THE GRAPES OF NEW YORK. 65 



The manufacture of champagne' from native grapes is beginning to 

 be an important adjunct to grape-growing and is of especial importance in 

 New York which is the chief seat of the new industry. According to sta- 

 tistics from the Bureau of vStatistics of the Department of Commerce and 

 Labor,- more than two milhon bottles of genuine champagne wine are now 

 produced annually in the United States. The figures compiled by the 

 Bureau of Statistics show that the manufacture of champagne has quad- 

 rupled in ten years and that New York is by far the largest producer in this 

 class of wines. It is held by the writers of the circular quoted above, and 

 a careful study seems to have been made of the subject, that the American 

 product compares favorably with that produced in other countries and that 

 native champagnes are steadily improving with the increased experience 

 of the American producer. 



The largest manufacturers of champagne are located about Keuka 

 Lake, Steuben County, New York. About 75 per ct. of the total output 

 of the country is manufactured here. The process used is the French one 

 of fermentation in the bottle and a number of distinct brands are made 

 which in color, taste, sparkle and purity are rapidly approaching the high 

 quality of the celebrated French champagnes. Considerable champagne is 



' Champagne obtains its name from the fact that it is chiefly produced in the Province of Cham- 

 pagne in France. Its special characteristic is that during fermentation, which is usually brought 

 about in the bottle, the carbonic acid gas generated is absorbed by the wine. When the bottle is 

 opened the gas is disengaged and the wine effervesces or " sparkles ". Good champagne requires 

 grapes of high quality and of special adaptability; the fruit must be well ripened, free from decayed 

 berries, and clean. The first fermentation takes place during a period of several months in the 

 regular receptacles for this purpose after which the wine from several varieties of grapes is blended. 

 Good champagne usually contains some old wine. After bottling, the wine is held at slightly 

 different temperatures for varying lengths of time to secure proper fermentation in the bottle until 

 at the end of several months it is held at a comparatively low temperature in which the bottles 

 remain from three to four years. The bottles must then receive some treatment which will remove 

 the sediment which has been formed by fermentation. This is usually done by placing them in 

 racks cork down at about an angle of 45 degrees or a little more. By dexterously shaking and jarring 

 the bottles the sediment is loosened and deposited in the neck of the bottle. Lastly the sediment is 

 disgorged by skillfully withdrawing the cork, a small portion of the wine being wasted in the opera- 

 tion. The bottles are then filled with a dosage of rock-candy dissolved in an old dry wine, the amount 

 used determining the sweetness of the champagne. The bottles are then corked, wired, capped, 

 labelled and cased, after which the champagne is ready for the market. 



- Champagne: Decrease in Imports and Increase in Domestic Production, April 25, 1907, p. 427. 



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