SWEET WINE INDUSTRY— VITICULTURAL STATISTICS. 



is that while they may have a good meal for twenty-five cents or a better 

 one for fifty cents, if they order a pint bottle of wine they will be charged 

 twenty-five cents extra for ordinary wine and from fifty to seventy-five cents 

 for a pint of extra good wine. Such prices are exorbitant and wholly un- 

 reasonable. Every hotel in the United States can afford to serve a pint 

 bottle of sound good wine for fifteen to twenty cents and of choice old 

 vintage of California wine for forty to fifty cents. If sales were made at 

 these prices, they would increase greatly and a rise in profit would certainly 

 result; in fact, the increase would be tenfold. 



With such an increase, California wine production would assume its 

 proper place among wine-making countries. As a matter of fact, to make 

 the wine industry of California profitable, the consumption of wine must be 

 materially increased. A few days ago two gentlemen owning large tracts 

 of land called on one of the largest wine grape growers and wine makers 

 of California and asked him his advice as to setting out wine grapes on their 

 land. He answered very pointedly and truthfully in saying: 



"When we Americans will become educated to the use of wine at our 

 tables, then you may set out your land in grapes for wine making with assur- 

 ance of success, but until that happy period arrives, I would advise you to 

 set out other crops, as with the present limited consumption, there are more 

 vineyards producing wine grapes in the State than are required to supply 

 the demand." 



But let the market demand increase almost without limit, California's 

 supply can increase just as much. This State has the climate, soil, and 

 facilities for producing just as much wine and of as good quality as that pro- 

 duced in France, and when the demand will warrant it, California will pro- 

 duce one billion gallons of wine, from which it will derive three hundred 

 million dollars per annum, the amount that product now gives to France. 



In the last five years the number of acres in California devoted to the 

 sweet wine industry has been increased by upwards of 70,000 acres. In 

 1901, according to the returns of the County Assessors, there were in Cali- 

 fornia of bearing vines 202,000 acres, and of non-bearing vines 29,000 acres, 

 a total of 231,000 acres. This has been largely increased by heavy plant- 

 ing in the succeeding years so that the bearing acreage of 1905 and 1906 

 will doubtless reach 250,000 acres. 



A large part of this area is devoted to the culture of Muscat grapes — 

 at least 90,000 acres. When raisin prices are good the crop of these vine- 

 yards goes into drying trays. On the other hand, when raisin prices fall, a 

 large part of the Muscat yield is carted to the winery presses. Added to this 

 acreage should be the 22,500 acres on which table grapes are raised. Here 

 the growers are accustomed to cull out the finer bearings for shipment, and 

 to send the remainder to the wineries. So the wineries in the sweet wine 

 district must be prepared to receive varying quantities of grapes for crushing, 

 whether these were originally raised to be used upon the table, to be dried 

 into raisins, or to be pressed for wine. One capacious winery, during a 

 period of threatening rains, received and crushed over 1 ,000 tons of grapes 

 in three days. 



Beyond this fluctuating acreage given over to wine grapes, it is expected 

 that within the next few years many thousand acres, not quoted above, will 

 be devoted to this industry. 



California is easily the most important factor in viticulture in the United 

 States. The number of grape vines in this State exceeds the total number 

 of vines in the eleven States next most important by 13,474,328 vines. 

 Among the leading grape-producing States California is first and New York 

 a bad second, followed by Ohio, Kansas, Michigan and others less active in 

 this industry. Figures taken from the year book of the Department of Agri- 

 culture for 1904 are: 



State. No. of Vines. 



California 90,686,458 



New York 29,636,216 



Ohio 13,772,800 



9 



State. No. of Vines. 



Kansas 5,762,700 



Michigan 5,232,450 



Pennsylvania 4,71 1 ,039 



