Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1920-05-20
GRAPE YIELD IS
To Be ENORMOUS
IN CALF ORN|A
Vineyard Owners Taking a
Chance on the Pro Law
Being Modified Before
Crushing Time in Sept.

nv MORNING JOURNAL SPECIAL LEAsHo wiREl
San Francisco, Calf, May 10
The buds of q tremendous vintage
are on the grape vines in California
and the growers are taking a
chance that prohibition restrictions
will be modified before grape
crushing time next September and
October, according to F.. M. Shee-
han, former secretary of the state
viticultural commission.
Last year." Sheehan said, "the
wine grape yield was 100000 tons
from 10000 acres, with an uncer-
tain market, This year the yield,
weather permitting, will be equally
as great with a market that must
be brought into existence. The
growers have staked a fortune esti-
mated at $12,000,000, the value of
the vintage, on the hope that the
prohibition statues will be swept
away or modified to the extent that
they will allow wines of the moder-
ate alcoholic content formerly man
ufactured here.
"If prohibition remains two av-
enues. both highly uncertain, ac-
cording to the growers, are open
for disposal of the grape yield.
One is through manufacture of
grape syrup and the other is the
wine raisin grape market. OF the
two the grape syrup agency is said
to be the more promising. Wine
grape raisins to the extent of about
10000 tons were turned out of Call
ifornia vineyards last year, but II
was reported that when the grow
ers learned eastern and other con-
sumers were said to be converting
them into wine, they stopped the
sale as they did not want to Gre
ate an illegitimate market, Unseed-
ed the wine grape ra sin Is good
for little but wine making. Seeded IT
is declared to be a close rival to the
little currents brought from the
Grecian vineyards, but the seeding
process Is costly and the market
uncertain.
"The wine grape syrup Is an
intense concentration of the crush
from any one or from a number of
grape varieties. The raw juice Is
subjected to a vacuum condensing
process which draws off the water
while preventing cancellation or
Drowning The process reduces the
LIQUID to one fourth of its original
quantity and creates a sugar con-
tent averaging 6S degrees, chemical
measurement. This, together with
the absence of water prevents fer
mentation The syrup may be used
for a number OF purposes, one of
the principal ones being the cre-
alton of a variety of soft drinks.
"The syrup market, however, still
is in the embryo and has num-
Der of other commercial elements
to compete against. There is no rea-
son to believe, according to grow
ers, that 1t will absorb even a
small quantity of the enormous
vintage, therefore, they say, wine
appears to be the only relief, Syrup
condensors have been established
at Benicia, Sacramento, and
Healdsburg, Calf, and the process
is so simple that it is said they can
be established almost anywhere on
short notice.
Growers now are being offered
from $50 to $40 a ton for this
years yield, but they are taking all
the chances. The contracts hold
good only If the grapes can find a
market, and the growers in addi-
ton must bear all the risk of Sc
curing transportation. They are be-
ing urged not to sell at these in
flated figures which we deem to be
purely speculative.
THE Grape Growers exchange Is
being formed to develop If possible
new markets for the wine grapes.
the big purpose being light wine
market that can legitimately be es-
tablished"