-jd Journal of Agriculture. [lo Feb., 1910.] 



Such is the " vin ordinaire" of France, it 1 have deaU at some 

 length with it, it is because it would be hopeless to endeavour to describe 

 the viticulture of the region in which it is most abundantly produced 

 before explaining its nature and the important part it plays in the every- 

 day life of the a\'erage Frenchman. Outside of France, the wines of that 

 country are known by the Clarets, Burgundies, Champagnes, and a few other 

 tvpes which seldom find theii way tc Australia. 'Fhese choice wines, by 

 reason of their high cost of production increased by lengthy maturation, 

 could not possibly become really popular beverages, and yet they are the 

 wines which, no doubt, in the minds of most Australians represent the 

 wines of France. 



i.iGHT Wine and Temperance. 



The bearing of the character of the wine made, on the habits and 

 general sobriety of the population of Southern France, as well as of other 

 wine- producing co^untries, is so striking that viticulture in the region can- 

 not be described without reference to it. The French, in common with 

 the other Latin races, have long been noted for their sobriety. No doubt, 

 alcoholism has increased in the country — so much so as to give cause for 

 grave anxiety, but this is only of recent years, and has nothing to do with 

 the industry'. On the contrary, it is significant that this deplorable 

 change corresponded with the Phylloxera crisis and the consequent scarcity 

 and rise in the price of vin ordinaire, which led to its substitution by other 

 beverages. Alcoholism is on the increase in Northern France, where the 

 large beetroot distilleries are situated. It is practically unknown in the 

 Southern departments, the region of abundant light wine.* 



In this part of the country, those who devote themselves to the pro- 

 motion of the temperance cause found their hopes on '' Le vin c outre 

 Valcool" (wine against alcohol). I cannot illustrate this attitude better 

 than by giving a few extracts from a letter I received a couple of mails 

 ago from M. Leenhardt. This gentleman, as founder and president 

 of the Ligue Antialcooliquc de VHerauli (the anti-alcoholic league of 

 Herault), is one of the foremost temperance advocates in Southern France. 

 In replying to requests for his criticism of my reports on Spanish Viti- 

 culture, copies of which I had sent him, he expressed surprise at my having 

 devoted so much attention to the strong wdnes of Spain and Portugal 

 before dealing with the light vin ordinaire of his part of France. In 

 reply, I endeavoured to explain Victorian conditions and ou( exceedingly 

 small wine consumption. I received an answer from which I translate- 

 the following extracts : — 



"It is not that you have succeeded in modifying my feelings on the wine (|ues- 

 tion. On the contrary, what you write me ... . convinces me more and more 

 of what I see in all countries privileged lo produce those two foods, bread ;md 

 wine, one solid, the other liquid ; there is nothing preferable for man, especially 

 the latter, always ready for immediate use (without recourse being necessary to 

 boilin" water, to infusions which only make an anodyne and not a nourishing 

 drinkt). Wine is the most wholesome food, the most hygienic, the most nourishing 

 and fortifying. With these two foods alone, in Spain, Italy, France, and else- 

 where, man undertakes the hardest work .... working as long as it is daylight 

 and is never an alcoholic, if he does not drink fortified wine, such as are Sherry, 

 Port, and other wines, too alcoholic bv themselves. You were better placed than 

 any one, after your long, serious and conmlete study of vine regions and their popu- 

 lations, 'to bring about this great and happy change, necessary and useful, in the 

 conception of the part played by wine, in regions where it is not produced and 



* Absinthe the increase in the consumption of which is caiisino- so much anxiety among thinking- people 

 in France cannot be considereri here. Its use is really a drug habit. „ ^ , 



t Twisalmost unknown in France by the bulk of the masses, thou-h afternoon tea is very usually taken- 

 by ladies of the upper classes. 



