The Pioche record. [volume] (Pioche, Nev.) 1908-1925, 1911-05-27

U "a N - uAoNOAlCnl vi tue why
growers in the French cham
payne region. which culmina-
III ted in violent disturbances and
the destruction of enormous
quantities of champagne, was the re-
suit OF the suffering of the people in
the Department of Marine which the
wine growers there attributed to the
extensive manufacture of adulterated
and counterfeited wine.
To protect the growers of real
| champagne the French government in
| 1907 instituted an investigation. AS
the result of a years work of the in
! vestigating committee the govern
ment secured the passage of a law
which provided an official label for
real champagne and requiring that no
wine should bear this label unless 1t
were wholly the production of a spe-
citic district-a region within the linn
its of the Department of Marine.
| From the start the law delimiting
the champagne country was unpopu-
lar, there being numerous complaints
that it was not rigidly enforced. Dis
satisfaction led to meetings of pro-
test, the wine growers asserting that
| wine was imported into Marine where
| 1t was bottled and marked with the
government label. Counter-demon-
STATIONS were begun in the Depart
ment of Aube, where the wine grow
ers clamored to have their department
included in the delimited champagne
district.
Taking cognizance of the Aube
! growers the French senate. after a
long discussion, adopted resolution
April IL in favor of the suppression of
all territorial delimitation AS soon
as the news of the senate's action
reached the Marine region, where 1t
was regarded as deadly blow to
/ their interests and a concession to
! the rival and neighboring Department
of Aube, the exasperated Marne wine
growers rose in arms and burned and
sacked every Aube wine depot they
could reach,
Rheims and Epernay, in the Depart
ment OF Marne, are the centers of the
champagne trade. Each town is about
two hours by rail southwest of Paris
| The department covers only about
forty thousand acres. This depart
ment lies in the old Province of
Champagne, from which the wine
takes its name.
The soil Is of a chalky formation
that retains the suns heat and pre-
vents heavy dews, thus giving the
grape a fine chance to mature The
rolling hill country provides a good
natural drainage, and there is about
the same yield year after year with
out any necessity for enriching or re-
newing the soil. The vines are grown
on small poles and are cut back every
second or third year. In June, for
miles around, one gets the fragrant
odor of the young grape blossoms !;
and in October, in the vintage season,
masses of small purple and white
grapes, heaped in profusion every.
where, are picturesque sight.
The wine is stored in immense
caves in Rheims and at Epernay, 16
miles distant Some of the caves ex
tend for miles under the city, and
parts of Rheims are literally honey
combed Often the caves are three
, stories deep, so as to vary the TEN
perature One descends to them by q
.splendid flight of 116 steps cut out
: of the chalk soil. The caves are more
than ten miles long and are constant
ly being added to. There are about
two hundred large rooms in them, ant
some of the corridors are more thar
quarter of a mile in length
1t is not unusual to have as much
as 100000 to 100000 bottle.
e ;tored in these cellars at one time
The wine cellars everywhere are a.
spotlessly clean and fresh as a New
england housekeeper's kitchen. Ii
several rooms fine bas-reliefs ar,
sculptured in the chalk,
The workmen are all well paid: an,
each receives, besides. bottle of re,
t vine in the morning and another II
\ the afternoon, to keep the blood warn
while working beneath the earth, a
: they do most Of the day.
Before the cork was discovered rea
! cham payne did not exist. Without
40 sparkling wine could be brought t
perfection, requiring, as 1t does. tn
d peculiar process Of fermentation afte
W being bottled.
y Only the juice from the first press
: ing Of the grape is for champagne. tn
second and third DRESSINGS being lei
n for inferior wine. The juice remain
. in these watts from October until jar
= uary. when the mixing takes plac,
It This is secret in each establishment
~ each winsmastsr has his ow