PREFACE. V 



short no man can hold fast to one invariable rule in this 

 State, but must vary his operations with the location, the 

 soil, the product of each season, and the climatic conditions 

 prevailing during his operations, and which may vary every 

 day during the vintage. And therefore this will be a Califor- 

 nia book, first and foremost. I am fully aware that French 

 and German, Spanish, Italians and Portuguese, have many 

 eminent men who have compiled the experiences of centuries, 

 and from which we can learn a great deal, especially in mak- 

 ing and handling wines. But while I value it highly, and am 

 willing to profit by it, yet all the conditions are so different 

 there, that they can be no safe guide for us. Our rainless 

 summers, the character of our grapes, which always ripen, 

 and are heavier in sugar, while they may lack in ferment and 

 sprightliness, will necessitate different handling, and I believe 

 that three seasons of active experience here, will enable a man 

 with good sound judgment to make a more perfect wine from 

 California grapes, than twenty years of practice in France or 

 Germany. He has nothing to unlearn, is free from prejudices 

 and antiquated methods, and is therefore more likely to suc- 

 ceed, than the one who comes to the task with the precon- 

 ceived notion that he knows everything, while in reality he 

 has to take lessons every day. Therefore, though I will 

 gladly use some foreign experience, and give due credit for it, 

 this little volume will not be a foreign compilation, but a 

 practical record of California experience, in the vineyard and 

 wine cellar. That this may be concise, useful, and offer 

 such assistance as practical men may need is my highest am- 

 bition. The reader must not expect infallible doctrines, nor 

 impractical theories, but plain rules, variable according to 

 circumstances, and given in plain language, without poetic 

 fiction or privilege. I shall try to deal with, and confine my- 

 self to plain facts of every day occurrence. 



But while its principal aim shall be to become a guide to- 



