VITICULTURE. \xi 



■worthy two on tlie Hunter, one of them on the lower river, and one 

 above Singleton, all connected bj railway with a central export depot 



located upon navigable water. 



It will be necessar^^to exercise groat care and judgment in selecting 

 the due proportion from the district wineries, with a virw to incorpora- 

 tion, and the production of a wine that will require little or no sul)se- 

 quent treatment to assimilate it to standard. 



The system now proposed is not new; it has been in vogue loi- ;i 

 hundred years in France and wineries are almost universal in California. 



If New South Wales is ever to be a great wine exporting country, 

 we must be in a position to supply from year to year a wine of even 

 strength, character, and quality, and this can be done by no other 

 means than by vatting the wines of different districts in those pro- 

 portions which the peculiarity of the season may suggest. 



It may be urged that blending destroys the individuality of wine. 

 This is true. But where is the advantage of an individuality which 

 varies with every season ? Except with the wine-grower who has 

 already an appreciative constituency of custom, local individuality 

 must be sunk and a general one adoj^ted. 



It is not proposed to blend mature wines, especially those having 

 unequal alcoholic strength. The objection to this is well known to 

 every practical winegrower. The blending will be done in the Eastern 

 wineries by adding stronger vintages of the previous year during 

 fermentation, the result will be complete incorporation and an average 

 standard strength, or so near an approach thereto that blending will 

 not cause disturbance. 



Three-fourths of the wine will be grown on Eastern waters, perhaps 

 within 100 miles of the port of export, and onl}^ one-fourth will be 

 subject to distant trainage. 



Before entering largely into the wine export trade several subjects 

 will require careful and deliberate consideration. 



First, the classes of wine most likely to find favour, and, secondly, 

 the standard alcoholic strength to be maintained in each. 



In the opinion of the writer four classes will be enough, say full- 

 bodied red and white, with an alcoholic standard of 25 per cent, proof 

 spirit, a light red and a light white, strength 20 per cent, proof spirit ; 

 but it is probable that the industry would be started with one red 

 wine of 21 per cent, proof spirit called Claret, with the name of the 

 company as a prefix, and if ultimately it was deemed advisable to 

 introduce a stronger, the strength of the claret could be reduced 1 

 per cent, without prejudice. 



As to the manner of placing our wines on the I]nglish market, I 

 cannot do better than quote from the report of the special commissioner, 

 Sydneij Morning Herald, of 31st December, 1895, as follows :— 



" But since writing the lines mentioned I have had opportunities to observe that large 

 cxuantities of good sound wines suitable for hotel and restaurant dining-rooms were badly 

 required. But you might have good wines in London and not be able to sell them. \ ou 

 would require to push and advertise your wines, and gain tiie goodwill of hotel managers 

 and the chief men of big companies before you could hope to sell the good wines profitably. 

 The causes of the South Australian Wine DepOt not being a comjilete success arc that in 

 the first place the trade is in but few hands, and in tlie second, tlic depOt lias not the 

 millions of gallons of good wine. 



