wine.
NAPOLEON drank Clos -vonseot. and
ever now whenever n French regi-
ment marches past that vineyard. II
halts and presents arms.
The greatest OF all ceremonies OF
welcome and the crownlng honor or
the festive board js the "pledging
OF health" II Is Saxon mo-
lmento Of the times when the drink
Ing horn had to be raised with both
hands and the drinkers pledge"
stood beside him with drawn sword
In order that no enemy might stab
him while drinking
The time-honored toast OF oil ma.
vies Is "Our Country or "Our
King" and when the wearers OF the
uniform Of any nation stand and
give this pledge II does more to
endear home and country than all
the other observances Of the de-
Tenders Of any flag.
"Sweethearts and Wives" keeps
the memory OF home bright. and
often the sip Of wine Is met with q
lump in the throat OF a grim old
warrior. who through tear.dimmed
eyes above his glass gets "a glimpse
OF his loved ones at their faraway
freside.
! Wine growing has steadily In
creased with the growth of the conn
try. The few vineyards of the sun
ny hills Of Western New York were
followed by the many great vine
yards OF Ohio. The Carolinas and
Virginias have made wine since the
colonies were practically penal SET
Elements and the labor outside the
slave lines was supplied by social
or political outcasts and poor debt
ors.
While the sunny south Is better
adapted to wine growing than al
most any other section OF this re.
public II has made less progress IN
the industry than the more recently
settled districts and the average
southerner Is content to sip his
heavy, rich, fruity Scnppernong,
which has much OF the quality Of
port. with no ambition to improve
thus It Is that the hospitable south
Iwill offer the visitor this wine to-
day as II was produced many years
ago. To be sure, 1.-The wine of the
the vineyard or the vintage. !. and
country" as far as the south Is
concerned, has corn or rye as It's
basis and the dispenser OF plantation
hospitality expects the guest to par
tnke of either toddy of a mint julep
early and often.
The early Californians found the
America Spanish hasendao producing
"a fine wine from the vineyards on
his hillside and as quest for gold
brought ont and established the
families that caused the habltants
OF the eastern coast to Journey TO
the Pacific coast spread out from the
mining camp and found (what fol-
lows) an agricultural outlet. Now
the vineyards OF the golden state
produuce wine which in quantity al
most equals the entire product of
the old world In quality any liquid
Irefrestment produced under the sun.
California wine! Take II away and
bring me an imported claret! says
the drinker Of labels and the oblig-
Ing walters bring him bottle OF the
wine grown In California made In
California shipped In bulk to Europe
to be aged, racked of, bottled and
Iretnrned to Its native land, where
Ie'ep the false label It masquerades
under cannot conceal Its bouquet
and body from the consumer who
knows what he wants and can re-
cognize II when he gets 1t.
The wine merchants OF Europe
|call us a nation OF label drinkers
ana the reason Is apparant. Thous-
ands OF Americans journey 10 Ell.
rope yearly and owing to the phe-
nomenal advantages Offered, have
large sums of money to spend and as
la rule they contrive Tn spend Il in
whatever manner which attracts the
most attention. There Is no keener
student OF human nature than the
European hotelier. He viii, with the
most seryile how and extrayagant
gymnastics. send away choice bot
ne OF wine that has not found favor
III the serving to party of diners,
whose knowledge OF the beverage is
based on the price opposite the name
lof the wine on the card, and substi.
,,,te cheap strong liquid, with ev-
Iery assurance that had he known the
gentlemen desired the best they
should have had the best at first.
While some writer's credit the Or
fgin OF champagne to the Benedic.
lfine monk Dom Perlgon the careful
students OF the subject know hin
foi blenderi and Improver Of wines
while the production OF champagne
dates from the Gallo-Roman days.
nal A