8 Jan., 1908.] Viticulture in Europe. 



Quality of Wine Grown on Resistant Stocks. 



This question is of importance, for it is only by strict attention 

 to quality that we can hope for success in view of the keen competition 

 existing in the wine markets of the world. There is perhaps no question 

 concerning which opinions differ so much. Some authorities tell one 

 that there are no more " Grands Yins " (wines of extra quality) produced 

 in France. Others again, hold that the wme made from grafted vines 

 is quite equal to anything that was ever produced before. Some even 

 go so far as to say that the wines are now better than they were. 



The fact of grafting seems to alter the constitution of the fruit some- 

 what. The berries are usually larger and the skin thinner. According 

 to the season this may be an advantage or otherwise. In some parts it 

 has led to alterations in wine-making methods. As regards the fla\'Our 

 of the fruit no alteration is caused. This might be expected from what 

 happens in the case of other fruit. Pears grafted on qujnce stock, for 

 example, produce fruit without any quince flavour. 



So far as I can gather, the effects of grafting seem to be a general 

 level line of quality. In a bad season the wine is probably improved, 

 but not so in a good season. It may be the result of chance, but the fact 

 remains that since the French vineyards have been reconstituted there do 

 not appear to have been any vintages of extra special quality, such as 

 used to be occasionally gathered in the old days. So far as body and 

 colour are concerned the good vintages of recent \ears leave nothing to be 

 desired. It is the perfume or "bouquet " of the wine which appears to 

 have suffered to some slight extent, and this is the very qualitv to which 

 French wine judges attach the greatest importance. 



It is perhaps not altogether fair to blame the American vine and the 

 fact of grafting for any loss of quality in recent French vintages. Other 

 factors have no doubt contributed to this result. Reconstitution has 

 necessitated great sacrifices. To recoup themselves growers have done all 

 that science or art could suggest in order to increase their yields. The 

 crops obtained now-a-days, owing to heavy manuring and intense culture, 

 are considerably heavier than they were. New French viticulture is quite 

 different to what it used to be, and I think it is to this forcing of the 

 yield rather than to the fact of grafting that any loss of bouquet is really 

 due. 



As regards the heavy Burgundies which constitute the bulk of Aus- 

 tralian shipments to London, I do not consider that we have anvthing 

 to fear, and even as regards the more delicate lighter wines, what I 

 have seen has quite reassured me. The wines I have tasted ; both Bur- 

 gundies and Beaujolais, grown on American stocks, have been sufficiently 

 excellent to allay any fears which mav have been raised bv the gloomy 

 opinions of some authorities with whom I ha\e discussed the subject. 

 When wines from grafted vines sell for as much as ^80 a hogshead at 

 three months old, as happened in Burgundy last year, it is evident that 

 good wine can be made from resistant stocks. 



It would appear that the wine yielded by a given variety grafted on 

 one stock may be superior to that produced by the same variety grafted on 

 a different stock. I have already mentioned the popularity of the Vialla 

 on this account. As yet this side of the question has not received the at- 

 tention one would expect. It seems that the greater the affinity existing 

 between stock and .scion, the more is the quality of the wine respected. 

 Vitis Berlandieri and its hybrids, and some of the Franco-Americans, 

 are considered to give great promise so far as the quality of the wine is 



